Wheeling, W. Va. – For the first time since the 2018 season, the Wheeling University Softball team found themselves back in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Softball tournament in 2025. As the team prepares for 2026, the Cardinals are looking to get back in the tournament field and compete for a conference title. On Tuesday, the team announced their 2026 schedule, with a challenging non-conference schedule that will prepare them to compete among the best of the best in the MEC.

The 2025 season would see the Cardinals go with the same formula, challenging themselves through an 18-game non-conference slate that saw them go 3-15. They opened MEC play with a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Point Park, and took sweeps against Salem and Slippery Rock before coming home for their home opener at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. They would welcome in West Virginia State and Charleston, earning their first conference win of the season in the opener against the Yellow Jackets. With just one conference win under their belts, the Cardinals would close out March with a bang, earning a doubleheader sweep over Frostburg State. It propelled the Cardinals into the final month of the season, seeing them pick up five more conference wins, and it came down to the final doubleheader of the season. The Cardinals needed a split with Point Park to clinch a spot and got it done in the first game of the twin bill. They would advance as the #4 seed from the MEC North, but dropped both games in the tournament to bring their season to an end.

As they head into 2026, the Cardinals will once again face a greuling non-conference schedule and will kick off play at The Highlands Sports Complex. They will play four games in three days, beginning the run with back-to-back single games against IUP and University Indianapolis on February 20^th and 21^st. They will wrap up the weekend with their first doubleheader with games against Findlay and Lake Erie on February 22^nd. On spring break, the team will continue the stretch on the road with a trip to Florida for The Spring Games. They will play a pair of road doubleheaders during the week, heading to both Eckerd and Florida Southern during the week while playing two doubleheaders at The Spring Games. Their final neutral site event will take them to Salem, Virginia for the MEC Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover event. Wheeling will battle four PSAC opponents during the weekend in their final weekend of action before conference play.

When they return to the home field, they will take on Cedarville University in their final non-conference doubleheader before hitting the MEC stretch. They start that conference stretch at home with a doubleheader against Point Park on March 21^st and follow with a doubleheader against Salem on March 22^nd. They will be road warriors for the rest of March, playing each of their next four doubleheaders on the road. They finish off the month with a home doubleheader on March 31^st against Edinboro, and kick-off April on the road again with three straight doubleheaders. They come back home for the middle of the month, hosting Glenville State and Concord April 11^th and 12^th, before hitting the road for their final MEC South stretch against West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins. They will play three or their final five doubleheaders at home, hosting West Liberty, Frostburg State, and Fairmont State, before ending the season on the road against Point Park and Salem.

The Wheeling University Softball team kicks off the season on Friday, February 20^th, when they take on UINDY at the Highlands Sports Complex.