Season Review: 2026 Michigan Softball
6/27/2026 12:30:00 PM | Softball
• Record: 36-22 overall, 11-13 Big Ten Conference (T9th Place)
• Big Ten Tournament: Semifinals
• NCAA Tournament: NCAA Regional
The University of Michigan softball team closed out 2026 with a 36-22 overall record and showcased some of its best ball in the postseason. The Wolverines narrowly fell to eventual champion Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals before battling through the NCAA Regional, where they ultimately fell short in the championship game against host and perennial power Oklahoma.
Under the direction of head coach Bonnie Tholl, Michigan's offense took a step forward in 2026, punishing opposing pitching staffs to the tune of a .591 team slugging percentage, 79 home runs, 89 doubles and 16 triples. At the center of that surge was sophomore outfielder Lauren Putz, who posted one of the best offensive seasons in program history with a .435 batting average, 22 home runs and 80 RBI -- ranking second among U-M's single-season leaders in the latter two categories -- en route to NFCA All-America second team honors.
Team Highlights
• The Wolverines' power numbers jumped in 2026 with a .535 team slugging percentage on 89 doubles, 16 triples and 79 home runs -- the program's best slugging percentage (.591) and most homers (86) in a season since 2016. Michigan's 16 triples were the program's most since hitting 25 in 1993. Ten Wolverines posted at least one homer this season, with Putz leading the pack with a career-high 22. Of Michigan's top seven home run leaders, five posted career highs.
• Michigan posted the largest comeback victory in program history in the series finale at Northwestern (April 5), scoring 11 unanswered runs en route to an 11-9 win in the series rubber game. U-M trailed 9-0 after the second inning, then scored in four of the final five innings, including a three-run seventh, to tie the game and take the lead. Senior third baseman Maddie Erickson singled to score the tying run, and sophomore pinch runner Cece Thorington came home with the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice. It was also the largest comeback win in NCAA softball this season.
• The Wolverines boasted their lone walk-off win of the season with a 10-8 series opener against rival Ohio State (April 10). OSU scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a late 8-7 lead, but Michigan answered in the home half with junior outfielder Jenissa Conway's three-run walk-off homer. Conway, who had been hitless to that point in the game, blasted a first-pitch no-doubter into the right-field grandstand.
• Michigan reached the NCAA Regional championship game after earning back-to-back elimination games, including a 12-10 slugfest against Kansas to avenge its loss a day earlier. U-M rallied from an initial deficit, built a sizable advantage, then lost it as the Jayhawks scored four runs in the sixth to take a 10-9 lead. The Wolverines responded immediately, putting their first two batters on base in the home half before Conway blasted the game-winning three-run homer to left-center field.
• The 17th annual Michigan Softball Academy, held on April 23, raised more than $216,000 for the American Cancer Society. Since 2007, the Michigan softball program has raised nearly $2.5 million for the ACS (seven Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks, 17 academies). No college athletic program has raised more money for the American Cancer Society.
Individual Highlights
• Putz was named a 2026 NFCA All-American with an at-large selection to the second team. She is the 71st All-American in Michigan program history and the second member of her family, joining her mother, Kelsey [Kollen] Putz, a two-time All-American at second base, who was named to the first team in 2001 and the second team in 1999.
Putz, who was also named one of eight unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten first team, posted career highs in every offensive category, including batting average (.435), home runs (22) and RBI (80). Her home run and RBI numbers rank second among U-M's all-time single-season leaders, while she listed 11th nationally in RBI per game (1.38), 11th in slugging percentage (.959).
• Junior right-handed pitcher/first baseman Erin Hoehn boasted a big breakthrough season at the plate, ranking third on the team with a .362 batting average -- a 140-point improvement on her previous career best. Hoehn posted significant highs in all hitting categories, including 38 hits, seven homers and 33 RBI. She was named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region first team as a utility player -- and for the first time in her career.
• Conway ranked second nationally with nine triples on the season -- the most by a Wolverine player in 33 seasons -- and third in triples per game (.16). She tripled in back-to-back NCAA Regional elimination-game victories and tied the single-game program record with two triples and a pair of RBI in U-M's 9-8 win at No. 22 Arizona State (Feb. 20). Conway repeated as an NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honoree, earning third-team selection.
• Junior outfielder Ella Stephenson, who shares the program single-game record with two triples -- a feat she achieved in 2024 -- also tied the single-game doubles record when she went 4-for-4 in the second series game against Ohio State (April 11) and posted two-baggers in each of her first three at-bats. She was the first Michigan player to post three doubles in a game since Lauren Sweet in 2013.
• Sophomore RHP Kat Meyers threw the second no-hitter of her collegiate career in U-M's 8-0, five-inning win in spring break midweek action at Liberty (March 3). She posted two strikeouts, faced just one batter over the minimum and was just a second-inning walk away from a perfect game. Meyers previously threw a five-inning perfect game against North Carolina Central during last season's spring break trip.
Honors and Awards
Lauren
Putz
Erin
Hoehn
Jenissa
Conway
Madi
Ramey
National Fastpitch Coaches Association
All-America (Second Team): Lauren Putz
All-Great Lakes Region (First Team): Lauren Putz, Erin Hoehn
All-Great Lakes Region (Third Team): Jenissa Conway
Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten (First Team): Lauren Putz (unanimous)
Sportsmanship Award: Madi Ramey
Big Ten Player of the Week
Player: Lauren Putz (Feb. 16)
Academic All-Big Ten
Megan Beemer, So., Applied Exercise Science
Reganne Bennett, Jr., Applied Exercise Science
Jenissa Conway, Jr., Sport Management
Lexi Dellamonica, Jr., Communication and Media
Maddie Erickson, Sr., Biopsychology, Cognitive & Neuroscience
Avery Fantucci, Sr., Business Administration
Haley Ferguson, So., General Studies
Janelle Ilacqua, Sr., Economics
Indiana Langford, Sr., Biology, Health, & Society
Kat Meyers, So., Applied Exercise Science
Lauren Putz, So., Sport Management
Madi Ramey, Sr., General Studies
Ella Stephenson, Jr., Movement Science
Lilly Vallimont, Sr., Applied Exercise Science
