The 2026 Clemson Tigers softball team was the varsity college softball team that represented Clemson University during the 2026 NCAA Division I softball season. This was the seventh season of Clemson's softball program. The Tigers competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and were led by head coach John Rittman, in his seventh season. Clemson played its home games at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
Clemson began the season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida. They went 3–2 overall in the tournament, defeating fifth-ranked and twenty-first ranked but losing to un-ranked and . This saw the Tigers fall from ranked thirteenth in the nation to eighteenth. They defeated before traveling to San Marcos, Texas to participate in the Bobcat Tournament. The team went 2–2 in the tournament, losing their only game against a ranked opponent, ninth-ranked Arkansas. The results saw them fall to twenty-third in the rankings. Clemson then hosted the Clemson Classic, where they won all four games to finish as tournament champions. Despite the tournament victory, a loss to caused the team to fall to twenty-fifth in the rankings. The Tigers won a non-tournament game at fifteenth-ranked Georgia before going 2–2 in the Tiger Invitational. They split two games against twelfth-ranked Mississippi State during the tournament. They began ACC play against , and won their opening series two games to one. The win saw the Tigers rise to twenty-fourth in the rankings where they defeated and beat in an ACC series 2–1. The loss saw the team slip to twenty-fifth in the rankings. Another 3–1 week saw the Tigers fall out of the rankings. They defeated rivals and twenty-third ranked before being swept in an ACC series against eighth-ranked . They ended March with a defeat of . They began April with back-to-back road ACC series. They lost against eleventh-ranked 1–2 and defeated 2–1. They lost a rivalry re-match against South Carolina before sweeping eighteenth ranked . They won their final non-conference game of the season over before losing their final ACC series of the year against fourteenth-ranked .
The Tigers finished the regular season 32–19 and 13–11 in ACC play to finish in seventh place. The seventh-place finish was the worst in club history, and the thirteen wins were their lowest total outside of the pandemic shortened 2020 season. As the seventh seed in the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference softball tournament, they were defeated 2–4 by tenth-seed . The Tigers were awarded an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I softball tournament. They were an unseeded team and were placed in the Athens Regional. The Tigers lost the opening game against before defeating and winning a rematch against UNC Greensboro. This saw them needing to win two games in a row against ten seed and sixteenth-ranked Georgia in order to advance to the Super Regional. Despite defeating Georgia during the regular season, the Tigers lost the post-season game 0–5 to end the season. The Tigers finished with a 34–22 overall record, which was both a program low for wins and program high for losses during full seasons.
Previous season
The Tigers finished the regular season 41–12 and 19–6 in ACC play to finish in second place, just a half game behind Florida State for first place. As the second seed in the ACC Tournament they earned a bye into the Quarterfinals where they defeated twenty-fifth ranked and seventh seed 7–4. In the semifinals they defeated third seed and thirteenth ranked 10–9. They met first seed and sixth ranked Florida State in the Final, which Clemson won 2–1. This was the first ACC tournament title in Clemson program history. As tournament champions, the Tigers earned an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament. They were the eleventh overall seed and paired with sixth overall seed Texas in the Austin Super Regional. Clemson went 3–0 in their regional, defeating by mercy rule, in extra innings, and 5–1 in the final game. They advanced to face Texas in Austin. The Tigers won the opening game 7–4 but lost the next game 7–5 in ten innings to set up a deciding game three. The Tigers lost a close deciding game 6–5 to end their season. Texas would go on to win the National Championship. The Tigers finished 48–13 overall, which was just one win shy of their program record set in 2023.
