Rock Hill, S.C.—After leading the Winthrop softball program to the Big South Conference championship game in her first season, second-year head coach Windy Thees has put together a challenging schedule for the 2020 season.
 
The schedule includes 24 Big South Conference contests, 19 home games, and five competitive tournaments. The season begins with a typical layout for a schedule with five tournaments with a couple of midweek matchups sprinkled in until the Eagles open conference play Mar. 20-21.
 
Among the opponents in 2020, eight of the teams finished in the Top 3 of their respective conference standings and five of them played in a conference tournament championship game.
 
Top 100 RPI Opponents (7)
South Carolina (22), Longwood (63), UNC Greensboro (73), Coastal Carolina (74), USC Upstate (76), Eastern Kentucky (82), UT Chattanooga (98)
 
2019 NCAA Postseason Participants
Eagles face four teams that made it to the NCAA Regionals in 2019. Longwood, Monmouth and UTC each earned automatic bids for winning a conference tournament championship while South Carolina earned an at-large selection making it seven straight years to the regionals. George Washington and Eastern Kentucky participated in the 2019 National Invitational Softball Championship.
 
Glance At Tournament Action
Samford Tournament (Feb. 7-9)
Location: Birmingham, AL
Opponents: Akron (Feb. 7/8), Samford (Feb. 7), Eastern Illinois (Feb. 8/9)
 
Winthrop Tournament (Feb. 14-16)
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Opponents: Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 14), Virginia (Feb. 14), Georgetown (Feb. 15), Holy Cross (Feb. 15), Towson (Feb. 16)
 
Green & White Classic (Feb. 21-23)
Location: Charlotte, NC
Opponents: Delaware State (Feb. 21/22), Charlotte (Feb. 22/23)
 
Buff & Blue Challenge (Mar. 6-8)
Location: Washington, D.C.
Opponents: Monmouth (Mar. 6/7), George Washington (Mar. 6/7), Rider (Mar. 7/8)
 
Clearwater Spring Break Invitational (Mar. 12-15)
Location: Clearwater, FL
Opponents: Penn State, Providence, Army, UT Chattanooga
 
Welcome To Terry Field
Eagles will play 19 home games this season highlighted by hosting a tournament Feb. 14-16 that features Eastern Kentucky, Virginia, Georgetown, Holy Cross and Towson. Other non-conference home games include Coastal Carolina (Mar. 4), and UNC Greensboro (Mar. 18). Winthrop will host Hampton, Campbell, Radford, and Charleston Southern in home series during league play.
 
Big South Outlook
The race for the Big South Conference Championship should shape up to be another exciting and competitive chase. Winthrop reached conference title game in 2019 and won the first game before falling to Longwood in the if-necessary game. The Lancers were the regular season and conference tournament champions. USC Upstate, which finished with 41 wins in 2019, was second in the league standings ahead of Campbell and Winthrop (both finished with 14 league wins).
Longwood beat out USC Upstate for the regular season title but 3^rd place to 6^th place were separated by just two wins. With 16-of-29 all-conference selections slated to return to the league, it will likely be equally or more competitive in 2020.
The 2020 Big South Championship will be May 6-9 in Boiling Springs, NC, hosted by Gardner-Webb. The Eagles will be in action at Gardner-Webb in their final regular series of the year before heading to the championship.
 
First Time Matchups
Winthrop has 22 non-conference opponents scheduled with three matchups against teams for the first time. Clemson is set for its inaugural season for softball while the Eagles are also face Georgetown and Army for the first time.
 
For everything Winthrop softball visit www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or www.facebook.com/Winthrop-Softball.