UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball program and head coach Clarisa Crowell announced adjustments to the Nittany Lions’ 2026 non-conference schedule on Wednesday afternoon.
The 2026 Penn State Softball Invitational, originally scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, March 5 through 8, has been canceled due to field conditions at Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field and projected inclement weather. The Nittany Lions were slated to host Lehigh, Binghamton, Colgate and Niagara over the four-day event, with PSU scheduled to compete in five of the weekend’s 12 contests. Penn State’s 2026 home opener will now be contested in the opening matchup of a three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series against the Wisconsin Badgers, beginning on Friday, March 20 at 5 p.m. (ET).
In place of the home tournament, Penn State will travel to Salem, Virginia, and the James I. Moyer Sports Complex to compete in the Hokie Invite, a neutral-site event hosted by Virginia Tech. The Nittany Lions will return to the Hokie Invite for the second year in a row, publishing a 3-2 mark a season ago with wins over Robert Morris, Radford and Villanova. The 2026 edition of the event will see PSU play a pair of contests on Friday, March 6, with matchups against the Radford Highlanders at 1 p.m. (ET), followed by a 3:30 p.m. (ET) rematch of an opening day test with the Boston College Eagles. Play will conclude on Saturday, March 7, with a 1 p.m. (ET) game against the James Madison Dukes, followed by a 3:30 p.m. (ET) scheduled start against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Penn State, which was receiving votes in the latest NFCA/GoRout Division I Coaches Poll, continues its season-opening travels later this weekend, Friday through Sunday, February 27 through March 1, as the Blue & White head to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Tennessee Invitational. PSU will play five games over the weekend tournament against the No. 1 Tennessee Lady Volunteers, N.C. Central Eagles and Appalachian State Mountaineers, with both games against top-ranked UT slated for streaming via SEC Network+.
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The 2026 Penn State softball season is presented by Highmark.