UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Following the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 and one of the winningest seasons in school history, Penn State softball head coach Clarisa Crowell announced the 2025 Nittany Lion schedule ahead of the program’s 60th anniversary season. The team’s schedule features a 51-game regular season slate with 16 contests at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
"It is with great pleasure that we announce our 2025 schedule, and our staff and student athletes are extremely excited about the upcoming season,” Crowell stated. “With a mix of strong non-conference matchups and competitive Big Ten play, we are ready to embrace every opportunity to grow and compete at the highest level. Our program is coming off a successful 2024 season, and our team is looking forward to continuing to build on that success in 2025. We are thankful for the support of our fans and supporters, and we look forward to seeing everyone this spring.”
PSU will square off in 16 contests against 11 opponents that reached the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, with four of those challengers advancing to the Super Regional round and an additional pair of teams reaching the 2024 Women’s College World Series. Both Penn State opponents that reached the WCWS finished tied for seventh, with Duke going 0-2 in Oklahoma City with losses to Alabama and eventual national champion Oklahoma, while PSU foe Oklahoma State dropped World Series games to Florida and Stanford. The 51-game Nittany Lion schedule features opponents from all four power conferences in addition to a trio of defending 2024 conference champions in ACC champion Duke, Big East victor Villanova and NEC titlist Saint Francis.
The Blue & White open the program’s 60th anniversary season on the road at the 2024 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic from the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida, with a quintet of nationally significant non-conference matchups. PSU opens the 2025 campaign with a pair of contests on Friday, February 7, squaring off against WCWS foe Duke in addition to regional participant Mississippi State. Action continues with a pair of games Saturday, February 8, against super regional host Missouri followed by a battle against Kennesaw State. Opening weekend concludes on Sunday, February 9 in Clearwater, with a contest against ACC foe Notre Dame set to close the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
Penn State returns to the Sunshine State of Florida the following week for a tournament hosted by USF, with a Valentine’s Day twin bill against St. John’s and host USF on Friday, February 14. The Nittany Lions face Loyola Chicago on Saturday, February 15, with games against two of the weekend’s prior three challengers dependent on each team’s respective finish in the round robin portion of the weekend schedule slated for later Saturday and Sunday, February 15 and 16.
The Nittany Lions continue their season-opening travels with a weekend tournament beginning Friday, February 21, and concluding Sunday, February 23, hosted by the LSU Tigers from Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Friday’s fixtures feature Nicholls and host LSU, followed by a Saturday slate against Southern Miss and Nicholls before Sunday’s finale against Southern Miss. The following week, Penn State’s skipper returns to her alma mater of Virginia Tech, as VT hosts the Hokie Invite from the James I. Moyer Complex in Salem, Virginia, the weekend of February 28 to March 2. Penn State battles Radford and Keystone State rival Villanova on Friday, followed by games against James Madison and Virginia Tech Saturday before wrapping play against Queens on Sunday.
Penn State opens its 15th season of action at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field the weekend of March 7 through 9, as the Nittany Lions welcome a slate of northeastern opponents for the fourth edition of the annual Penn State Softball Invitational. PSU’s home opener is slated for 5 p.m. (ET) Friday night against Canisius, with a pair of matchups Saturday against Fairfield and Lafayette before closing the weekend against Fairfield on Sunday.
PSU begins its 34th season as a member of the Big Ten Conference in softball and travels to the host site of the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as the venue welcomes a slate of neutral Big Ten squads for B1G Softball x Devon Park. The Nittany Lions participate in a pair of two-game series Thursday through Sunday, March 13 through 16, as PSU faces off against defending B1G regular season champion Northwestern in addition to a second mini-series with Minnesota to close out the week.
Routine Big Ten Conference competition begins with a three-game weekend series on the road against the Indiana Hoosiers from Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington, Indiana, with action beginning Friday and concluding Sunday, March 21 through 23. The Nittany Lions then take a one-week hiatus from league competition and travel south to Atlanta, Georgia, for a pair of tests against defending WCWS foe Oklahoma State followed by a true road matchup against Georgia Tech on Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30.
Nittany Lion Softball Park prepares for its longest continuous stretch of home competitions in the campaign beginning on April Fool’s Day, with PSU hosting a Tuesday night midweek against the Bucknell Bison. The Nittany Lions’ B1G home-opening series against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights is scheduled for the weekend of Friday through Sunday, April 4 through 6. Fellow regional participant Saint Francis returns to Happy Valley for a midweek battle on Tuesday, April 8, before PSU hosts its second straight B1G series against the rival Ohio State Buckeyes on April 11 through 13. Following a one-day break, the Blue & White welcome the in-state rival Pittsburgh Panthers for the institutions’ annual midweek challenge on Tuesday, April 15, completing the nine-game homestand.
Penn State hits the road for the next two Big Ten Conference weekend series, with the Nittany Lions playing an adjusted series beginning Saturday, April 19 and concluding Monday, April 21, on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes from the Iowa Softball Complex. PSU’s final road series of the year comes in College Park, Maryland, against the border-foe Maryland Terrapins the weekend of Friday through Sunday, April 25 through 27. The final weekend of the 2025 regular season campaign features one of the three new B1G institutions that sponsor softball, as the perennial powerhouse Washington Huskies head to Nittany Lion Softball Park for Senior Weekend on Friday through Sunday, April 2 through 4. PSU’s Senior Day presented by the Penn State Alumni Association is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, April 4, at 1 p.m. (ET) against the Huskies.
The 2025 postseason opens with the Big Ten Softball Tournament at Bittinger Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. First Round games begin on Wednesday, May 7, with quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship game following on consecutive days ending with the league final on Saturday, May 10. The NCAA Division I Softball Tournament selection show is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 11, with regional action to begin on the campus sites of the top 16 seeds the weekend of Friday through Sunday, May 16 through 18. The advancing teams from each regional head to Super Regional sites the weekend of May 23 through 25, with the nation’s eight remaining programs heading to the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, beginning Thursday, May 29 with action to conclude at the latest on Friday, June 6.
To view the 2025 Penn State softball schedule online in its entirety, click the link here.
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