Softball Opens Season in Tucson for Candrea Classic
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The spring sports season is officially in full swing this weekend when Michigan State softball heads to Tucson, Ariz. For the Candrea Classic hosted by the University of Arizona. Led by third-year head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelly, the Spartans will play a doubleheader against the No. 16-ranked Wildcats on Thursday night to kick off the season.
Named after legendary Arizona head coach Mike Candrea, the Candrea Classic is set to host teams from Alabama, Washington, Western Michigan and Michigan State. MSU will take on No. 11-ranked Alabama for a single game on Friday, February 7 before meeting intrastate foe Western Michigan for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday, February 8.
Thursday's doubleheader against Arizona will stream on ESPN+, while Michigan State's three remaining neutral site contests will stream on FloSoftball.
This weekend marks the first time the Spartans have appeared in Arizona since the 2023 season where MSU was hosted for tournaments at Grand Canyon and Arizona State. It'll serve as a homecoming trip for senior catcher Macy Lee who hails from Phoenix.
Series History
Michigan State has only faced Arizona three times in program history and not since 1979. The Spartans took on the Wildcats twice at the AIAW College World series, splitting games in 1975 and 1977 to sandwich MSU's national championship victory in 1976.
MSU twice faced Alabama under former head coach Jacquie Joseph, challenging the then No. 5-ranked Crimson Tide in a 2-1 defeat during the 2019 season.
Western Michigan is one of Michigan State's longest played series in program history with the Spartans owning a 48-46-1 record against the Broncos. Michigan State is on a five-game winning streak against WMU, winning 4-3 in East Lansing last season. The series with Western Michigan dates back to 1976 when the teams faced each other five times (all Spartan victories).
Ones to Watch
Junior Hannah Hawley, junior Britain Beshears and freshman Jacey Schuler were named 2025 Big Ten Softball Players to Watch by the conference office on Tuesday, February 4.
Hawley is MSU's lone returning All-B1G selection as a second teamer a year ago, while Beshears garnered NFCA All-Great Lakes region third team honors. Hawley was a first team All-Region selection. Schuler is a newcomer for the Spartans in 2025, entering the season as a two-time NFCA High School All-American.
Continuing with the preseason accolades, Hawley was named to the D1Softball Preseason D100 Player rankings, checking in at No. 100. Schuler was tabbed to Softball American's Freshman Watch List.
Hauling in Hits
Hawley had a breakout season as a sophomore in her first year as a Spartan, leading the team in batting average (.349), on-base percentage (.462), OPS (1.133), hits (52), extra-base hits (24) and walks (25).
In 66 at-bats vs. RPI Top 75 teams, Hawley hit .364 with five home runs and a 1.114 OPS. Hawley's 14 multi-hit games led MSU (five three-hit games, nine two-hit games) and she was second with five multi-RBI games (Britain Beshears, 8). Hawley posted a career-best on-base streak of 14 games along with an eight-game hitting streak during the 2024 season.
Bashing Beshears
Beshears is one of the best power-hitters in the B1G, finishing 2024 ranked No. 39 nationally in home runs per game (0.29) and No. 50 in total home runs (15). Her 15 home runs ranked No. 2 in program history for a single season. Only Lindsey Hansen has hit more in a season for MSU (20, 2011).
Beshears finished last season ranked #3 in the B1G in home runs. Alongside Hawley, contributed to one of the best power-hitting seasons in program history as a program with the team slugging 50 home runs in 51 games to rank third for a single season.
Taylor Turning It Up a Notch
The 2024 season was a tale of two parts for senior starting pitcher Madison Taylor, who posted an ERA of 6.00 over her first 35.0 innings of the season. In her remaining 16 appearances, Taylor posted a 2.84 ERA over 69.0 innings, leading the Spartans in innings pitched during that stretch.
Taylor tossed three complete games during that stretch and struck out a career-high eight batters vs. Indiana. Taylor closed her season with 10.2 consecutive scoreless innings in the circle that included a pair of wins at Purdue in the season's final series.
Captains of the Ship
Michigan State softball named four captains for the 2025 season. Graduate student Jenae Wash, senior Macy Lee, and juniors Hannah Hawley and Britain Beshears will lead the team this season.
Wash enters her sixth season with the program, missing two due to injury, and is the epitome of a player who will do whatever is necessary for the team. Wash has played in every spot on the field other than pitcher/catcher in her time at MSU. Lee made 50 starts for MSU a season ago while playing through an injury to her throwing shoulder.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
