The 2025 schedule for Northwestern State and first-year head softball coach Jenny Fuller features a home tournament weekend, a familiar Big 12 foe, a pair of in-state home-and-homes and the standard 27-game conference gauntlet.
The Demons will host a total of 22 games on the brand-new turf field that will make its debut at the Lady Demon Diamond this year.
Northwestern begins the first season under Fuller with an opening weekend tournament at 2024 NCAA Tournament participant South Alabama. The Demons start their year with a doubleheader beginning at 9 a.m. in Mobile, Ala., against Murray State and then UAB on Feb. 7.
Following the first tournament weekend, the Demons christen their new field the following week with a home tournament on Feb. 15-16.
Northwestern will welcome C-USA’s Jacksonville State and the American’s Memphis for a total of six games across two days at the new-look Lady Demon Diamond. The triple header is set to begin at noon on Saturday with the Demons taking the field at 2:30 p.m. against Memphis followed by a 5 p.m. start against Jacksonville State.
“We are excited to be able to host a quality tournament on our new GeoSurfaces field,” Fuller said. “It will elevate the fan and player experience.”
Sunday’s triple header is set to start at 9 a.m. with the first of two NSU games schedule for 11:30 a.m.
NSU’s two other tournament weekends take it to UTA for five games Feb. 21-23 and to Mississippi State for five more Feb. 28-March 2.
Between the trips to Texas and Mississippi, the Demons will host the front end of one of their two midweek home-and-home series with rivals from north Louisiana.
On Feb. 26, ULM will make its first trip to Natchitoches since 2021, with the Demons going back to Monroe for the second year in a row in early April. A month later on March 25 the Demons host Louisiana Tech to close the home-and-home season series with the Bulldogs after making the trip to Ruston on Feb. 18.
Also making their first trip to Natchitoches since 2022, will be the Baylor Bears, led by Fuller’s former coach and NSU alum, Glenn Moore.
“In the first few days after I accepted the head coaching position, Coach Moore reached out and said they had a game scheduled with us,” Fuller said. “To be able to play and coach against Baylor is definitely a full circle moment for me, given how much Coach Moore has helped me throughout my career.”
The midweek game against the Bears comes on March 11 after the Demons host HCU in their Southland Conference opener the weekend before, March 7-8. It also sets the table for the first major challenge of the conference slate.
The Demons travel to McNeese on March 14-15 before returning home to take on defending champion Southeastern March 21-22.
The series with the Lions is one of five home conference series on the season which also includes HCU (March 7-8), Stephen F. Austin (April 4-5), Lamar (April 11-12) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 25-26).
The toughest stretch of the conference slate comes at the beginning of April when the Demons play nine SLC games over the course of a week. NSU hosts SFA (April 4-5) before a midweek road series at UIW (April 8-9) and then returns home for a three-game set with Lamar the following weekend, April 11-12.
The Demons travel to Nicholls on Easter week before closing the regular season at home for the third straight season the following weekend with A&M-Corpus Christi the final weekend of April.
“I am excited to watch our team compete in the Southland,” Fuller said. “This is a tough league, and even though our team is young, they’ll be up to the challenge.”
Bracket play of the Southland Conference Tournament is set for May 2-4 with the tournament’s championship series scheduled for the following weekend May 8-10.
All game times and date are subject to change throughout the season. Season tickets and individual game tickets will go on sale at a later date.
For the latest new and information on everything NSU softball, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram: @NSUDemonsSB.