UConn softball will begin its 2026 Big East regular season schedule the same way it ended 2025: with a weekend series against the St. John’s Red Storm.
The Huskies (4-15) and the Red Storm (14-5) were tied in the conference standings leading up to the weekend. The final three-game slate of Big East play would determine the regular season champions.
UConn took game one 3-0, before dropping the next two games of the series to the Johnnies. St. John’s was crowned as the conference regular season champions and earned the No. 1 seed in the Big East Softball Championship. The Huskies went on to win the tournament championship, after the Red Storm were upset in the first two games of the event by Creighton and Providence.
The programs will meet again nearly 10 months later, with far different implications surrounding the contest.
UConn starts conference play looking to course correct after an abysmal performance during its non-conference schedule. The Huskies have struggled to generate offense through their first 19 games. The team has an overall batting average of .258 while being outscored 84-57.
The slow start comes after the program lost several key players from last year’s squad. Grace Jenkins batted .424 last season while belting 21 home runs last season. She departed for Arizona in the offseason. Hope Jenkins, Grace’s sister and the team’s ace pitcher, transferred to Ole Miss over the summer.
The Huskies also lost their leadoff batter Lexi Hastings, who graduated at the end of last season. She was batting .361 and was one of the team’s best defenders. UConn has felt the weight of their absence in the early portion of this season.
Kaitlyn Breslin has stepped into a larger offensive role for the Huskies this season. She has homer’d four times and batted in 14 runs through 19 games. Savannah Ring has also been reliable for UConn. She is batting .345 with a .413 on base percentage.
While UConn tries to find its footing, St. John’s has found its stride entering the weekend. The Red Storm boasts the best overall record in the Big East with one of the most consistent offenses, batting .304.
Jess Bianco has been at the forefront of the team’s offense. She has already tallied 30 hits while batting .435. She is also a threat on the basepaths, swiping eight bags so far this season. Natasha Limbani is the Red Storm’s muscle; she has hit three home runs coming into the weekend.
The start of conference play offers the Huskies a clean slate. UConn finished 18-6 in league play last season.
The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday.