Kentucky Softball Announces Complete 2022 Schedule
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Head coach Rachel Lawson and the Kentucky Softball team announced their 2022 schedule Wednesday morning, highlighted by 23 home games at John Cropp Stadium, a 24-game Southeastern Conference slate and three road pre-conference tournaments.
The Wildcats will play 30 games against 15 different teams that made the 2021 NCAA Softball Tournament, including 14 games against Super Regional teams and five games against three different teams that advanced to last year’s Women’s College World Series.
Kentucky will open its season at the inaugural Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament in Leesburg, Florida. At the four-day tournament, UK will open its season Thursday, Feb. 10 against Wisconsin followed by games against Michigan State, Liberty, Hofstra, Iowa and Virginia Tech. The tournament in Leesburg is founded on the idea of teams from the northern part of the country playing each other in Florida under the southern lights to open the season.
A trip west to Tuscon, Arizona will be the Wildcats next destination for the 2022 Hillenbrand Invitational. The highlight game is UK vs. Arizona at 7 p.m. ET on Feb. 19. Kentucky will play UC Santa Barbara, Loyola-Marymount and Long Beach State in addition to UA.
UK will compete in the StrikeOut Cancer Classic in Boca Raton, Florida, as the Wildcats play at Florida Atlantic for the second-straight season. In addition to FAU, Kentucky will play Michigan State, Jacksonville, Columbia and Long Island.
The 2022 home opener at John Cropp Stadium will be Thursday, March 3 against perennial powerhouse, Michigan. The game is the first of the 2022 John Cropp Classic featuring the Wolverines, Drake and Kent State running through March 5.
Kentucky will host a second non-conference tournament March 11-13 as part of the Bluegrass Classic with Buffalo, Central Michigan and Valparaiso making a visit to Lexington.
The 24-game SEC slate begins March 18 in Tuscaloosa as Kentucky will play the Crimson Tide for three games at Rhoads Stadium, the spot of the 2021 SEC Softball Tournament and UK’s Super Regional host. Auburn will travel to Kentucky as the Wildcats will host the Tigers for UK’s home opener in conference play.
The annual UK vs. UofL game shifts back to the Derby City this year with Kentucky traveling to Louisville on Wednesday, April 6.
In SEC play, Kentucky will host Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and Mississippi State, all for three-game series. UK will travel to Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and South Carolina for its four SEC road series.
Florida will serve as the host school of the 2022 SEC Softball Tournament, running May 10-14 at the newly-renovated Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The tournament is a 13-team, single elimination format, beginning on Tuesday and concluding with the championship game on Saturday. The 13 tournament teams shall be determined based on the highest percentage of wins during regular-season Conference competition. The winner of the tournament receives the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
The 2022 Women’s College World Series has been extended by two days to account for more rest for the student-athletes. The WCWS will run from June 2-10 at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
Kentucky Softball Schedule by the Numbers
- 55 total games
- 24 SEC games
- 30 games vs. NCAA Tournament teams from 2021
- 12 different cities guaranteed to be playing in
- 23 home games at John Cropp Stadium
- 9 games vs. top 10 of final 2021 NCAA RPI
- 24 games vs. top 50 of final 2021 NCAA RPI
- 35 games vs. power five opponents
2022 Season Ticket Information
Information on 2022 Kentucky Softball season tickets will be available in the coming days. Fans should be aware that with John Cropp Stadium returning to full capacity for 2022, fans who held 2020 season tickets will have the opportunity to renew their original seat locations for the 2022 season. Information will be sent out shortly on ticket information.
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.
