Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop is back home March 6-March 8 as it hosts ETSU, Georgia State, and Bucknell for the Winthrop Invitational.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop is 11-5 against ETSU, 8-8 against Georgia State, and 2-0 against Bucknell
- The Eagles are coming off the Paladin Invitational, where they won three out of five games
- Winthrop won 6-1 against West Georgia, lost 10-1 and 8-7 to Seton Hall, won 10-7 against George Mason, and won 5-0 against Furman
- Emmy Cardenas pitched the first complete shutout game of her career in the win over Furman, with six hits and one strikeout
- Lonna Addison had seven strikeouts against George Mason, her second-best of the season
- Peyton Bryden extended her hitting streak to five games, her second streak of five or better this season
- Tia Beckham has reached base safely in 13 straight games and has 21 RBI in her last 11 games
- She homered in four consecutive games, the best streak on record in program history
- Beckham leads the Eagles in RBI with 22, ranks first in the Big South in slugging percentage (.813) and is 7th in the Big South in RBI
- Bryden leads the team with six home runs and is tied for first in the conference
- Her 20 RBI are second-most on the team and ranked 8th in the Big South
- Darrah Nickens has a three-game hitting streak and eight-game streak of reaching base safely
- Nickens is third on the team with 16 RBI, four home runs and has a team-best six doubles
- Nickens leads the Big South with a 1.314 OPS and is second with a .545 on-base percentage
- She leads the team in batting average (.423), which ranks 5th in the Big South
- Rebecca Amos is 7th in the Big South with a team-high 20 runs scored on the year and is 4th in the league with nine steals
- Eagles scored 10 or more runs in back-to-back games for the first time since February of 2020 when they scored 11 vs. N.C. A&T and then 17 against Delaware State
- In four games of the Coach Cooke Memorial Tournament, the Eagles had eight home runs
- Cardenas tossed a complete game to earn her first win in the circle this season as she allowed two unearned runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts vs Mount St. Mary's
- Nickens had her first game as an Eagle with multiple home runs as she hit two out against Drexel
- Opened the home slate with the Garnet & Gold Tournament as the Eagles took 3-of-4 games
- Winthrop earned its first win in its first game of the Garnet & Gold Tournament, defeating Kent State 4-2
- Lonna Addison shined in the circle as she allowed two runs on four hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts vs. Kent State
- It was the second time in her Winthrop career she struck out 10 or more batters in an appearance
- After going 0-for-3 in the home opener vs. Kent St., Nickens was nearly unstoppable the rest of the weekend, going 8-for-10 the final three games of the tournament
- Addison is 5-3 on the year with a 3.50 ERA and 46 strikeouts to 17 walks
- She is second in the league in strikeouts, 4th in ERA and 8th in opposing batting average
- On the opening weekend at the Gamecock Invitational, Bryden led the team with five runs, smashed two home runs and had three RBI
- Eagles opened the season at the Gamecock Invitational, dropping all four contests
- Two of the losses on the opening weekend were by one run (Syracuse and #20 Virginia Tech)
- The Eagles opened the season with a 1-0 loss to #20 Virginia Tech, where the only run of the game was unearned
- Addison allowed the unearned run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts
- Eagles are batting .304 as a team (3rd in Big South), averaging 5.3 runs per game and lead the conference with 21 home runs
- Returned a total of 14 players from the 2025 roster after losing two starters Megan Powell and Emma Jackson
- Tia Beckham, Peyton Bryden, and Grayson Buckner highlight the returning starters
- Also returning are Aspen King, Mili Watts, Ashlyn Bunn, Annelisa Winebarger, Lonna Addison, Sophia Lawson, Emma Roberson, Tabitha Perry, Madelyn Miller, and Emmy Cardenas
- Katie Beck, who tied for second on the team in home runs as a freshman with 10, will miss the 2026 season
- This is the 53rd season in the history of the Winthrop softball program
- The game vs. Georgia State on Friday will be the 2,426th game in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,286-1,136-3
LOOKING BACK AT 2025
- Eagles season came to an end in the Big South Championship game for a second straight season in 2025
- It was the 15th time in the history of the program that the Eagles played in the championship game
- Had the first 30-win season since 2019 and finished tied for 3rd in the league standings
- The Eagles batted a team average of .247 in the 2025 season
- Beckham was the 2025 Big South Newcomer of the Year
- Beckham started in all 53 games she appeared and batted .275 with 23 runs, 44 hits, 10 home runs, and a team-high 40 RBI
- Buckner, the only senior on the roster, started all 53 games she appeared in, batting .226 with 16 runs, 35 hits, and four home runs
- Bryden leads the returning players with a batting average of .302 and started 52 of her 53 game appearances
