As much as the strain of winter is impacting areas across the country, the college softball scene should heat things up this February.

And what better way to warm up the scene than by going into the desert?

That’s exactly what’s going down at the Hillenbrand Invitational from Feb. 18 to 20, the 26th edition of the annual event hosted by Arizona in Tucson. With five teams in the fray, including three that made the NCAA Tournament last season, there’s no shortage of talent (or water) throughout the invitational as it’ll be broadcast in its entirety on FloSoftball.

Looking to catch a game and want to be prepared beforehand? Check out the teams, players and figures to watch out for in Arizona later this month. 

FloSoftball will broadcast select games. See schedule.

Arizona Wildcats

Last season: 41-15, lost in Women’s College World Series to Alabama/Florida State

The lowdown: If you were a college pitcher facing the Wildcats last spring, you didn’t want to throw to redshirt sophomore outfielder Janelle Meono. The 5-foot-4 Californian marked a sensational start to her college career by hitting .439 as a freshman, winning the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Award and batting title. She squeezed in a 27-game hitting streak from March 11 to May 2, as well, being a consistent force in one of the nation’s best offenses (6.32 runs per game). That might was helped out by four different Wildcats knocking in double-figures in home runs last season, with the second-most of the bunch in redshirt sophomore catcher Sharlize Palacios (18 home runs, 57 RBI) returning for 2022. In the pitching rotation, Alyssa Denham’s 19-8 record and 1.95 ERA is a lot to replace, but redshirt senior Hannah Bowen (10-4, 2.06 ERA, .91 WHIP) did well in the times she was called upon and should be the ace as the lone upperclassman hurler on the roster.

The schedule:
vs. UC Santa Barbara at 3 p.m. Feb. 18
vs. Long Beach State at 5 p.m. Feb. 18
vs. Loyola Marymount at 3 p.m. Feb. 19
vs. Kentucky at 5 p.m. Feb. 19
vs. Long Beach State at 2 p.m. Feb. 20

Kentucky Wildcats

Last season: 43-16, lost in Tuscaloosa Super Regional to Alabama

The lowdown: Though Meono might’ve been the batting queen of the Pac-12, Kentucky’s Kayla Kowalik was the batting queen of the entire country. The senior catcher and outfielder hit an astounding .495 a year ago, which among teams that played at least 40 games, was the No. 1 mark in America, and was a near-guarantee to get on base at least once per game with 30 walks to boot. The Texan is back for another year in Lexington after earning a NFCA First Team All-America nod as she attempts to make it a second-straight national batting title, but so too is infielder Erin Coffel, whose 16 home runs last season were both a team high and a new UK freshman record. But Kentucky’s trump card could be a high-level transfer in Kennedy Sullivan, who moved from Western Kentucky in the offseason after going 9-0 in the circle with a 2.40 ERA last season—and that was on top of batting .358 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI. If she can repeat that production against the might of the SEC, the Wildcats might have their version of Shohei Ohtani on their hands. 

The schedule:
vs. UC Santa Barbara at 10 a.m. Feb. 18
vs. Loyola Marymount at noon Feb. 18
vs. Long Beach State at noon Feb. 19
vs. Arizona at 5 p.m. Feb. 19
vs. UC Santa Barbara at 10 a.m. Feb. 20

Long Beach State Beach

Last season: 30-11, lost in Los Angeles Regional to UCLA/Minnesota

The lowdown: The Beach have been a frequent feature in the postseason for some time now, with coach Kim Sowder taking the program to eight NCAA Tournaments in 15 years with little fear of putting LBSU up against the best in America. That was no more evident than in the school’s early-season schedule choices this year as it’s already played the likes of Washington and Arkansas—two Super Regional teams from a year ago—in the first weekend of the 2022 season. But if some of the players from this past weekend keep up their solid play against future competition, watch out. Both freshman Marissa Caballero (.462) and senior Kyra Snyder (.438) went over .400 at the plate at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, snagging wins against Memphis and Lamar in the process. Sophomore pitcher Shannon Haddad (8-0, 2.05 ERA in 2021) is the reigning Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, but hasn’t played yet as junior hurler Samantha Fowler (2.84 ERA, eight strikeouts in 12⅓ innings) got off to a solid start in Mexico.

The schedule:
vs. Arizona at 5 p.m.
vs. Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. Feb. 18
vs. Kentucky at noon Feb. 19
vs. Arizona at 2 p.m. Feb. 20

Loyola Marymount Lions

Last season: 22-21, no postseason

The lowdown: All things considered, it hasn’t been a bad start to 2022 for the Lions. LMU has played the defending national champion (Oklahoma) and the No. 16 team in the D1Softball Preseason Top 25 (Oregon) already in the first weekend of the season, but more importantly stayed more than competitive. A 5-0 loss to the Sooners—who’s coming off arguably the greatest offensive season of all time—and a 4-1 loss to the Ducks aren’t terrible defeats to have after going barely over .500 while playing in a mid-major league a year ago. But the Lions’ final two games before their trip to Arizona, both wins over Mississippi State and Nevada, really showed to the world what they could do. LMU put up 15 runs in two games, with Central Florida transfer and shortstop Georgia Blair responsible for three RBI in the 10-2 win over the Wolfpack, while sophomore pitcher and UNLV transfer Jenna Perez looked good on the mound in the 5-3 win over the Bulldogs in a complete-game, 11-strikeout performance.

The schedule:
vs. Kentucky at noon Feb. 18
vs. Long Beach State at 7 p.m. Feb. 18
vs. UC Santa Barbara at 10 a.m. Feb. 19
vs. Arizona at 3 p.m. Feb. 19
vs. UC Santa Barbara at noon Feb. 20

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

Last season: 15-31, no postseason

The lowdown: The highs were nice for the Gauchos last season, but the lows were also really, really low. Highlighted by an early-season upset over eventual NCAA Tournament team Stanford in March and winning seven of their last nine games, the Gauchos were undone by inconsistency issues and an atrocious 11-game losing streak in mid-April. But a lot of the poor record can be somewhat-excused as UCSB had zero seniors and 13 freshmen on the roster last season, with many lineups featuring a heavy helping of players that were just out of high school. The roster is much more comfortable and experienced with the college game this time around, which should be a big help for sophomore infielder Madelyn McNally, an All-Big West First Team pick that batted .391 in an excellent first season. Kansas transfer pitcher and California native Lexy Mills, who started 29 games the last three years with the Jayhawks, should be a welcome addition to the rotation with experience throwing against elite programs like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State from Big 12 play.

The schedule:
vs. Kentucky at 10 a.m. Feb. 18
vs. Arizona at 3 p.m. Feb. 18
vs. Loyola Marymount at 10 a.m. Feb. 19
vs. Kentucky at 10 a.m. Feb. 20
vs. Loyola Marymount at noon Feb. 20