SB | Gaels Open 2026 Campaign at NorCal Kickoff

Friday, February 6

Sacramento, CA

12:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

Colorado State

Odhi Vasquez (pictured) and Sam Buckley both return after First Team All-WCC nods a year ago

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

SB | Gaels Open 2026 Campaign at NorCal Kickoff

2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM | Softball

MORAGA, Calif. — The Saint Mary's Gaels, now back-to-back WCC Champions, begin their quest for a three-peat this weekend, heading to Sacramento and Davis to take part in the NorCal Kickoff. This is the third straight year the Gaels have opened their season at this event, co-hosted by Sacramento State and UC Davis.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Colorado State Rams
Friday, February 6 at 12 PM
Shea Stadium – Sacramento, Calif.
LIVE STATS

Saint Mary's Gaels at Sacramento State Hornets
Friday, February 6 at 2:30 PM
Shea Stadium – Sacramento, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS

Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Cal Poly Mustangs
Saturday, February 7 at 9:30 AM
Shea Stadium – Sacramento, Calif.
LIVE STATS

Saint Mary's Gaels at Sacramento State Hornets
Saturday, February 7 at 12 PM
Shea Stadium – Sacramento, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS

Saint Mary's Gaels at UC Davis Aggies
Sunday, February 8 at 9:30 AM
La Rue Field – Davis, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS

MEET THE NEW GAELS
Head Coach Sonja Garnett brought in a signing class of six new student-athletes to join her program for the 2026 season. In the circle, Madeline Haun makes the furthest trek from home to Moraga of the incoming class, coming in from Spring Branch, Texas. While at Smithson Valley High School, Haun racked up 365 career strikeouts over 297 innings worked, and was named district pitcher of the year as a junior and senior. Behind the dish, the Gaels brought in a pair of catchers, Janessa Parras and Andrea De La Rosa. Parras was a career 0.450 hitter at James Logan High School in Union City, three times being named as an all-conference athlete, while De La Rosa tallied 36 extra base hits in her prep career at Gilroy High School, earning four all-conference nods. A trio of outfielders round out the recruiting class, Ruby Cuen Camacho, Katie Torrez and Lauren Tran. Cuen Camacho hails from nearby Oakley, California, and blasted seven home runs and drove in 58 in her time at Freedom High School, twice being named all-league. Torrez boasted a career 0.349 average at Kennedy High School in La Palma, while leading the Fighting Irish to four straight postseason berths. Rounding out the group, Tran, from nearby Pleasanton, hit 0.314 during her career at Amador Valley High School, and twice was named to the all-conference team.

THEY'RE BACK
Garnett and her staff did an incredible job of retaining 21 of the 26 student-athletes with no players entering the transfer portal. With just one starter graduating, the Gaels don't just return a few keys to their championship run from a year ago, but nearly the whole core. 10 of the 21 returners were key starters for the Gaels, while six earned All-WCC honors a year ago. Third baseman Sam Buckley is back after setting the single season program records for runs scored, home runs and RBI and earning first team All-WCC honors, as is fellow first All-WCC pitcher Odhi Vasquez. Second team honorees Victoria Castillo, Tori Cervantes, Camille Lara and Mia Nishikawa are all also back in the fold, as is all-freshman team shortstop Mia Zabat, as the Gaels boast loads of returning talent heading into 2026.

ABOUT THE RAMS
Colorado State will be the Gaels first test of 2026. After a 16-32 campaign last year, the Rams were picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West Preseason Polls. 16th year Head Coach Jen Fisher was able to retain star shortstop Kaylynn English, who hit 0.350 last season and led the team, scoring 28 runs. She will likely be the featured piece that this Rams squad is built around. The Gaels have seen the Rams just ten times in program history, going 1-8-1 against them all-time. This will be their first meeting since 2008.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Tournament co-host Sacramento State enters the 2026 campaign after a stellar 27-23 campaign that saw them finish as Big Sky runners up in 2025. Lori Perez enters year 13 coaching in the state capital, and has enjoyed a stellar stretch over the last four years, winning 112 games in that time. With four returning players picked to the preseason All-Big Sky team (Katie Marsh, Madison Evers-Lyles, Lafulafu Malepeai and Alexa Ortiz), Coach Perez looks primed and ready for another shot at a Big Sky title. The Gaels and Hornets have a rich history of playing one another, as this will be the 96th and 97th all-time meetings for the two former PCSC foes. Sac State leads the series 68-26-1, with the Gaels last wins over the Hornets coming in March of 2024.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
It was a tough go of things for Cal Poly last year, as they won just nine games, and finished at the bottom of the Big West standings. This was the fewest wins in a single season for 22nd year Head Coach Jenny Condon, but with more than two decades of experience at the helm of the Cal Poly program, she is ready to answer the bell for a turnaround season. The best news for the Cal Poly faithful was the return of last year's standout hitter, Maddy Bermudez. Now a sophomore, Bermudez led the team as a freshman, hitting 0.284 with 40 total knocks. The Gaels are just 3-35 all-time vs Cal Poly, with their last win against the Mustangs coming in 2020.

ABOUT THE AGGIES
Sacramento State's co-host for this tournament is UC Davis, who the Gaels have become very familiar with, seeing them every year since 2017. 12th year Head Coach Erin Thorpe enjoyed 20+ win seasons in 2022, 2023 and 2024, but finished at 15-36 a year ago. Led by standout pitcher Ashley Sawai, the Aggies will look to get back to the 20 win mark this season. The Gaels and Aggies split a pair of tight contests last year, as Saint Mary's narrowly outscored UC Davis 3-2 in those two contests. The Gaels have taken three of the last four against the Aggies, but Davis leads the all-time series 45-19.

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