Highlights of UNCG’s Spring Athletics Calendar
Winter belongs to men’s and women’s basketball in the pantheon of UNCG sports. But as the wintry weather marches our Spartan cagers towards the SoCon Tournament, held in Asheville in March, our warm-weather teams gear up for exciting seasons of their own.
From the diamond to the track to the links to the courts, spring Spartans are here for the W’s.
BATS AND BALLS
Baseball
Last season, the UNCG baseball team finished the regular season 21-33 overall with a 9-12 conference record, earning the sixth-seed in the SoCon Tournament, falling to Wofford in the first round of play.
This season, the third for Head Coach Cody Ellis, sees the return of outfielder Luke Jenkins. A redshirt fourth-year, Jenkins was named the 2025 Male Spartan of the Year and to the College Sports Communicators Academic All District Team. The hometown Grimsley High School graduate had a spectacular season in the field, with a .950 fielding percentage, and on the basepath, with seven steals in eight attempts.
Joining him again this season will be fourth-year infielder Jacob Budzik, who was named to the All SoCon Defensive Team last year, and third-year fielder Brantley Truitt, who led the team last season with a batting average of .318.
Schedule highlights include the season-opening three-game home stand against the 18th-ranked University of Kentucky (Feb. 13-15), an SEC powerhouse. They’ll play two other Triad squads this season: NC A&T State University at home on Feb. 18 at A&T’s field on March 3 and March 11; and 21-ranked Wake Forest University at home on Feb. 24 and in Winston-Salem on April 21. Other notable out-of-conference matchups during the regular season include a home game against Davidson College on Feb. 17 and an away game against 11th-ranked UNC on March 18.
Softball
Spartans’ softball Head Coach Janelle Breneman is the winningest coach in the team’s 41-year history, logging her 400th victory early last season against St. Francis College and ending the season with a 39-18 record, her seventh straight with 30 or more wins. And the team has already been recognized as the No. 1 pick in the SoCon Pre-Season Coaches’ Poll.
She’s built on last year’s success with a crop of new recruits and a few returning sluggers, including fourth-year outfielder Kaylyn Belfield, who broke the UNCG single-season batting average record last year, finishing with .431. Team 40 broke the UNCG record for RBI in a single season with 318. The previous mark of 306 was set by the 2014 team. The Spartans sat second with 318 RBI behind Mercer’s 319 last season
The season kicks off with six softball tournaments, four of them with games at UNCG:
- The Spiro Classic, beginning Feb. 13 with games against Columbia University, Fairfield University, and Appalachian State University;
- The UNCG Invitational, running Feb. 20-24, where the Spartans will compete at home against Bucknell University, Canisius University, and Kent State University
- The UNCG/Elon Tournament, starting on Feb. 27, includes home games against Indiana University.
- The UNCG Tournament, from March 13-15, will bring Lehigh University and Tarleton State University to campus.
CLUBS AND GREENS
Men
The men’s spring golf schedule starts next month with tournaments in Puerto Rico—the Palmas del Mar Collegiate running Feb. 8-10, and the Dorado Beach Collegiate from Feb. 22-24. Later, a flurry of road tournaments leads up to the SoCon Championship April 27-29, followed by the NCAA Regionals May 18-20 and the NCAA Championship May 29-June 3.
Highlights of the fall tournaments include a fifth-place finish at the Bryan National Collegiate at Bryan Park, where fourth-year BJ Boyce clocked a career-low 64 on his way to a third-place finish; and the Elon Phoenix Invitational that saw second-year Will Guidry card a career low –8 (63) in the second round, which included two eagles, on his way to finish in a tie for 24th place.
Women
The women’s golf team benefited from strong fall performances, including a win at the UNCG Invitational in October, earning fourth-year Julia Baemken SoCon Golfer of the Week honors. The spring season begins on Feb. 1 at the Advance Golf Partners Collegiate in West Palm, Fla., and wends through Greensboro, Ga. (Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational, Feb. 20-22), Hilton Head, SC (Low Country Invitational, March 8-10), and Morganton, NC (Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate, March 30-31). The regular season wraps with a one-day tournament in Chapel Hill, NC (UNC Challenge Cup, April 4) followed by the SoCon Championship from April 20-22, leading into the NCAA Regionals (May 11-13) and the NCAA Championship (May 22-27).
THE RACKETS
Men
The Spartan Men’s Tennis Team began its spring run with a loss to NC State University earlier this month. Upcoming home matches include contests against NC Central University on Feb. 7 and Elon University on Feb. 8. There will be five home matches from Feb. 27-March 9 against James Madison University (Feb. 27), Florida Gulf Coast University (Feb. 28), Furman University (March 4), Samford University (March 7), and Gardner-Webb University (March 9). Other schedule highlights include a home grudge match against NC A&T State University (March 26) and a SoCon faceoff against Mercer University (April 1). The SoCon Tournament begins April 16 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
WOMEN
The women’s tennis team began 2026 with three straight losses, two to the University of Virginia and one to NC State University. Their SoCon slate includes matches against Eastern Tennessee State University (Feb. 28, at home), The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (March 15, at home), Furman University (March 21, at home), Wofford University (March 26, away), Western Carolina University (April 7, at home), and two away matches to end the regular season, Samford University (April 10) and Mercer (April 12) before the SoCon Tournament.
FLEET FEET
Early in the spring season, indoor runners for the Spartans Track Team have already set record times. First-year Maddison McIntyre broke the UNCG record in the 400 meters in December at the Winston-Salem College Kickoff, while in January at the Mondo College Invitational, first-year students Ayzia Jefferson set a new school record for the 200-meter for the women, and Emery Anderson and Jeremiah Jones broke the 200-meter and 600-meter school records, respectively. Jefferson bested her own 200-meter record in January at the Liberty Open, where first-year Alana Hill also set a UNCG record by beating the mark set by McIntyre in the 400.
Just four regular-season meets remain, all on the road: The Tryon College Banked Invitational on Jan. 30, The Sound Invite on Feb. 14, The Tryon Last Chance on Feb. 20, and The JDL Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 21. The SoCon Indoor Track & Field Championship happens Feb. 27-28 in Lexington, Va. and the NCAA Championships are March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Ark.
CHEER THEM ON
Remember that all spring sporting events, aside from men’s basketball, are free to attend. So come on out and support your Spartans this spring.
