Gophers softball aims for NCAA tournament, as new season begins Friday in Tempe, Ariz.

The Gophers softball team opens a new season Friday in Arizona with a funny feeling: What it’s like to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade.

They were fifth overall in the Big Ten a season ago with a 13-11 record and were 28-25 overall. They come back with four acclaimed freshmen and two transfers, junior pitcher Sydney Schwartz healthy after a lost 2024 season and big-hitting senior catcher Taylor Krapf seeking a comeback year.

The Gophers will play on without 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year and junior shortstop Jess Oakland, who transferred to Duke in December after she set single-season Gophers records in runs scored (70) and home runs (20) while batting .452.

Krapf calls last year’s shortened season “just extra motivation” for a new year.

“You look back at last season and we didn’t get to where we wanted to be,” Krapf said. “This year starts a new lead to where we want to go. We’re always going to have that in the back of our minds, but we’re not going to let it dictate how the season goes.

“We’re just going to get out there and play. The NCAA tournament, that’s always our goal, and we’re going to use it and fight to get there this year. I know we’ll be successful if we use it as motivation to get where we want to be this year.”

The Gophers open their 51st season with the five-team, three-day Kajikawa Classic at Arizona State. They’ll play Utah and California on Friday, Miami and Arizona State on Saturday and Utah on Sunday.

“I think she has matured,” said Ritter, who is starting her fifth season as Gophers coach and 18th coaching with the program. “She had such a great sophomore season. I told her that’s probably why you did. You didn’t put any expectations on yourself. Why put them on now? This game is hard and it gets harder. It doesn’t get easier.”

A senior from Orlando, Fla., who played her freshman season at Duke, Krapf hit 14 home runs her sophomore season at Minnesota and 11 last season. She was ranked 81st on the Softball America Preseason Top 100 List.

Krapf said she’s “not setting the bar too high, but just finding a happy medium. Going out there to do what I need to do to help us win.”

Schwartz, who attended Chanhassen High School, is back from compartment syndrome in her shin that sidelined her last season.

“It has been a long time since I stepped on the field,” Schwartz said. “This is going to mean a lot more to me, being with all my defense behind me.”

“They’re gritty, they’re fighting for positions, fighting to get in the lineup,” Ritter said. “Once you get to college, it’s different. We do expect some ups and downs. If they can be consistent as they have been in practice, we’ll see some big things from them.”

That could include helping the Gophers get back to the NCAA tournament. They’ll play in a Big Ten that gets tougher, especially with the addition of Oregon and UCLA.