This year will be the 10th year of Jane Sanders Stadium, the 60th year of Ducks softball, and the eighth version of head coach Melyssa Lombardi’s team. With the season starting next week in Clearwater, Florida, this edition of Ducks softball is looking to push further with their returners, a stronger depth, more pop off the bat and a great team connection with incoming freshmen and transfers. 

Star right handed starting pitcher, senior Lyndsey Grein, is back looking to be the ace of an incredible starting pitching staff. 

“Being a Duck is the best decision I’ve ever made,” Grein said. “Getting to have another fall here and just spend my last year here as a senior, it’s been really special.”

Grein went an astonishing 30-3 last season, striking out 236 batters and ending the season with an ERA of 2.21. Joining Grein again is Elise Sokolsky (who put in a stellar season of her own, 17-5, 136 strikeouts, 2.09 ERA), sophomore Rowan Thompson and junior Taylour Spencer.

Joining this already strong staff is freshman Maddie Milhourn out of Vancouver, Washington. Milhourn has been the topic of multiple conversations during media day, getting her praises sung by Lombardi and Grein: 

“Maddie just throws an easy 72 miles an hour,” Lombardi said, “So to watch her throw gas and compete against our hitters this fall has been really a treat,” Grein said. “She’s incredibly talented.” 

Around the diamond the Ducks have deepened their roster. Coming into 2026, Oregon picked up two phenomenal utility players in Elon Butler and Amari Harper. 

Butler, who played her last three seasons at Cal, comes in with a studded resumé: she was named to 2025 NFCA All-West Region Third Team (OF) and 2024 NFCA All-America Second Team (2B). Also in 2024, she was named to the 2024 All-Pac-12 Second Team. 

Ending her time at Cal, Butler put in yet another top-notch season. She hit .361 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs, and walked 38 times to her 24 strikeouts. 

Harper comes in from Texas A&M University, where she was named to the 2025 All-SEC Second Team (as a utility player) and 2023 NFCA All-South Region Third Team (2B). She is also a premier hitter: last season, through 51 games, she hit a blistering .421, 51 RBIs and logged an on base percentage of .536. 

With these hot hitters coming into the lineup, there has been a switch in how the Ducks will operate their offense. Last season, speed was the direction the Ducks headed in. However, with Paige Sinicki, Kedre Luschar and Kai Luschar graduating after a Women’s College World Series appearance, the spark is now coming from the pure power this team is displaying in preseason. 

“We won’t necessarily have to be fast because the ball is going to leave the park,” Grein said, who has been facing her fellow Ducks all preseason.

No matter how good this team looks on paper, it’s all about how they connect with each other, the bond on and off the field. 

The Ducks are even excelling in this area. Lombardi sent the team on a retreat to start the season. No softball, just the team. 

“I love the connection that they have with each other,” Lombardi said. “They demand excellence from each other.” 

That connection is echoed by players that were at Oregon last season and newcomers. “(The newcomers) are now our family,” Sokolsky said.

Making sure that the incoming Ducks feel comfortable is something that sophomore Stefini Ma’ake is striving to accomplish: “I remember how great our seniors were last year at making us feel welcome and just comfortable,” Ma’ake said. “I think that was one of my biggest goals with this freshman group.”

Though winter is ending soon, the Ducks are migrating south to start their season. At the NFCA Leadoff Classic they will face the University of Missouri, Clemson University, Liberty University, the University of Tennessee and Southeastern Louisiana University. 

The Ducks will face the University of Missouri on Friday, February 6th at 10:00 AM PT. Fans can watch on GameChanger, or listen through KWVA.