Montclair, NJ- The Montclair State University softball program and Head Coach Nicole Degenhardt have revealed their 2026 schedule for the spring.
 
The 2026 slate will consist of 40 contests, 18 contests at MSU Softball Stadium, 12 road matchups, 10 neutral site contests, and 18 matchups in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). All matchups are doubleheaders, except for neutral-site matchups.
 
The first pitch of the season is set to take place on March 4 when the Red Hawks welcome FDU-Florham. After the opening double, Montclair will head down to Kissimmee, FL, to compete in the Spring Games. Their Spring Games slate will consist of Penn State-Berks and Benedictine (March 7), Wheaton and Aurora (March 8), a doubleheader with Worcester Polytechnic (March 10), Catholic and Carlow (March 11), and Dean and Loras (March 13).
 
When softball returns from Florida, it will play host to three non-conference doubleheaders against Stevens (March 18), Hunter (March 21), and Brooklyn (March 25), before opening its NJAC slate with the defending conference champions, Rowan (March 28). Montclair will remain on the road for a matchup with Kean on March 31, before hosting Farmingdale State on April 2.
 
The rest of the way will consist mostly of conference doubleheaders. They will host Rutgers-Newark (April 4), William Paterson (April 7), Rutgers-Camden (April 18), and The College of New Jersey (April 25). The Red Hawks will travel to take on Stockton (April 11), New Jersey City (April 14), and Ramapo (April 21). The lone and final non-conference doubleheader of the season will take place on April 14, at home against Baruch.
 
Effective in 2026, the New Jersey Athletic Conference will implement single-elimination quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, rather than a double-elimination round-robin format. The quarterfinals will take place on April 28, and the semifinals on April 30. The NJAC Championship will be a best two-out-of-three format to crown the conference champion. The NJAC Champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Montclair is coming off a 24-17 record in 2025 with a 9-9 record in the NJAC. They will look to build off a season that saw them earn the six seed in the conference and earn their first playoff victory since 2019.