The holiday season is over, and Fresno State is ready to dust off the bats, gloves, caps and rackets for its spring season. For many of these teams, it will be the last time they compete in the Mountain West Conference.
Athletics looks to leave a lasting impression as its time in the Mountain West Conference is coming to a close after this semester.
Baseball: 31-29 (18-12 conference record) in 2025, Mountain West Conference champions
The Diamond ‘Dogs come into 2026 after securing their second consecutive Mountain West title by defeating the San Jose State Spartans in the championship game.
After making the NCAA tournament, the ‘Dogs were swept out of the Los Angeles regional, losing to the host, the UCLA Bruins, 19-4. They also lost to the No. 2-seed University of California, Irvine (UCI) Anteaters, 8-3.
After the season, Head Coach Ryan Overland was given a contract extension through the 2031 season.
The road to a third consecutive championship will be harder. The Diamond ‘Dogs lost four key starters to the MLB draft in July: infielder Murf Gray, pitchers Jack Anker and Aidan Cremarosa and catcher Justin Stransky.
In 2026, the Diamond ‘Dogs open up against the University of Utah at Bob Bennett Stadium on Feb. 13. Their final Mountain West Conference slate will begin on March 13 against the University of Nevada, Reno. The Mountain West tournament will be held in Mesa, Arizona, from May 20-22.
Softball: 37-20 (15-7 conference record) in 2025, 2nd in the Mountain West Conference
After failing to beat the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West championship game, the Fresno State softball team lost its head coach, Stacy May-Johnson, after she took the head coaching job at the University of Iowa.
Mountain West Player of the Year Serayah Neiss and Kiara Sipe transferred to Iowa, following May-Johnson. The Bulldogs hired Head Coach Charlotte Morgan on June 14 from California State University, Northridge. She brings in 14 years of coaching experience, beginning her career at the University of Maryland as a pitching coach. Northridge was her first head coaching job, racking up a 109-126 record with the Matadors.
The Bulldogs will feature four freshmen and four newcomers — three from Northridge. The season will begin on Feb. 6 in the Fresno State Kickoff Classic against Southern Illinois University and Idaho State. The conference slate will start on March 13 against the Utah State Aggies at Margie Wright Diamond.
Water Polo: 14-8 (6-1 conference record) in 2025, 2nd in the Gold Coast Conference
The Fresno State water polo team went into the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) tournament looking to defend its four-consecutive conference titles. They came out of the tournament with a loss, falling to the Loyola Marymount Lions, 14-12, in the championship game.
The 2026 season began on Jan. 16 for the Bulldogs, opening up the season with the Polopalooza tournament. They defeated the University of Michigan 11-9, lost to the University of Indiana 11-10 and came back to defeat UCI 15-12 and San Jose State 15-14 in the tournament.
Before opening up GCC play on Feb. 21 at Santa Clara University, the Bulldogs will be in Berkeley, California; Tempe, Arizona and Irvine, California for three other tournaments.
The Bulldogs will host the GCC tournament from April 10-12 for the first time since GCC tournament from April 10-12 for the first time since
The GCC lost the Concordia Irvine Golden Eagles to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, so the ‘Dogs will have one less conference game in 2026. Saint Mary’s College and San Jose State are slated to replace the Golden Eagles in 2027.
Tennis: 14-9 (6-4 conference record) in 2024-25, 6th in the Mountain West Conference
The Fresno State tennis team opened up its fall season with the Mountain West Conference Fall Qualifiers and followed it up with five tournaments.
The Bulldogs’ spring schedule opens up against the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds on Jan. 23, with Mountain West play beginning on Feb. 13 at San Diego State. Their first home match will be against the University of New Mexico on Feb. 20.
The Bulldogs will look to win the Mountain West for the first time since 2022, when they went 10-0 in conference play.
Track and Field:
Senior thrower Cierra Jackson took home gold in the NCAA championships. She set a meet record with her winning throw of 65.82 meters.
The indoor track and field season began on Dec. 4 with the Bulldogs winning the women’s long jump and the women’s 4×400 medley relay. Jumper Liz Tarcy’s win in the long jump earned her the Mountain West Women’s Field Athlete of the Week.
The outdoor track and field season will begin on Feb. 21. The Bulldogs will host two regular-season meets on March 27-28 in Clovis and May 1-2 in Fresno. The Bulldogs will also host the Mountain West championship in Clovis from May 14-16 at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium.
Fall seasons:
Fresno State swim and dive, equestrian and golf teams resume their seasons after hiatuses through the winter.
The swim and dive team hosted four meets in the fall, going 3-1. The one meet loss came to the University of Nevada, Reno. Swim and dive will have just one home meet left before the Mountain West championship from Feb. 18-21.
The equestrian team went 2-3 in the fall, beating South Dakota State and No. 5 Texas Christian to open the season, but fell consecutively to No. 10 Baylor University, No. 4 Texas A&M University and No. 5 Oklahoma State University.
The men’s and women’s golf teams each had four tournaments in the fall. The men’s team had a best finish of seventh place in the Saint Mary’s Invitational. The women’s team had a team-best fifth-place finish in the Harbottle Invitational in Seattle. In the Clash at Boulder Creek tournament in Henderson, Nevada, Amelia Garibaldi captured her first tournament win as the Bulldogs finished in seventh place in the tournament.