Offseason moves
Departures Departures R/R 2 RHP 5'10" Locust Grove, GA Graduated L/R 4 C/UTL 5'9" Mission Viejo, CA Graduated L/R 7 RHP 5'11" Evans, GA Graduated R/R 11 INF 5'5" Duncan, SC Transferred to North Greenville R/R 13 C/UTL 5'9" Snow Camp, NC Graduated R/R 19 RHP 5'5" Hudson Bay, Canada Graduated L/L 21 OF 5'8" Lithia, FL Graduated L/R 25 INF 5'7" Savannah, GA Graduated R/R 28 INF 5'7" Loomis, CA Graduated
Incoming transfers Incoming transfers R/R 2 INF 5'4" Keystone Heights, FL Florida Atlantic R/R 4 RHP 5'4" Chicago, IL Boston College R/R 7 RHP 5'7" Woodruff, SC USC Upstate R/R 99 C/1B 5'9" San Jose, CA Oklahoma
Incoming recruits Incoming Recruits L/L 11 1B/OF 5'8" Canton, GA Cherokee R/R 15 RHP 5'10" Aynor, SC Aynor R/R 23 C/3B 5'9" Poway, CA Poway R/R 33 RHP 5'10" Harmony, PA Seneca Valley R/R 37 OF 5'10" Fort Mill, SC Catawba Ridge R/R 43 RHP 5'7" New Caney, TX Woodlands Christian R/R 66 INF 5'9" Miami Springs, FL Doral Academy
Roster
Schedule Legend Clemson win Clemson loss CancellationBoldClemson team member * Non-Conference game † Make-Up Game
2026 Clemson Tigers softball game log Regular season (32–19) February (13–6) Date Time (ET) Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord ACCRecord Feb 5 7:00 p.m. vs Southeastern Louisiana* No. 13 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL(NFCA Leadoff Classic) W 5–3 Dunning (1–0) Oubre (0–1) Maness (1) 250 1–0 – Feb 6 4:00 p.m. vs No. 5 * No. 13 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL(NFCA Leadoff Classic) W 6–5 Dunning (2–0) Grein (0–1) Maness (2) 431 2–0 – Feb 6 7:00 p.m. vs No. 21 * No. 13 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL(NFCA Leadoff Classic) W 9–4 Maness (1–0) Love (0–1) None 543 3–0 – Feb 7 3:00 p.m. vs * No. 13 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL(NFCA Leadoff Classic) L 5–10 Harrison (2–0) Dunning (2–1) None 543 3–1 – Feb 8 10:00 a.m. vs * No. 13 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL(NFCA Leadoff Classic) L 2–5 Cassady (1–1) Hames (0–1) None 465 3–2 – Feb 10 6:00 p.m. * No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 9–1 Dunning (3–1) Embler (0–3) None 1,587 4–2 – Feb 12 6:00 p.m. at * No. 18 Bobcat Softball Stadium • San Marcos, TX(Bobcat Tournament) L 0–4 Azua (2–2) Maness (1–1) None 754 4–3 – Feb 13 5:45 p.m. vs No. 9 Arkansas* No. 18 Bobcat Softball Stadium • San Marcos, TX(Bobcat Tournament) L 0–12 Herron (3–0) Dunning (3–2) None N/A 4–4 – Feb 13 8:00 p.m. vs * No. 18 Bobcat Softball Stadium • San Marcos, TX(Bobcat Tournament) W 7–0 Crosby (1–0) Mares (1–1) None 230 5–4 – Feb 15 10:00 a.m. vs * No. 18 Bobcat Softball Stadium • San Marcos, TX(Bobcat Tournament) W 9–3 Maness (2–1) Nihard (1–2) None N/A 6–4 – Feb 15 11:00 a.m. vs No. 9 Arkansas* No. 18 Bobcat Softball Stadium • San Marcos, TX(Bobcat Tournament) Canceled Feb 18 5:00 p.m. at * No. 23 Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium • Charlotte, NC L 3–8 Jones (4–1) Maness (2–2) None 400 6–5 – Feb 20 12:30 p.m. * No. 23 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Clemson Classic) W 8–0 Hames (1–1) Beam (1–4) None 1,529 7–5 – Feb 20 3:00 p.m. * No. 23 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Clemson Classic) W 8–0 Dunning (4–2) Henderson (3–3 None 1,785 8–5 – Feb 21 3:00 p.m. * No. 23 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Clemson