Virginia softball is coming off a winning season, filled with several player and team accomplishments. On the eve of its 46th season, they are ranked by multiple polling outlets and expectations are rather high — will the Cavaliers be able to live up to these expectations?
This time last year, Virginia was ranked No. 24 by Softball America. Among other media outlets, the team found itself in the top 30, revealing the sport world’s faith in the Cavaliers to be a serious contender in the ACC and potentially make a deep run into June. But Virginia did not make it to June — in fact, they barely made it halfway through May.
Despite a successful regular season, finishing 35-16 overall, Virginia stumbled in the ACC Tournament. The ACC is a tough conference, being home to several nationally-ranked teams in 2025, such as No. 21 Virginia Tech, No. 19 Duke and No. 7 Florida State. Still, being a second-round out to then No. 15 Clemson was disappointing.
Even so, Virginia played well enough to make it to the Columbia Super-Regional for NCAAs, where they faced an unranked North Florida in the opening round, losing 2-1. They were then double-eliminated by that same North Florida team, in another close game, 6-5. The elimination came as a shock since the Cavaliers were considered to be in a less-competitive tournament compared to their ACC counterparts.
With all this in mind, there’s no denying that Virginia softball finds itself in a precarious situation. The team has now had four winning seasons in a row, each one better than the last, but has no hardware to show for it. This is not to say that the progress should be overlooked — it is something to be celebrated — but for a team to remain on the national stage, they must continuously make runs that prove that they deserve to be there. This promising, yet inconsistent track record, leaves fans to wonder whether this will be the season Virginia will finally run all the way.
So far, all signs point to maybe. Only three players from the Cavalier’s starting line-up have returned, leaving big shoes for underclassmen and incoming freshmen to fill. However, three returning players are game-changers on both sides of the ball, and in leadership — junior infielders Bella Cabral and Macee Eaton, and senior infielder Jade Hylton. All three are power-hitters, each averaging over .300 last season, and notably play the hotspots of the field in third base, first base and shortstop, respectively.
In addition to these infielders, Virginia managed to retain all but one pitcher, including star senior pitcher Eden Bigham. Both Bigham and Hylton earned pre-season All-ACC Honors and top 100 national rankings, Bigham coming in at No. 66 and Hylton at No. 45.
Having this familiarity on the mound and on the field will surely help, but cannot provide full comfort. The Cavaliers only have two returning outfielders with experience, seniors Kelsey Hackett and Kassidy Hudson, and are lacking a catcher that has significant starting time — the team is bound to experience significant growing pains in early matchups.
Schedule-wise, Virginia does avoid Florida State and Stanford this year, two series they dropped last season. The Cavaliers will still have to face Duke and Clemson in April, two pre-season ranked opponents. In fact, the entirety of their April series will be difficult ones, with the Commonwealth Clash against Virginia Tech and a showdown against NC State to close out ACC play. Although it will be a tough way to finish the regular season, it does mean that Virginia will have ample time to work out growing pains with an easier opening schedule.
Despite this potential, the real problem may present itself in the postseason for the Cavaliers. With a history of losing one-point games and a pattern of not being able to close in high pressure moments, Virginia still may not be able to go far. As mentioned earlier, the North Florida losses were ones characterized by inning-to-inning inconsistency, and the bullpen giving up a lead of four in the sixth inning. Many other losses during the 2025 season could also be attributed to the lack of finishing, an issue that this year’s team would need to solve.
So, will the moment be too big for the Cavaliers?
The media seems to believe otherwise, but time will tell. It would not be surprising if Virginia ends up underperforming this season due to the amount of new additions to its roster, but there is plenty of opportunity for lineup and position changes throughout early invitational tournaments, as well as time for a pitcher to emerge for the No. 2 spot in the rotation.
Ultimately the No. 25 ranking is optimistic. However, the Cavaliers are known for their heart and fearless leadership, often accrediting their wins to it. If that determination remains, all of the doubts listed above may just be dismissed — or, like last season, they may be proven.
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