STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Coming off of a trip to the WAC Tournament championship game, Tarleton State Softball was voted to finish first in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while standout pitcher Shelby Schultz picked up three individual awards, including Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. 

For the first time in program history, Tarleton State was ranked No. 1 in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Texans received four first place votes, ranking five points ahead of California Baptist. 

Last season, the Texans made their first appearance in the WAC title game where they fell to Grand Canyon. The Purple and White amassed a D1 era high of 36 wins and earned the second seed in the WAC Tournament. This marked the third season in the D1 era that the Texans earned at least 30 wins. The Texans return 14 of their 27-woman roster for the 2026 season. 

"It's great to be preseason number one, but at the end of the day it means absolutely nothing," said head coach Mark Cumpian. "We are focused on getting better daily and focused only on what we can control. It's a long season and we are only focused on one day at a time." 

Following a big year and her WAC Freshman of the Year selection, Schultz has earned three more honorable titles: Preseason Co-Player of the Year, Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and Preseason All-WAC Team. She helped lead the Purple and White to their WAC Tournament appearance, pitching 8.1 innings in the title game against Grand Canyon. 

During her breakout season, the sophomore pitcher appeared in 33 games while starting 21. She finished the season nationally ranked 13th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.81), 21st in strikeouts per seven innings (8.4), and 30th in overall strikeouts (173), while leading the WAC in all three categories. 

"Shelby is very well deserving of the honors as she had a phenomenal year last year," said Cumpian. "She knows it's going to be a much tougher year as teams will have more film on her. She focused on adding more to her craft this year to make her more effective." 

The Texans are set to open their campaign on Friday, Feb. 6, at the Runnin' Bulldog Classic. They will play a total of five games over the weekend before returning home to host back-to-back tournaments. 

See the full list of WAC Preseason Awards below: 

2026 WAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll 

2026 WAC Preseason Co-Players of the Year 
Arianna Ramirez, Jr., IF, Southern Utah 
Shelby Schultz, So., LHP, Tarleton State 

2026 WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year 
Shelby Schultz, So., Tarleton State 

2026 Preseason All-WAC Team 
Ashlee Annett, Sr., 3B, California Baptist 
Miranda De Nava, So., RHP, California Baptist 
Matti Severns, Jr., Utl., California Baptist 
Arianna Ramirez, Jr., IF, Southern Utah 
Michaella Salvatierra, So., OF, Southern Utah 
Shelby Schultz, So., LHP, Tarleton State 
Kailee Bautista, Sr., C, UT Arlington 
Mia McNulty, Jr., C/Utl., UT Arlington 
LB Kahahawai-Kekona, Sr., SS/OF, Utah Tech 
Kinley Pappas, So., C/1B, Utah Tech 
Britney Moreno, Sr., IF, Utah Valley