CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Ahead of the much anticipated 2026 season, Carolina softball head coach Megan Smith Lyon announced the schedule.
The Tar Heels will play 53 total games in the regular season with 33 games at home and 43 in the state of North Carolina. The slate features four conference champions, 13 teams that made the NCAA Tournament, three of which made it to the Super Regionals. Six opponents finished in the top 25 of the final RPI, four in between 26-50, and eight finished between 51-100.
The season opens with a tournament hosted at Elon. The first game is Feb. 5 against St. Joe’s, then they’ll take on JMU and St. Joe’s on Feb. 6. The final two games of Elon’s tournament are against UConn, and then Elon.
The home opener is a mid-week against reigning Sun Belt champion Coastal Carolina on Feb. 11. UNC stays home that weekend to host a tournament with Bryant, Monmouth, and Northern Kentucky.
Bryant’s coaching staff features 2025 All-American and UNC single season RBI record holder Kat Rodriguez.
The Tar Heels will then take on Radford, NCCU, Rider, App State, and Princeton at home before going to Elon for a mid-week on Feb. 25.
ACC play kicks off Feb. 27-Mar. 1 against Boston College at home. After a mid-week against Stetson, Virginia makes the trip to Chapel Hill. After that, the Tar Heels head west to take on California before coming home to take on Stanford.
Wofford comes to UNC for a mid-week contest before the final tournament of the year against Marist and Arizona State.
UNC then travels to Liberty who made a Super Regional last season before taking on NC State on the road between Apr. 2-4.
Queens comes to UNC before hosting Duke Apr. 8-12. The North Carolina swing continues with a mid-week at ECU on Apr. 14.
The Tar Heels travel to Florida State for the penultimate ACC series before coming home to take on South Carolina. The final regular season series is at Virginia Tech on Apr. 24-26.
The ACC Tournament is May 6-9 with the NCAA Tournament kicking off on May 15.
