FRISCO – The countdown to softball season is officially on as the East Texas A&M University softball team learned its 27-game Southland Conference schedule for the 2026 season.
 
The Lions are coming off their first appearance in the postseason since joining the Southland last season and are now eligible for the NCAA tournament as full Division I members in 2026.
 
The 2026 Southland Conference schedule features the Lions hosting five three-game series at the John Cain Family Softball Complex, including both the Southland Conference Champion and the SLC Tournament Champion from a season ago.
 
East Texas A&M will once again host a doubleheader on the first day of the series and a single game on the second day of the series during conference play this season.
 
The first series of conference play comes against two-time defending SLC Tournament champions and NCAA Regional finalists, Southeastern, on March 6-7. The Lions then head to A&M-Corpus Christi on March 13-14, a team that the Lions swept last season.
 
East Texas A&M returns home to host Lamar on March 20-21, before heading on the road to face Northwestern State on March 27-28 and at Nicholls on April 3-4. The Lions are 5-4 against the Lady Demons over the last three seasons.
 
Beginning a stretch of nine conference games in a span of a week, the Lions play hosts to SFA on April 10-11, then face UIW for a mid-week series in San Antonio on April 14-15, and come back home to welcome HCU on April 24-25.
 
The final series of conference play comes at home for the Lions against four-time defending conference champions, McNeese, a team that the Lions lost by just one run in extra innings in last season's SLC Tournament in Lake Charles. The two teams meet in Commerce on April 24-25.
 
For the second straight year, the Southland Tournament is spread out over two weeks over various campus sites. The first week sees the top eight teams in the standings following the regular season play in two split brackets, hosted by the top two seeds, on April 30-May 3, followed by the SLC Championship Series on May 7-9, hosted by the highest remaining seed.
 
The Lions are eligible for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the Division I era this year and have made the NCAA Tournament in the last four seasons that they were eligible for NCAA postseason.
 
The NCAA Regionals will be hosted by the top 16 seeds across the country on May 15-17. The Super Regionals are scheduled for May 21-24, while the NCAA Women's College World Series begins in Oklahoma City on May 28 and runs through May 5.
 
The rest of the 2026 schedule for the Lions will be released later this year. The fall ball schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
 
2026 LION SOFTBALL SLC SCHEDULE

Date(s)	Opponent	Location
MARCH 6-7	SOUTHEASTERN	COMMERCE
March 13-14	at A&M-Corpus Christi	Corpus Christi
MARCH 20-21	LAMAR	COMMERCE
March 27-28	at Northwestern State	Natchitoches, La.
April 3-4	at Nicholls	Thibodaux, La.
APRIL 10-11	SFA	COMMERCE
April 14-15	at UIW	San Antonio
APRIL 17-18	HCU	COMMERCE
APRIL 24-25	MCNEESE	COMMERCE
April 30-May 3	SLC Tournament-Bracket Play	Campus Sites
May 7-9	SLC Championship Series	Campus Sites
May 15-17	NCAA Regionals	Campus Sites
May 21-24	NCAA Super Regionals	Campus Sites
May 28-June 5	NCAA Women's College World Series	Oklahoma City