Dec. 12, 2014

2015 Full Schedule

DENTON - In 2014, Mean Green softball shattered several team records, picked up its first conference superlative award, and won a program-best 31 games en route to a Conference USA semifinals appearance. In 2015, second year head coach Tracey Kee will be gunning for even more.

"As a squad we talk about taking this North Texas program further then it has ever gone," Kee said. "We understand the path to post-season is not an easy one. We want to be challenged, we want to be tested and we want to compete with the best."

Compete with the best is just what North Texas will aim to do, embracing an opportunity to play 19 games against opponents who made the 2014 NCAA Tournament, including four against College World Series qualifiers.

"This is by far the most challenging schedule I have ever assembled in my coaching career," Kee added. "However, I believe the only way to move our program forward is to challenge our student-athletes early and often with the caliber of opponents who have already proven they are NCAA Tournament worthy."

In a span of three weeks in February, the Mean Green will face some of its fiercest competition of the season at Arizona State's Littlewood Classic, Baylor's Invitational and Tulsa's Invitational. The tournament games will pit North Texas against the likes of Top 25 powers such as Baylor, Washington, Arizona State, Nebraska, Tulsa and 2014 No. 1 overall national seed Oregon.

"Our season is a marathon and not a sprint - we understand the importance of being prepared both mentally and physically." Kee said. "We will embrace the role of being an underdog, and give every team we face our most fierce effort for 21 outs."

By the time conference play rolls around, a hardened North Texas squad will be primed and ready to make a run at its first C-USA championship. During the offseason, the path to the title cleared up slightly, with the departure of previous conference powers Tulsa and East Carolina. Former Sun Belt rival WKU will be playing its inaugural Conference USA season.

"Every game on our schedule is pivotal no matter what their uniform says," explained Kee. "We have 54 games to prove we are post-season material. As a program, that's the challenge we are embracing, and that's the fire that drives us."

By challenging her squad with such an elite level of competition, Coach Kee hopes to extend North Texas' season well beyond 54 games into what would be the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Things are starting to look bright out at Lovelace Stadium, so grab your visors and sunglasses for one of the hottest spring seasons in Denton.