ORLANDO — On the heels of its inaugural season as a member of the Big 12 Conference and a program-record fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, the UCF softball team is set to kick off the 2025 campaign with its annual season-opening Black & Gold Classic this Thursday-thru-Sunday at the UCF Softball Complex.
UCF will notably renew its recent rivalry with No. 12 Georgia, squaring off against the Bulldogs as part of an Opening Knight doubleheader that also features a contest against California State University-Bakersfield. The Knights will meet James Madison, North Carolina State and Illinois throughout the weekend as well.
The Black and Gold in 2024 produced a 31-25 overall record in their first Big 12 go-around, earning conference series wins over Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU, Houston and Iowa State before the squad authored the largest NCAA Tournament comeback victory in program history against the Auburn Tigers May 17.
The effort against Auburn, UCF’s highest-ranked victory of the season by the NCAA’s RPI metric (No. 24), saw the Knights erase an early four-run deficit to ensure a tournament win in each of their last seven appearances.
With the departure of 11 seniors to graduation, a younger, new-look UCF team will navigate the program’s second season in the Big 12. Four seniors, four juniors, six sophomores and seven freshmen make up the 21-member squad that has its sights set on its fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth and beyond.
Go to _ https://ucfknights.com/2025-black-and-gold-classic-tournament-central _ for the complete tournament schedule, live stats, ESPN+ livestream links and results.
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Here is the schedule for the Black & Gold Classic:
Thursday, February 6 _ N.C. State vs. CSU-Bakersfield, 10 a.m.; N.C. State vs. Georgia, 12:30 p.m.; UCF vs. CSU-Bakersfield, 3:30 p.m.; UCF vs. Georgia, 6 p.m.
Friday, February 7 _ CSU-Bakersfield vs. James Madison University, 9 a.m.; JMU vs. N.C. State, 11:30 a.m.; CSU-Bakersfield vs. Illinois, 2 p.m.; UCF vs. N.C. State, 4:30 p.m.; Georgia vs. Illinois, 7 p.m.
Saturday, February 8 _ JMU vs. N.C. State, 9 a.m.; JMU vs. Georgia, 11:30 a.m.; CSU-Bakersfield vs. Illinois, 2 p m.; UCF vs. Illinois, 5 p.m.
Sunday, February 9 _ CSU-Bakersfield vs. Georgia, 9 a.m.; UCF vs. JMU, 11 a.m.; UCF vs. Illinois, 1 p.m.
