KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- In the past 49 years of Western Michigan University softball, many, many good memories have been achieved, such as making eight national postseason tournament appearances.

Head coach Marlee Wilson and her 22-player roster are looking to make more of those good memories in this the 50^th season.

"In the Mid-American Conference, I feel we can finish at the top,'' Wilson, in her third season as head coach, said. "We have a strong pitching staff, a strong catching staff, a strong offense and good depth.''

The 2026 Broncos (16-36 overall, 10-17 MAC last season) are a young group with just five seniors. WMU opens the season Friday with a three-day tournament at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. They also play tournaments at the University of South Alabama, Western Kentucky and Austin Peay before having games against Ohio State and Dayton before opening MAC play at defending champion Miami on March 13-14.

"We've added a lot of great talent which will be overseen in the preseason MAC poll,'' Wilson said. "We will definitely use that to our advantage this season."

One of those talented seniors had an outstanding season last year. Do-everything Tristen Head was first-team All-MAC who played in numerous positions on the field. As a catcher-first baseman-outfielder-designated player, she hit .395, driving in 15 runs. She added eight doubles, four home runs and 32 hits.

"I'm looking to do that and more this season,'' Head, the senior, who transferred from Tennessee Tech before last season, said. "I really want to be a leader for the younger players, get to be All-MAC and All-Region this year.''

The Broncos have three returning pitchers and three freshmen. The returners are sophomore Kaylee Salyer (30 appearances,16 starts last year), junior Casey Fazzini (31 appearances) and senior Jadeyn Merrill (nine appearances). The freshmen are Bella Duncan, Ava Geyer and Hannah Potts.

"Our pitching staff provides complimentary options that we can use to keep teams off balance, and we have pitchers who can go deep into games,'' Wilson said. "They can throw complete games early in the season and definitely when we get into conference games.''

Besides Head and redshirt junior Jordan Smith, the catchers are Kendall Kotzmacher and Liliana Janeczko, both freshmen.

"We have a lot of young talent with three freshmen pitchers and two freshmen catchers and we are excited to see how they all work together in our preseason tournaments,'' Wilson said.

"I've caught some of the freshmen in scrimmages and I'm excited to see what they will do in games,'' Head said. "In the preseason tournaments, for the team, I just want to get comfortable playing in games and get some wins under our belts.

"I want winning to be routine.''

Just as in her first two seasons, Wilson loves having players who can be used at different positions, and she has that this season.

"Most of our pitchers also hit and play another position which allows lineup flexibility,'' she said. "Hitting can be inconsistent, so finding who is hitting and when is a key.''

Wilson is looking at Jordan Smith, senior Riley Chumbley and any of the freshmen, Duncan, Geyer, Potts, Janeczko and Kotzmacher at first. At second are Duncan, sophomore Corinne Martz, junior Caitlin Tighe, senior Haleigh Smith and sophomore Michigan State transfer Hannah Herman. At third are Herman, Janeczko, Haleigh Smith and junior Analeez Niles. At shortstop are Tighe, Herman, Kotzmacher and Haleigh Smith.

In the outfield it could be Head, senior Emily Yacapraro, sophomore Parker Ostach, junior Megan Malartsik, junior Emily Lampela, sophomore Rylee O'Brien and other players.

Wilson's coaching staff includes returners Morgan VanderBor and Erika Kloosterman along with new assistant coach Mike Wallace.

The MAC postseason tournament format will be the same as last season in that the top six teams in regular season play advance with the top two teams getting a bye. The winner receives the MAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

"This group wants to win the season and get the bye,'' Wilson said. "It's one less game to play and one more day off.''

And another chance to make memories.

The Broncos will begin making memories at the Blue Hose Invitational starting on Friday, Feb.6 through Sunday, Feb. 8. WMU will play four games over the course of three days, starting with a game against the Dayton Flyers at 2:15 p.m. The Brown and Gold will play two games on Saturday staring with the Morehead State Eagles at 9:30 a.m., followed by the hosts Presbyterian at 2:00 p.m. Western Michigan will wrap up its first weekend of play with a game against the Le Moyne Dolphins at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. While none of the Broncos games will be streamed this weekend, fans can follow along with the tournament online through live stats at wmubroncos.com.