- Addison was the number two pitcher in 2025 and turned in strong season in the circle with an 11-6 record with a 2.92 ERA
- Addison was 5th in the Big South in ERA, 6th in strikeouts and tied for 6th in wins
- She capped off her first season as an Eagle with a Big South All-Tournament selection along with Powell and Jackson
- There are nine newcomers on the roster this year with seven freshman and two juniors
- The win over Gardner-Webb in the opening game of the series gave the Eagles 20 wins on the year in their 30th game
- It was the fastest to 20 wins since the 2007 team did it in 29 games
- Since 2007 the fastest team to 20 wins was the 2010 team (31 games) and more recently the 2023 team did it in 32 games
HEAD COACH KENDALL FULLER
- Kendall Fuller is in the third season of her second stint with the Eagles
- She joined the Winthrop staff as an assistant coach in 2013, was promoted to Associate head coach in the fall of 2014 and with three games remaining in the 2015 season was promoted to Co-Head Coach with Mark Cooke
- Fuller remained Co-Head Coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons
- In July of 2020 she was named the head softball coach at Lees-McRae and in three seasons compiled a 65-68 overall record
- Led the team to a 32-18 mark in 2023, setting the program record for victories in a single season
- That season they had a runner-up finish in the Conference Carolinas regular season
- For the team's success in 2023, Fuller was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year
- In her career leading the Winthrop program she has a 105-134 (170-202) career record
- In her first season with the Eagles she led the team to within a game of a Big South title and NCAA Regional appearance
2026 SEASON HONORS
- Tia Beckham – Junior – Outfielder
- 2026 Big South Preseason All-Conference Team
- Darrah Nickens – Redshirt Junior – Utility
- Big South Co-Player of the Week (Feb. 17)
- Rebecca Amos – Freshman – Outfielder
- Big South Freshman of the Week (Feb. 24)
RECORD BOOK WATCH/CAREER MILESTONES
- Grayson Buckner (includes stats from Lees-McRae)
- Reached 100 career hits with a single in the first vs. Youngstown State (142)
- Reached 50 career RBI after driving in five on the opening weekend (73)
- She also made her 100th start in the game vs. St. John's
- Tia Beckham (includes stats from N.C. State)
- Reached 50th career hit after going 2-for-3 against Robert Morris (65)
- After a home run vs. George Mason she now has five on the year and 15 in her career (all at Winthrop)
- Now has 62 RBI as an Eagle in 68 games played
- As an Eagle she also has 17 doubles
- Hit her second grand slam as an Eagle in the first inning of the 16-6 win over Drexel
- Lonna Addison (includes stats from Lees-McRae)
- Made 40th appearance as an Eagle in the win over George Mason
- In her collegiate career she has 74 appearances
- Is one win away from 30 after earning her 29th win in six innings of relief vs. George Mason
- Has 157 strikeouts as an Eagle and 383 in her career
- Has five complete games on the year and 18 in her career (10 as an Eagle)
TICKETS WILL BE SOLD FOR HOME TOURNAMENTS, SOUTH CAROLINA GAME FEB. 25
Tickets will be sold for the Garnet & Gold Tournament, the Mark Cooke Memorial, the Winthrop Invitational and the single-game on Wednesday, Feb. 25 against South Carolina.
Click here to purchase.
JOIN THE EAGLE CLUB
The Eagle Club is the official fundraising arm of Winthrop Athletics. Your generosity directly supports Winthrop Athletics and helps provide our student-athletes with the resources they need to succeed on and off the field. From facility upgrades and enhanced game-day experiences to scholarships, equipment, travel, and academic support, every dollar makes a difference
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By investing in the Eagle Club, you're helping us build a stronger future for Winthrop Athletics—one that prioritizes excellence, opportunity, and a championship culture.
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WINTHROP IMPACT NETWORK
Winthrop Athletics is proud to announce the launch of WIN: Winthrop's Impact Network- a distinguished philanthropic giving society established to support and elevate Winthrop's 16 NCAA Division I programs and nearly 300 student-athletes.
In the new era of college athletics, it is critical now more than ever to generate revenue to provide Winthrop student-athletes with the resources and opportunities needed to compete for Big South championships and advance in the NCAA tournament. Winthrop's Impact Network members will have an elite level of direct impact on the future of Winthrop Athletics. For more information,
click here.
WATCH THE EAGLES
Select home games as well as all Big South away games are available to watch through the Big South Network on ESPN+. To watch live Big South games on ESPN+, you need a subscriber. For more information how to subscribe,
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UP NEXT
Winthrop is done with regular season tournament action as it heads to Clemson, S.C on Tuesday, Mar. 10 to take on 25
th-ranked Clemson at 6 p.m.
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