BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team officially opens the 2025 season this week with five games at the CUI Kickoff Classic in Irvine, California.

 

WWU opens the season ranked No. 2 in the NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll and was the unanimous pick to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title in a vote of the seven head coaches.

 

The Vikings are among the 23-team field in the season-opening tournament hosted by Concordia University Irvine at Great Park. WWU will play two games Friday and Saturday and close out the tournament Sunday. The Vikings are the reigning team champions of the event after going 4-0 last season.

 

WWU has a tough slate to open the season facing three consecutive teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships, including a rematch against Super Regional opponent Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday afternoon. The Vikings face Cal State East Bay, CSUDH and Azusa Pacific in the first three games of the season.

 

The Vikings are coming off a historic 52-win season that ended playing in the national championship series at the NCAA Division II World Series. After placing second in the GNAC during the regular season, WWU went on an incredible 18-game postseason run that concluded finishing as the national runner-up. Western hosted 11 postseason games at Viking Field, winning the GNAC Tournament, West Regional sub-regional and West Super Regional on its home field.

 

Having only lost five players from the 2024 squad, the Vikings return 75.6-percent of total hits (390 of 516), 81.6-percent of runs scored (240 of 294), 77.7-percent of extra base hits (115 of 148), 81.6-percent of home runs (40 of 49), all 52 pitching wins and all but 1/3 of an inning pitched from the pitching staff.

 

Back in the WWU lineup this spring are a pair of 2024 All-Americans in junior shortstop and GNAC Player of the Year Hailey Rath and sophomore pitcher Kaiana Kong. Rath posted a slash line of .336/.373/.539 with eight home runs and a GNAC-second best 52 RBIs, on her way to first-team all-conference recognition. Kong was second in the conference with an ERA of 1.39, third in opponents' batting average at .197 and led the league with 11 saves in her debut collegiate season. GNAC Championships Most Valuable Player Maleah Andrews is also back, after leading the GNAC in hits (74), runs (57), doubles (18), triples (4), total bases (124) and walks (39), while slashing .354/.456/.593 as a true freshman. The conference's 2024 home run and RBI leader returns as senior catcher Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez produced school records with 18 long balls and 56 RBI last spring.

 

WWU will play its first 16 games of the season away from Bellingham before hosting Simon Fraser in a non-conference doubleheader on March 1 for the home opener at Viking Field. 

 

Here is a detailed look at WWU's five-game schedule at the CUI Kickoff Classic. A very informative tournament website is available at CUIGoldenEagles.com, which includes important fan information in regards to tickets and field locations. All games will feature live statistical updates online with links listed below:

 

 

WWU became the first team since the GNAC was founded in 2001 to reach the NCAA Division II Softball World Series in 2024. The Vikings finished second in the GNAC regular-season standings with a league record of 19-5, before going 3-0 on their home field to capture the program's third GNAC Championships tournament trophy. From there, the Vikings went 4-1 at the West Regional and defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-1 in a three-game super regional series to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Vikings set the GNAC record for consecutive wins to start a season with 13, broke the school record with a midseason, 17-game winning streak and shattered the previous program record for wins in a season which was 34. WWU's 52 wins were 4th-most in GNAC history, and the most by a conference team since Humboldt State won 54 games in 2006.

 

Seventh-year head coach Sheryl Gilmore returns nearly the entire squad from last year's historic run to the national championship series, with 17 of 22 players on the roster appearing last season. Gilmore has built a 167-103 record in her six seasons at the helm of the program and led the Vikings to a pair of GNAC Tournament titles in 2021 and 2024. Gilmore's coaching staff includes three former Vikings – Shearyna Labasan, Ashley Jacobson, Hanako Hirai – and former University of Washington standout and longtime Bellevue College head coach Leah Francis.

 

WWU is now 14-18 all-time in season openers since the inaugural season in 1993. The Vikings are 8-6 in their last 14 season openers dating back to 2011. The Vikings opened last season winning their first 13 games including a 4-0 showing at the CUI Kickoff Classic.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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This marks the Vikings fifth trip to the CUI Kickoff Classic in Irvine, California. In four previous trips in 2020 (1-4), 2022 (2-3), 2023 (2-3) and 2024 (4-0) WWU has combined to go 9-10 in the CUI Kickoff Classic.

 

Here is a look at WWU's all-time record against opponents in the CUI Kickoff Classic:

 

• Cal State East Bay: WWU leads series 8-2 with last meeting a 6-1 Western victory at the Tournament of Champions on April 1, 2023 in Turlock, California…WWU has won 5 of last 6 vs. the Pioneers…Cal State East Bay advanced to the Bellingham regional last season.
• Cal State Dominguez Hills: Rematch of 2024 Super Regional in Bellingham, with WWU winning two of three to advance to the NCAA II World Series, including a come-from-behind 7-6 walk-off victory in extra innings in the super regional final…CSUDH leads the all-time series 14-11.
• Azusa Pacific: WWU leads the all-time series 7-2 with a current 3-game winning streak…Vikings defeated the Cougars 1-0 and 3-0 in the NCAA West Regional in Bellingham last season.
• Vanguard: First meeting between WWU and Vanguard.
• Cal State San Bernardino: Vikings lead the all-time series 13-9 with four wins in the last five meetings…WWU defeated CSUSB 9-2 last season at the Tournament of Champions.

 

The Vikings return a majority of the team from last season's run at the national title, with the following breakdown of statistics returning for 2025:

 

 

Here is a complete listing of the 2025 NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll with the Vikings entering the season No. 2 in the rankings after finishing the 2024 season as the national runner-up:

 

 

WWU opens the 2025 season as the team to beat in the GNAC, according to the conference's seven head coaches. Here is the detailed listing for the 2025 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll:

 

 

The conference schedule begins on March 7 and runs through the end of April, as teams compete for the top four spots in the standings to earn a spot in the 2025 GNAC Softball Championships held May 1-3 in Nampa, Idaho. The winner of the GNAC Championships earns the conference's automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA West Region Championships. The complete conference schedule with links to follow all GNAC games can be found online at GNACSports.com.

 

The 2025 season officially opens with five games at the CUI Kickoff Classic January 31-February 2 at Great Park in Irvine, California. WWU opens the season with three consecutive games against teams that advanced to the NCAA postseason including Cal State East Bay, No. 15 Cal State Dominguez Hills and Azusa Pacific. The Vikings home opener is scheduled for a March 1 doubleheader vs. Simon Fraser starting at 11 am at Viking Field in Bellingham. The complete schedule with links on how to follow the team can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/Team33.

 

The WWU softball program enters its 33rd season in 2025 while coming off a historic 52-12 season in 2024. The Vikings claimed their third GNAC title by winning the 2024 postseason tournament at Viking Field and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the sixth time in program history. Playing on its home field in the NCAA postseason for the first time, WWU won its first West Regional title defeating Cal State San Marcos in the sub-regional and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Super Regional. The historic season ended playing in the national championship series as part of the NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival in Longwood, Florida. WWU has posted a winning record 21 times during the 32-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title.