Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
No. 2 Texas Tech
Players Mentioned
Bulldogs set for Mary Nutter Classic
2/18/2026 12:10:00 PM | Softball
MARY NUTTER CLASSIC | Thursday, Feb. 19 - Saturday, Feb. 21 | Flo Sports | Big League Dreams Complex | Cathedral City, CA
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Play-by-Play: Nicole Mendes
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FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's softball team will hit the road for the first time this season as they travel south to Cathedral City to compete in the 2026 Mary Nutter Classic at Big League Dreams Complex from Feb. 19 - Feb. 21.
Fresno State will start the tournament by facing No. 2 Texas Tech at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19.
BULLDOG BONES
- The Bulldogs sit at 3-4 on the season following the Bulldog Kickoff Classic and their three game series vs. No. 24 Washington
- Fresno State will travel for the first time this season as they travel to Cathedral City to compete in the Mary Nutter Classic
- Fresno State will compete in the Mary Nutter Classic for the third consecutive season
- The Bulldogs will face Cal Baptist, Cal Berkeley, and ranked opponents No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 11 UCLA at the Mary Nutter Classic
- Fresno State was selected sixth in the Mountain West's preseason poll
- The Bulldogs are the midst of seven game stretch that sees them play five ranked opponents
- Jaime Hicks leads the team with a .471 batting average, 1.114 OPS, and .568 slugging percentage
- Jerzie Liana holds the team lead in hits (9) and total bases (11) is is tied for first in at-bats (20)
- Jerzie Liana and Alyssa Ramirez lead the club with 5 RBI's eachÂ
- Fresno State sees the return of 13 players in Nadia Roundtree, Olivia Hill, Natalie Elias, Rylee Bocchini, Mallory Vancleave, Emma Martinez, Mackenna Gieger, Kealani Nitta, Jaime Hicks, Ava Tingey, Alyssa Rebolledo, Alexa Brunetti and Alyssa Ramirez
- Fresno State welcomes 13 new Bulldogs to the 2026 roster in Leila Dixon (UIC), Larissa Flores (CSUN), Lauryn Carranco (CSUN), Arianna Aguayo (Liberty HS), Gizella Vargas Sandoval (CSUN), Alyssa Loza (Century HS), Jayda Crosby (California HS), Christal Lopez (CSUB), Makenna Pettey (Yucaipa HS), Tiara Westbrook (CSUN) and Lorraine Alo (Portland State)
OPPONENT OFF THE BAT
- Fresno State will face four teams in the Mary Nutter Classic including No.2 Texas Tech (Feb. 19), Cal Berkeley and Cal Baptist (Feb, 20), and No. 11 UCLA (Feb. 21)
- In program history, Fresno State is 5-1 against Texas Tech, 1-1 vs. Cal Baptist, 11-52 vs. UCLA, and 69-53 vs. Cal.
- Entering the tournament, No. 2 Texas Tech is 11-1, Cal Baptist sits at 8-3, Cal Berkeley is 4-8 , and No. 11 UCLA holds a 7-3 record.Â
- Texas Tech was ranked #1 by ESPN and USA Softball in the preseason polls and was picked as the top team in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll.
- UCLA entered the season ranked as a top-10 team by various polls, coming in at No. 8 in the Softball America poll, No. 9 in the NFCA polls, and No. 10 by ESPN
FROM MATADORS TO BULLDOGS
- Fresno State welcomed 13 newcomers to the 2026 roster, including four transfers from CSU Northridge in Lauryn Carranco, Larissa Flores, Gizelle Vargas Sandoval, and Tiara Westbrook who played under Coach Morgan
- Tiara Westbrook is coming off her sophomore season at CSUN where she lead the team in home runs (10), RBIs (38), total bases (88), slugging percentage (.595) on base percentage (.435), batting average (.351) on-base percentage (.435) and OPS (1.030)
- Lauryn Carranco comes to Fresno State after making 32 starts in 34 games for CSUN during her junior season where she recorded career bests in ERA (2.77), complete games (20), strikeouts (113)Â
- Gizella Vargas Sandoval joins the Bulldogs after batting a career best .297 with a home run and 11 RBI's while making 46 appearances for CSUN with 38 starts
- Larissa Flores joins the fold following her freshman season where she made 31 starts in 41 games played, stole five bases and drew 11 walks, and displayed a .944 fielding percentage
VALLEY DOGS
The 2026 Fresno State softball team sees more Bulldogs that hail from the Valley. Freshman 'Dogs Arianna Aguayo comes to Margie Wright from the same stomping grounds as sophomore catcher Rylee Bocchini, Liberty HS in Madera, Calif.
- Incoming senior Lauryn Carranco comes back home to the Valley, the pitcher grew up in Clovis and attended Clovis High School.
- Christal Lopez traveled up the 99 after spending time with the Roadrunners. Lopez grew in Fresno and attended Buchanan High School.
- Giana Quintanar didn't have to relocate far either, the Clovis East graduate is trading in her time as a Fresno City Ram to become a Bulldog.
- Ariana Aguayo and Rylee Bocchini spent three seasons as teammates at Liberty HS in Madera, California, as both received First Team-All League selections and were multiple year letter winners as Hawks.
TIME TO HIT THE ROAD
After opening the season with seven-straight home games, Fresno State will hit the road for three tournaments and a single game matchup against CSU Bakersfield before returning to Margie Wright Diamond on March 13 to open conference play against Utah State
- The Bulldogs will play thirteen straight games on the road that span over three different tournaments including the Mary Nutter Classic, Pacific Invitational, and the Silicon Valley Classic along with a matchup against the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners on March 3rd
- Fresno State is also entering a stretch where they will play 16 of the next 19 games on the road, facing 10 different opponents