St. John’s to Open 2026 Campaign at Charleston Invitational

Friday, February 6

Charleston, S.C. (CSU Softball Complex)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

Siena

St. John’s to Open 2026 Campaign at Charleston Invitational

2/5/2026 2:00:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)2026 Record Book (PDF)

Reigning BIG EAST Regular Season Champions will kick-off 2026 campaign on Friday

QUEENS, N.Y. — The St. John's softball team is set to open the 2026 season in Mount Pleasant, S.C. at the Charleston Invitational. The Red Storm will facie five different opponents over the course of three days to open the campaign.

On Friday, the Red Storm will take on Siena at 12 p.m. before facing Charleston Southern at 5 p.m. The following day, St. John's will square off with Central Michigan at 12:30 p.m. ahead of its match-up with Charleston at 5:30 p.m. The Johnnies trip to South Carolina will conclude with a tilt against George Mason at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

The Johnnies' contest against Charleston Southern will be streamed on ESPN+, while the meeting with Charleston will be broadcast on FloSports. Live stats for all games will be provided on RedStormSports.com.

The opening weekend will mark the first five games of 20 straight road matchups to begin the 2026 campaign.

St. John's was predicted to finish first in the 2026 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. This marked the Red Storm's highest preseason ranking since 2018, when it was picked to win the conference for the second straight season.

Head Coach Michelle DePolo enters her third season at the helm of the St. John's softball program and 15^th as a head coach. In 2025, DePolo led the Johnnies to their fourth BIG EAST regular season title and achieved the highest win total in program history with 39 victories. Following the historic season, DePolo and assistant coaches Marissa Rizzi and Sean Crowell were honored with the 2025 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year award.

St. John's returns four All-BIG EAST selections led by the league's pitcher of the year and First Team selection Ana Serafinko. The junior ranked among the league's top two in ERA (2.25) and and broke a program record with 282 strikeouts. Serafinko is joined by fellow pitcher and All-BIG EAST First Team honoree Loreley Francia, who paced the conference with a 1.98 ERA and allowed just 34 hits as a junior. The veteran group also features All-BIG EAST Second Team selections Jess Bianco and Madison Konopka. Bianco set single-season program records in runs scored (54) and hits (74) while batting .389, the second highest average on the team. Konopka delivered an impressive rookie campaign with 44 hits, six doubles and 23 runs. The Medford, N.J., native was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on March 17.

The Johnnies will first take on Siena, who enters 2026 after posting a 36-21-1 record last season. The Saints are led by returnees Emma Petersen and Gracie Goeway, who each earned All-MAAC honors after standout 2025 campaigns. Petersen led the MAAC in doubles with 21 as a junior, while Goeway finished second in the league in ERA (2.06) and tied a MAAC single-game record for strikeouts with 16 as a sophomore.

Following its matchup with the Saints, St. John's will battle Charleston Southern for the second straight season. The Buccaneers are coming off a 20-29 overall mark and 9-9 Big South record in 2025. Returning junior Jordyn Diamond enters her third season as a Buccaneer after being named to the 2026 Big South Preseason All-Conference Team. The Johnnies last faced Charleston Southern twice in 2024, splitting their series 1-1 at the CSU Blue / Gold Classic.

The Red Storm will kick off play on Saturday against Central Michigan for the second time in program history and first since March 1, 2019, when St. John's fell 3-2 at the Madeira Beach Invitational in Madeira, Fla. The Chippewas finished 26-25 overall last season with a 17-8 mark in the MAC.

The Johnnies then square off with Charleston later that day. The Cougars posted a 31-25 overall record and 20-7 mark in the Coastal Athletic Conference in 2025, witnessing a 21-win increase to their overall record from 2024. Head Coach Maggie Mrowka is in her first year at the helm of Charleston's softball program after serving as an assistant since 2023.

To wrap up the Charleston Invitational, St. John's will take on George Mason for the second time in program history on Sunday. The Johnnies captured the lone meeting 25 years ago, a 7-0 victory on Feb. 17, 2001. The Patriots finished last season with an 18-35 overall record and 9-16 mark in Atlantic-10 play.

After its time in South Carolina, St. John's will look ahead to The Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla., from Feb. 13-15. The Red Storm will square off against Alabama State, LIU, Bethune-Cookman and Southern Mississippi twice in the Sunshine State.