CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois softball announced its 2024 slate on Tuesday afternoon. The Fighting Illini are set to play 55 games and 14 teams that reached last year's NCAA Tournament.
The Orange and Blue open the season with a tournament at Auburn from Feb. 9-11. The Illini will face off against Virginia Tech in the season opener and will also take on Belmont and the host Tigers at the three-day tournament.
The Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla., await the team from Feb. 16-18. While in the Sunshine State, the Fighting Illini will play Liberty, Kansas, Southern Illinois, UC Riverside and Coastal Carolina. The team follows the weekend with a trip to the West Coast as the Illini squad prepares for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The three-day event will include contests against CSUN, Hawaii, UCLA and Cal.Â
Illinois will head to head coach Tyra Perry's alma mater, LSU, from March 1-3. The Fighting Illini will battle Louisiana Tech, McNeese, San Diego State and the host Tigers at the tournament. Perry helped the LSU program post a combined 102-28 record over her career from 1997-98, including a 58-14 mark in Southeastern Conference play. She also helped the Tigers pick up a pair of SEC West Division titles and make the program's first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament appearance, where it finished second.Â
The Illini's home opener is slated for March 13Â and will be a Braggin' Rights doubleheader against Missouri at Eichelberger Field. The team hits the road for one last tournament from March 15-17, facing off against South Dakota, Dartmouth, Michigan and host Louisville during the three-day affair.
After a quick trip to Illinois State on March 19, the Illini begin Big Ten play with a three-game series against Nebraska. The weekend marks the first conference series between the programs since 2021.Â
A seven-game homestand follows for Illinois, beginning with a pair of midweek tilts against Northern Iowa (March 26) and SIUE (March 27). Minnesota comes to Eichelberger Field for a weekend series, taking place from March 28-31. The series is the first meeting for the teams since the 2022 campaign. A doubleheader against Indiana State closes out the homestand on April 3.
Another league series will await Illinois as the team travels to Maryland from April 5-7. The squad returns home for a Big Ten battle against Northwestern (April 10) before hosting Purdue for a series from April 12-14.
A rematch at Northwestern will take place on April 17 before the Orange and Blue travel to Michigan State from April 19-21. Last year's series with the Spartans was a historic affair, marking the first time two Black women head coaches faced off in Big Ten play.Â
The final non-conference contest will take place at DePaul on April 23. The Illini remain on the road for a Big Ten clash against Ohio State from April 26-28. For the final weekend of the regular season, Illinois will host Iowa from May 3-5.
The Big Ten Tournament will take place from May 8-11 and will be hosted by the Hawkeyes of Iowa. Last season, Illinois went 1-1 at the conference tournament, defeating Wisconsin, 8-4, in its opening matchup.
The 2024 slate marks Perry's 23rd season as a head coach and her ninth season at the helm for Illinois. She is one of only three active head coaches to lead three different programs to the NCAA Tournament and is the only woman to do so.
