Leading Off
The Omaha softball squad heads to Tucson for the Bear Down Tournament, hosted by Arizona. The Mavericks are slated with three tough opponents in a six-game stretch from Friday, Feb. 16 through Sunday, Feb. 18. 

Weekend Schedule
Friday
vs. Long Beach State at 2 p.m.
vs. (RV) Arizona at 7 p.m.

Saturday
vs. Long Beach State at 10 a.m.
vs. #15/13 Arkansas at 12:30 p.m.

Sunday
vs. #15/13 Arkansas at 10 a.m.
vs. (RV) Arizona at 12:30 p.m.
Quick Hits

• The Mavericks had a hot start to the season, opening 4-0 at the UNI Dome Tournament. 

•  Newcomers Sydney Thomason and Sammy Schmidt made an immediate impact on day one. Freshman Sammy Schmidt had quite the collegiate debut with 3 RBIs, two hits, one run, and one triple. Thomason debuted with a triple during her first at-bat. 

•  Sydney Ross had a stellar performance at the Dome with eight RBIs, six runs, one double, and two homers off four hits. On the defensive side of the game, she had two assists and zero errors for a 1.00 fielding percentage.

• Shortstop, Maggie O'Brien, also had a notable weekend in the box. In 18 at-bats, O'Brien scored six runs and three RBIs off 10 hits. Against Drake on Sunday, the junior stole two bases. On the field, O'Brien had 13 assists and six putouts. 

•  In the circle Kamryn Meyer recorded her 800th career strikeout and Sydney Nuismer had her first shutout of the season. 

•  In the opening games of the season, the Mavericks came out strong defensively. With four double plays this weekend, the Mavericks rank ninth nationally for double plays per game. 

• The Omaha softball team enters the 2024 season as the defending Summit League Tournament Champions. In the Summit League Championship the Mavericks beat SDSU 1-0. With the program's first-ever D1 Championship title, they earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. In the Baton Rouge Regionals, they beat Prairie View A&M, marking the school's first-ever win in an NCAA game by a female program at.

• The Mavericks were tabbed second in the 2024 Summit League Preseason Poll with three first-place votes. Omaha finished last season 33-17 overall and 15-5 in conference play.

• Meyer returns to the circle for Omaha and was named a Preseason Athlete to Watch. Meyer was named to last season's All-Summit League First Team, All-Tournament Team and Summit League Tournament MVP leading the league in ERA (1.26) and strikeouts (283). Last season she became the Mavericks' all-time leader in strikeouts and is currently at 778. In the circle she made 35 appearances and 26 starts, pitching 18 complete games with five shutouts. Meyer finished the season with an 18-8 ledger in 189.1 innings of work.

• Tucker joins Meyer on the Preseason Athlete to Watch list for the second straight year. Tucker was named to the All-Summit League First Team and All-Tournament Team after starting in all 50 games at second base where she hit .364 with 60 hits, including eight doubles. Last season she tallied a team-high 60 hits with 20 RBI a .430 slugging percentage and was 14-for-15 on stolen bases. Tucker notched a .844 OPS in 165 at-bats with an on-base percentage of .414.

• On the mound last season, Meyer has pitched a statistical masterpiece of a season. Her 1.21 earned run average and 242 strikeouts leads the Summit League. Meyer was the winning pitcher in 14 of the Mavericks 29 regular season victories. The Senior ace also became the Mavericks all-time strikeout leader this season surpassing Cheris Kuster's 698 K's. A record that stood for 16 years. A 2023 three-time Softball Peak Pitcher of the week, Meyer's career strikeout total sits at 737.

• Omaha will play in five non-conference tournaments to start the year. The tournament action concludes in Omaha as the Mavericks host the Connie Claussen Classic at the beginning of March. 

• The Omaha softball team returns 16 letterwinners, including seven starters. Key starters returning include Kamryn Meyer, Sydney Ross, Lynsey Tucker, Sydney Nuismer, Maggie O'Brien, Marra Cramer, Emma Durr, and Ava Rongisch.

• Head coach Mike Heard enters his third season at the helm. He compiled a 65-31 overall record in his first two year. Over his eight-year head coaching career, Heard sits at 217-127.

SCOUTING Long Beach State 
Head Coach: Kim Sowder

Long Beach State opened the season 0-4 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. In four games they gave up 27 runs while only scoring 10. 

BEACHES TO WATCH
• Junior Shannon Haddad returns and will once again lead Long Beach State in the circle. The Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year in 2021 with an 8-0 record and a 2.05 ERA Haddad went 13-10 over 146.1 innings pitched, striking out 109 with a 2.10 ERA in 2023.

• Senior Sophia Fernandez earned All-Big West honors for the second straight season in 2023. Fernandez went 7-1 in Big West play with six starts, and held opponents to a Big West leading .149 hitting in conference play while posting a 1.25 ERA. Fernandez finished the year second on the team with 74.1 innings pitched, and was second in strikeouts while holding opponents to .216 hitting on the year. 

SCOUTING THE Arizona Wildcats
Head Coach: Caitlin Lowe

After an impressive 5-0 start to their season in the Candrea Classic, the Wildcats are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Poll. Four of the five opening games were won 8-0 in run-rule games and the first game was won 9-1 in five innings. 

WILDCATS TO WATCH
• In her first appearance as a Wildcat, freshman Brooke Mannon threw a combined perfect game with graduate Ali Blanchard against Lipscomb. Mannon pitched 4.0 innings and stuck out five batters in the five-inning game.
• Senior Carlie Scupin hit three home runs during opening weekend to lead the team. She finished the 2023 season with a .337 batting average to rank fifth on the team. Scupin totaled 10 doubles,
10 home runs, and 37 RBI

SCOUTING THE Arkansas Razorbacks
Head Coach: Courtney Deifel

The Razorbacks also had a hot start to the season, opening 4-1 at the Paradise Classic. Arkansas enters this weekend ranked No. 15 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and No. 13 in the ESPN poll. 

RAZORBACKS TO WATCH
• Sophomore center fielder Reagan Johnson powered Arkansas offensively at the Paradise Classic, hitting .500 (10-for-20) with five runs scored, three stolen bases and an RBI at leadoff. 
• Sophomore LHP Robyn Herron led the Hogs in the circle, hurling to a 2-1 record and a 1.02 ERA across 13.2 IP. Herron fanned 20 batters and allowed just two earned runs on seven hits, including one extra-base hit. 


K-UEEN KAMRYN
Kamryn Meyer, fifth year pitcher, hit the 800 mark on career strikeouts in the opening weekend of the 2024 season. In the national rankings, Meyer ranks third among all Division 1 pitchers for her 25 strikeouts and fifth for her 12.5 strikeouts per seven innings. 

In the National Rankings
Maggie O'Brien    - Batting Average (.556) - 57/94 ranked 
                             - Hits (10) - 16/100 ranked 
Sydney Thomason - Hits (9) - 29/100 ranked
                               - Home Runs (2) - 24/113 ranked 
                               - Total Bases (18) - 18/137 ranked 
Sydney Ross         - RBIs (8) - 28/28 ranked
                              - Runs Batted Per Game (2) - 10/148 ranked
                              - Runs per Game (1.50) - 23/121 ranked  
Sydney Nuismer    - Shutouts (1) - 4/4 ranked
Kamryn Meyer       - Strikeouts (25) - 3/134 ranked
                              - Strikeouts per Seven Innings (12.5) - 5/137 ranked