The University of Southern Mississippi softball team will compete in the UNF-JU Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, from March 6-8, according to school officials. The Golden Eagles, with a 14-8 record, are riding a seven-game winning streak into the event.
Southern Miss will face the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University, the host schools, along with Brown and Presbyterian. The team will play Presbyterian for the first time in program history on March 8, followed by matchups against Brown, UNF, and Jacksonville.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 7-3 victory over Nicholls on Feb. 25. They lead the Sun Belt Conference in triples (8), sacrifice flies (15), sacrifice hits (19), assists (204), and fielding percentage (.980). They also rank second in walks (83), fourth in doubles (30), and third in on-base percentage (.403).
Nealy McManus is fifth nationally with 60 assists. Kayla Giardina and Madilyn Graham are tied for the top 25 in shutouts with two each. Madison Johnson ranks ninth in the nation and first in the conference with three triples.
Southern Miss has previously played Brown once in 2023, winning 6-3 at the I-75 Challenge in Atlanta, Georgia. The team lost its only game against UNF in 2024, a 4-3 decision after 10 innings at the River City Leadoff. The Golden Eagles defeated Jacksonville University 5-2 earlier this year at the same event.
The tournament schedule includes games against Brown on March 6 at 3 p.m. and North Florida at 7 p.m., both at the UNF Softball Complex. On March 7, the team will face Jacksonville at 3 p.m. and Brown again at 5:30 p.m., with both games at Pruitt Softball Complex. The event concludes March 8 with a game against Presbyterian at 10 a.m. at the UNF Softball Complex.
For updates, follow Southern Miss Softball on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram at @SouthernMissSB.
