Puerto Vallarta College Challenge Primer

Who: Iowa State vs. Utah Valley/No. 11 Duke/No. 7 Washington/Long Beach State

Where: Nancy Almaraz Field – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

When: Feb. 8/9/10/11 – 4 p.m./10 a.m./4 p.m./9:30 a.m.

Leading Off
The Iowa State Cyclone softball program will kick off the 2024 season this weekend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, as part of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. This weekend's tournament will match the Cyclones up with three teams who qualified for NCAA regional play last year as well as two top-15 programs.

ISU will make its first-ever appearance in the Puerto Vallarta Challenge as it becomes the final Big 12 school to compete in the esteemed early-season challenge. Last season, BYU, Oklahoma State and Kansas all competed in the Mexico-based event.

Quick Hits:

This is the start of 23 straight contests away from the Cyclone Sports Complex, as the Cyclones will be on the road for the first five weeks of the season.
The senior-laden Cyclones have 13 total upperclassmen.
Iowa State finished the 2023 season having won 12 of its final 17 games, defeating three ranked teams (OSU, Baylor 3x).
This begins the first season of an expanded Big 12 field, as ISU will face all three new schools – BYU, Houston and UCF – this season.
Assistant Coach Linsey Ubrun returned to the Cyclones this offseason after spending the last six as the head coach of Wagner College.
- She was previously an assistant coach at ISU from 2014-16.

Leading the Cyclones
Iowa State returns four regular starters from last season, in Milaysia Ochoa, Carli Spelhaug, Angelina Allen and Alesia Ranches. Ochoa led the squad in nearly every statistical hitting category and was the only Cyclone to start all 55 games as she held down centerfield.

The Cyclones will have a new catcher, second and third baseman as well as potentially a new right fielder in battles that will play out through the early portion of the season.

Saya Swain, Karlie Charles, Jaiden Ralston and two-way player Tatum Johnson return in the circle for the Cyclones. Swain had a team-high 120 strikeouts last season and set a new school record for saves in a year with six. Both Charles and Ralston are looking to have healthy, pitch-count-free seasons.

Series History
Iowa State and Utah Valley will meet for the second time ever in the competition, with the Wolverines owning a 1-0 advantage over ISU thanks to a 1-0 win in eight innings back in 2017.

The Cyclones and Blue Devils will meet for the first time on the diamond in Puerto Vallarta. Iowa State will face Washington for the second time ever, having fallen short 1-0 to the Huskies in 2022 when UW was ranked fifth.

ISU and Long Beach State have met 13 times prior to their upcoming matchup. LBSU holds a 10-3 all-time advantage over Iowa State, though the Cyclones have won the last two meetings.

On Deck
Iowa State will return to action next weekend, when it travels to Las Vegas for its second early season tournament – the UNLV Desert Classic. Next weekend's tournament will have the Cyclones playing five games between three opponents – UNLV, Bradley and UC Santa Barbara.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Angelina Allen

Karlie Charles

Tatum Johnson

Milaysia Ochoa

Jaiden Ralston

Alesia Ranches

Carli Spelhaug

Saya Swain

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics