SALEM, Ore. – Optimism and newly found confidence surrounds the Corban University Softball program as the Warriors enter their second season of competition under head coach Jeff Covalt, as the squad most recently completed their most successful fall ball schedule and offseason training regimen in several years with notable scrimmage victories and player development heading into their competitive spring slate tomorrow in northern California. With a core upperclassmen group battle tested within the NAIA's most difficult league in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC), the Dubs welcome a key recruiting class comprised of several game changing newcomers who will expect to immediately make an impact within Covalt's program.
"We are excited to get things started this week," expressed Covalt. "This group has worked really hard and grown a ton in the last few months. Our conference is always so strong and demands continual improvement. This year, we have a great team chemistry and energetic underclassmen excited to face the challenges ahead. This group has come together really fast and the unity of the group as a whole has been fun to see. Our seniors have been such a big help, and with being such a big senior class, we are working hard to give them the best experience we can and do our best to send them off with their best season yet as Warriors."
Season Schedule/Key Matchups
A six-game non-conference schedule in a three-day span will give the Navy and Gold a quick turnaround before conference play begins next weekend, as they're scheduled to begin their regular season tomorrow in Redding at the Simpson Round Robin tourney where they will serve as one of three CCC programs battling against several other west coast universities. They'll have two chances apiece to defeat Park University Gilbert, Arizona Christian University, and Westcliff University from Thursday to Saturday before returning to the Willamette Valley for their home opener series.
The University of British Columbia will visit Warrior Field on February 27th and 28th to kick off conference action before Corban softball hits the road for back-to-back crucial conference series at Warner Pacific University and I-5 rival Bushnell University over the first two weekends of March. The end of March is comprised of back-to-back four-game sets against a pair of teams ranked within the national top ten teams, with the defending NAIA champion Raiders of Southern Oregon University heading to the capital city before the Warriors travel to No. 10-ranked Oregon Tech on March 27th and 28th.
The final month of the regular season features an 8-to-6 home/road game ratio for the Dubs, beginning the week of Easter when they host the new-look RedHawks who will be playing within the CCC as a conference member for the first time in program history. Their longest venture of the regular season across the state of Oregon and into southwestern Idaho to face The College of Idaho represents their final road trip of the regular season in conference action, followed by their Senior Weekend series against No. 3-ranked Eastern Oregon University on April 17th & 18th.
Conference Outlook
In typical CCC softball outlooks, four programs enter the 2026 campaign all vying for a regular season title that has interchanged between the same two programs over the past eight seasons. The reigning national champion Raiders enter as the clear favorites to repeat despite losing the tiebreaker to No. 10-ranked Oregon Tech in terms of hosting last year's conference championship tournament, yet return a large portion of their starting lineup from 2025 that will make it difficult for any CCC squad to knock SOU from their pedestal.
Despite losing key members of last year's starting lineup, the Lady Owls have reloaded and have already proven early in the non-conference slate that they aren't taking a backseat to Southern Oregon any time soon, as they'll look to host a fifth-straight CCC tournament this upcoming May, barring their ability to shake off last year's upset specialists in No. 3-ranked Eastern Oregon University and constant threat in The College of Idaho, both of whom made waves across the Pacific Northwest and NAIA Opening Rounds last year. Another upset-hopeful program in the University of British Columbia, who knocked both the Raiders and Lady Owls out of last year's CCC tourney, looks to add on to their 2025 success this upcoming season.
In the first competitive season of adding Simpson University and losing the Montana schools of Carroll College and the University of Providence to the Frontier Conference, a spot in the CCC postseason has been vacated from last year's standings and up for grabs for the remaining four programs represented by the Warriors, RedHawks, Bushnell University, and Warner Pacific University. In the 2026 preseason poll results, Simpson was predicted to earn that final playoff position with the remaining three programs looking on, yet all four secured victories over each other last year and are well within their rights to stake their claim in a postseason appearance this season.
Key Returners/Newcomers
The entire projected 2026 game one lineup for the Navy and Gold is represented by returners and incoming true freshman, with a number of newcomers slated to make immediate impacts both the plate and in the field for Covalt and his staff that looks to propel the program back into both conference and national consideration. Of the ten starting lineup spots for the Dubs when including the defensive flex and designated offensive player, six returners will fill key roles, while a quartet of first-year collegiate student-athletes have already proven they can compete within the CCC and greater NAIA. Additionally, Corban softball retained every member of the starting pitcher staff who look to rebound in 2026 following a productive offseason.
The Warriors' lone loss to their starting lineup last year is represented by starting centerfielder Regan McDaniel, who is replaced by a handful of capable outfielders that the program retained in an ever-improving outfield unit under the leadership of Covalt and former Corban All-American centerfielder now assistant coach, Taylor Messerle, formerly Taylor Eilders.
Among the key returners is senior first baseman Peyton Foreman, who was the lone All-Conference honoree for the Warriors in 2025 after leading the team in nearly every offensive statistical category. The 2026 lineup will also feature Corban's game one starting pitcher, shortstop, and catcher who can flex to first base when needed, represented by sophomore Miranda Scovil, senior Isabel Carattini, and sophomore Mckenna Hanson, respectively.
Key true freshmen in the forms of catcher Shelby Hillyer, third baseman Irene VanDyke, second baseman Layla Burgess, and rightfielder Brookelynne Morley look to prove what they're capable of early in their collegiate careers following standout fall ball trainings, with a number of the remaining 2026 recruiting class members capable of stepping up at a moment's notice when called upon by Covalt.
Warrior Whims (Final Thoughts)
While winning streaks and athletic accomplishments have come far and few between over the past three seasons following an historic streak atop the conference standings and national eye across the 2010s, the Corban softball squad has silently made adjustments that will impact the program for years to come under the direction of Covalt and his coaching staff. Moving mountains within the CCC is no easy task for a varsity softball team, with four of the past seven national champions hailing from the Pacific Northwest and more programs continually raising their own bars to qualify for both the conference and national tournaments.
With his first complete recruiting class at his side and more than just a summer and fall ball period to develop and train the roster while reestablishing a healthy, winning team culture for the Navy and Gold, the next remaining step for Covalt's crew is stringing together those winning results that both he and the Warrior softball program have proven capable of in years past. Momentum is clearly emanating from the Warriors' dugout, and the opportunity to rise within the conference standings has never been clearer since their 2017 national runner-up finish for the Corban softball program.
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