Idaho State’s ’26 seniors responsible for best softball run in program history

POCATELLO — Over the past four years, the Idaho State Bengals have won 119 games — just short of 30 per season.

Last year, ISU broke the program record for wins in a season with 37. They have won back-to-back conference regular-season championships and, this year, claimed their first-ever conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Bengals will arrive in Oregon for the Eugene Regional with 37 wins, on the cusp of breaking last year’s team record.

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The 2026 senior class of eight has ushered in the most successful softball run in Idaho State history.

After his team beat Sacramento State 16-8 for a third-straight run-rule victory, a conference tournament title and a spot in the NCAA tournament, head coach Andrew Rich spoke highly of his seniors. He called the Big Sky tournament championship an “emphatic exclamation mark” on the careers of the seniors, adding that there is still more in the tank looking toward the regional tournament.

Over the years, Rich and ISU have bolstered the squad, adding to this season’s crop of seniors. Pitchers Riley Wickum transferred from California State University, Northridge in 2024, the same year utility player Jaden Moore transferred to ISU from the University of Houston. In 2025, pitcher Kasey Aguinaga transferred from Boise State to Idaho State, winning the Big Sky Pitcher of the Year award her first year with the team. This year, first baseman Sydney Groves traveled the same Boise-to-Pocatello transfer route, earning a First-Team All-Conference nod.

Those four joined a group that already consisted of infielder Kennedy Dudley, catcher Olivia Robison and star outfielders Ava Brown and Alyssa Yee.

Asked what she believes will be the legacy she and her fellow seniors leave behind, Brown stumbled for a moment before explaining that no group of words could properly describe what the group went through over the past four years.

“To see where we started at from year one, how much each and every one of us has grown, individually and as players,” she said, thanking Rich and the coaching staff for their tireless work in helping all the players reach their maximum potential.

Brown has undoubtedly become the face of this class and the program, with her incredible production during the Bengals’ two title runs, and the poster child for that growth.

She appeared in 48 games as a freshman in 2023, batting .326 with six home runs. She followed that up with a sophomore campaign in which she appeared in 47 games, batting .257 with eight homers.

Then, Brown broke out in her junior year, batting .371 with a Big Sky Conference single-season record 25 homers. She was the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year and a unanimous selection for First-Team All-Big Sky honors.

Brown is currently batting .329 with 15 homers this year, and was again named a First-Team All-Conference performer.

Of the season she and her teammates have thus far enjoyed, Brown said: “I’m just filled with so much happiness and joy. It’s everything we’ve worked for this whole year, my whole four years here.”

Over her four years at Idaho State, Brown, a product of Merced, Calif., has developed into one of the best hitters in the country, and a vastly underrated defensive outfielder — which was on display in the conference tournament championship game, when she threw a runner out at second from the center field fence. She has also developed a great relationship with the program and players, particularly left fielder and fellow All-Conference player Yee.

While the Bengals were celebrating their first-ever conference tournament championship victory last Thursday, Brown and Yee, at one point, separated from the mass of humanity for a long solo embrace. Eventually, shortstop and All-Conference First-Teamer Camryn McDonlad joined in. And as they separated to make room for McDonald, it was clear Yee and Brown were very emotional about the team’s achievement.

Asked about that embrace after the game, Brown revealed that she and Yee have grown from roommates and teammates to best of friends.

“She’s my best friend,” brown said. “We’ve been roommates since freshman year, she’s my maid of honor in my wedding. I love her so much, and just to see where we started until now, I couldn’t be more proud of her — she’s the best player, the best person, the best teammate every day.”

Brown also talked about Yee’s tireless work ethic and selflessness as a friend and teammate.

“I love being around her, and I am so happy to call her my best friend,” she said.

While there is still work to be done, as Rich said, this group of Bengal seniors should be proud of what has already been completed. The 119 wins, including back-to-back seasons of 37 — so far — two regular-season championships, and the program’s first conference tournament championship, with sites on its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, are all achievements that leave a permanent mark on the program.

This team, led by its eight seniors, has drawn massive crowds to nearly every home game and entertained them with fantastic play. Now, fans — at least those not making the trek to western Oregon — will be able to watch them on national television, facing a nationally ranked opponent in the No. 13 Ducks — to whom the Bengals lost by one on Feb. 27.

Friday’s game will be broadcast on ESPNU, with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m.