Games #1 & 2
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. Jessup Warriors (0-0)
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video

Game #3
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. Saint Martin's Saints (0-0)
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 12:15 p.m.
Rohnert Park, Calif. – Seawolf Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #4
ART U Urban Knights (0-0) vs. No. 25 Sonoma State Seawolves (0-0)
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.
Rohnert Park, Calif. – Seawolf Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Intent on working hard and confidently moving forward as a program, Academy of Art softball plays the first four games of its 2023 campaign this week. Head Coach Nikki Gentile and her staff welcome back a strong core of veteran leaders while adding dynamic new competitors as the Urban Knights offer important groundwork for the future this year.

Starting the season at home for the first time since 2017, ART U begins by hosting William Jessup (Feb. 1) before single games against No. 25 Sonoma State and Saint Martin's both on Feb. 3 in Rohnert Park. Effectively playing two games against Chico State and Stanislaus State in Chico over Feb. 10-11, the Knights then play a proper doubleheader at Cal State East Bay (Feb. 14) and return home to host Menlo (Feb. 17) prior to Pacific West Conference play. Academy of Art closes the month with four at Azusa Pacific (Feb. 24-25), is back in the Bay Area to open March at SF State (Mar. 1) and at Dominican (Mar. 4) then a brief trip to Seaside to face Cal State Monterey Bay (Mar. 11) leads into a 14-game stretch at Mission Blue Field with MSU Moorhead (Mar. 13), Chaminade (Mar. 20-21), Hawaii Pacific (Mar. 24-25), and UH Hilo (Mar. 27-28) all coming to town.

March and April are then bridged by various West Region opponents the Tournament of Champions (Mar. 31-Apr. 2) ahead of a quick home date with Holy Names (Apr. 8) followed by eight contests in back in SoCal against Concordia (Apr. 14-15) and Biola (Apr. 17-18). Senior Day is next as ART U hosts Dominican on Apr. 28 then the regular season concludes at HNU on Apr. 29. For the first time in conference history, the PacWest Conference Championship Tournament is then slated for May 3-5 in La Mirada as the postseason commences in May. To view the 2023 schedule, click here!

Playing in the respective final seasons with the program, Academy of Art returns three seniors, outfielder Bethany Mitchell, pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley, catcher/infielder Cassandra Mittman, as well as one graduate student in outfielder Nina Vallejos. The quartet brings a combined 14 years of experience as Urban Knights with multiple coming off top eight statistical rankings within the PacWest last season. Mitchell's 17 walks (seventh in the conference) and Arnold-Jolley 128.1 innings pitched (eighth in PacWest) are both the highest among returners while Mittman's .288 batting average and seven doubles are both second.

Those numbers are slightly behind junior infielder Haley Randall who, along with infielder Katie Humphreys, outfielder Maddie Sticka, utility Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki, and incoming infielder Hilary Grullon make up the Knights' junior class. Now two seasons removed from being named PacWest Freshman of the Year and the lone Knight to play in all 53 games in 2022, Randall delivered a .298 batting average, nine doubles, two home runs, and 23 runs scored last season which were all tops for returners. Meanwhile, Humphreys was just five runs batted in from the team's leader with all of her 17 RBIs coming in her last 33 games.

Versatility will be a significant asset for the sophomore trio of infielder/pitcher Elle Edeker, utility Keileen Mendez, and pitcher/outfielder Sydney Harmon. Edeker comes off a season in which she played 52 games for ART U while Mendez, a member of the Guatemala Junior National Team, and Harmon, a dynamic two-way player from North Central University, both transfer in to the program.

Matching its largest freshman class since 2018, Academy of Art welcomes in five new faces in infielder Audrey Allen, utility Marissa "Roo" Menard, pitcher/infielder Kamielle Powell, catcher/infielder Olivia Glover, and catcher Alexus Sorenson. Among the collection of talented student-athletes, Allen and Menard were both multi-time All-Conference honorees while Powell boasted impressive pitching numbers as a Rookie of the Year and finished her high school career hitting over .300 with productive numbers as a senior.

Ready to build upon its foundation this preseason, the Urban Knights collectively lay their first official brick of 2023 this Wednesday.