Classic) W 8–0 Maness (3–2) Tanner (3–2) None 1,822 9–5 – Feb 22 12:30 p.m. Baylor* No. 23 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Clemson Classic) W 3–0 Maness (4–2) Creager (2–2) None 1,734 10–5 – Feb 25 6:00 p.m. at No. 15 Georgia* No. 25 Jack Turner Stadium • Athens, GA W 10–1 Maness (5–2) Roelling (5–3) None 1,000 11–5 – Feb 27 12:30 p.m. * No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Tiger Invitational) W 9–1 Hames (2–1) Greenwood (5–1) None 1,633 12–5 – Feb 27 3:00 p.m. * No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Tiger Invitational) L 7–8 Croft (1–0) Maness (5–3) None 1,782 12–6 – Feb 28 3:00 p.m. No. 12 Mississippi State* No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Tiger Invitational) W 3–0 Maness (6–3) Faircloth (6–1) None 1,923 13–6 – March (10–7) Date Time (ET) Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord ACCRecord Mar 1 12:30 p.m. No. 12 Mississippi State* No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC(Tiger Invitational) L 1–9 Goold (7–1) Hames (2–2) None 1,984 13–7 — Mar 4 6:00 p.m. * No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 7–0 Maness (7–3) Raymond (3–2) None 1,557 14–7 — Mar 6 6:00 p.m. No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 9–4 Maness (8–3) Coffield (1–1) None 1,903 15–7 1–0 Mar 7 1:00 p.m. Georgia Tech No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 1–0 Dunning (5–2) Coffield (1–2) None 1,816 16–7 2–0 Mar 8 6:00 p.m. Georgia Tech No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 3–4 Johnson (8–4) Dunning (5–3) Hilleary (1) 1,533 16–8 2–1 Mar 10 6:00 p.m. * No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 7–3 Maness (9–3) Cardenas (2–5) None 1,412 17–8 — Mar 13 4:00 p.m. * No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 8–6 Maness (10–3) Zabala (5–2) None 2,083 18–8 3–1 Mar 14 1:00 p.m. Louisville* No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 4–0 Dunning (6–3) Gohs (3–1) None 2,001 19–8 4–1 Mar 15 12:00 p.m. Louisville* No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 6–7 Gray (5–1) Dunning (6–4) None 1,704 19–9 4–2 Mar 18 5:00 p.m. at * No. 25 Catamount Softball Complex • Cullowhee, NC W 7–3 Maness (11–3) Batson (7–1) None 411 20–9 — Mar 20 6:00 p.m. at No. 25 Melissa Cook Stadium • Notre Dame, IN W 4–0 Maness (12–3) Kastor (3–8) None 354 21–9 5–2 Mar 21 1:00 p.m. at Notre Dame No. 25 Melissa Cook Stadium • Notre Dame, IN L 3–11 Hagan (1–0) Dunning (6–5) Kamzik (2) 534 21–10 5–3 Mar 22 12:00 p.m. at Notre Dame No. 25 Melissa Cook Stadium • Notre Dame, IN W 4–1 Maness (13–3) Weiss (6–6) None 280 22–10 6–3 Mar 25 7:30 p.m. at No. 23 * Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field • Columbia, SC(Rivalry) W 8–0 Maness (14–3) Lamb (4–5) None 1,647 23–10 — Mar 27 6:00 p.m. No. 8 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 1–4 Reid (4–1) Maness (14–4) Danley (1) 2,026 23–11 6–4 Mar 28 12:00 p.m. No. 8 Florida State McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 2–4 Danley (7–1) Dunning (6–6) None 2,116 23–12 6–5 Mar 29 6:00 p.m. No. 8 Florida State McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 3–7 Reid (5–1) Maness (14–5) None 1,912 23–13 6–6 Mar 31 6:00 p.m. * McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 12–4 Crosby (2–0) Frye (6–5) Dunning (1) 1,902 24–13 —