University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Kansas City
UNI softball opens the 2026 season inside the UNI-Dome
2/5/2026 3:03:00 PM | Softball
UNI softball (0-0 / 0-0 MVC) at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic
- UNI-Dome | Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Kansas City | Feb. 6 | 3 p.m.
- Omaha | Feb. 7 | 4:30 p.m.
- Butler | Feb. 7 | 7 p.m.
- Kansas City | Feb. 8 | 12:30 p.m.
- Iowa State | Feb. 8 | 3 p.m.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The 53rd season of UNI softball opens on Friday, February 6, with the 2026 Doc Halverson Classic. This season, the annual tournament held in the UNI-Dome features the Panthers, Iowa State, Omaha, Butler, and Kansas City. 12 games across three days of action open the 2026 softball season inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
The Panthers open the softball season with a matchup against Kansas City on Friday, February 6. This will be the 19th meeting between these two teams, with the last coming in the final game of the 2018 Doc Halverson Classic. Kansas City was victorious in that matchup by a 4-3 final, but UNI holds the all-time record with a 15-3 record.
Two games on Saturday for the Cats see UNI take on Omaha and Butler, two programs familiar with the Doc Halverson Classic. The Panthers split a pair of matchups with the Omaha Mavericks in last season's Doc Halverson, which saw a 13-10 loss before a 4-1 victory over the Mavericks who were receiving votes to open the season. UNI is 7-0 all-time against Butler, with the programs' last meeting coming in 2024's Doc Halverson. UNI won that matchup, 1-0.
The Panthers close the weekend on Sunday with their second matchup against Kansas City and a contest against in-state rival Iowa State. The Cyclones are back in the UNI-Dome for the first time since taking part in the Doc Halverson Classic in 2023. Iowa State holds the all-time record against the Panthers at 39-50-1, including the last four straight. The Panthers' last victory over Iowa State was at Iowa State in 2022.
Six new faces grace the Panther roster, including two transfers and four freshmen. Kelsey Endress joins the Cats after a three-year career at Florida Atlantic, while Peyton Johnson spent a pair of seasons at Kirkwood Community College before transferring to UNI.
The Panthers return four All-Valley honorees from a season ago, including 2025 All-Defensive team honoree Ella Smithson and All-Conference honorees Kate Lappe, Skylar Benesh, and Anna Wischnowski. UNI also returns the Missouri Valley Conference MVP, Kate Lappe.
Kate Lappe is coming off a season that saw her finish the 2025 campaign with 61 hits, 34 runs, and 48 RBIs for a .433 batting average and a .915 slugging percentage. Her 19 home runs are tied for second on UNI's single-season home runs record list while her batting average and slugging percentage are second in each single-season category along with her .542 on-base percentage. Through the MVC Tournament, Lappe led the league in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases and was second in home runs per game, RBIs, RBIs per game, and total walks. She was named MVC Player of the Week twice and D1Softball. com National Player of the Week once during the 2025 regular season.
Last season the Panthers broke three team records, including home runs (79), walks (, 244), and stolen bases (94). UNI was ninth in the nation last season with 1.58 home runs per game, 10th with 244 total walks, and 22nd with 94 total stolen bases.
UNI recorded its sixth straight season (excluding COVID-19 2020 season) at .500 or better in conference play as well as top three in the league. After the weekend against Valparaiso, the Panthers have won 121 conference matchups in that span to just 34 MVC losses. Coach Jacobs is two conference victories away from moving up to no. 5 on the Valley's all-time MVC wins chart, which is now occupied by Brent Vigness (CU, 1994-2013) with 282 Valley victories.
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UNI softball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Softball), X (@UNISoftball), and on Instagram (@unisoftball). The 2026 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
