To kickoff the 2025 season, the Boilermakers will travel to College Station from Feb. 6-9 to take on the nationally ranked, No. 8 Aggies of Texas A&M, as a part of the Aggie Classic. Purdue will take on five different competitors, including two ranked teams (#8 Texas A&M, #20 Baylor), to begin a stacked preseason slate.
Purdue will officially begin its 2025 season with a contest on Feb. 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET taking on the host team, who topped at No. 8 in the preseason National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll. The following day, the Boilers will begin with Villanova at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by another ranked opponent and Texas native, No. 20 Baylor. On Saturday, Feb. 8, Purdue has a lone game against Abilene Christian, before closing out with Utah State and the Aggies again on Sunday, Feb. 9.
The Boilers return key experience with six seniors, including left-handed ace, Kendall Klochack, and starting catcher, Ryen Ross. Purdue also returns key assets such as Khloe Banks, Moriah Polar, and Julia Gossett who each earned preseason Big Ten Player to Watch mentions.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 6 – Purdue at No. 8 Texas A&M – 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Friday, Feb. 7 – Purdue vs. Villanova – 12:30 p.m. ET
Friday, Feb. 7 – Purdue vs. No. 20 Baylor – 5:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 8 – Purdue vs. Abilene Christian – 9:00 a.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 9 – Purdue vs. Utah State – 9:00 a.m. ET
Sunday, Feb 9 – Purdue at No. 8 Texas A&M – 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
In 2024, the Texas A&M Aggies had a .746 winning percentage, going 44-15 on the year. After falling in the SEC tournament to the seventh-ranked Florida Gators, the Aggies went on to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and hosted a regional. Texas A&M defeated the University of Albany and Texas State to move on to the Austin Super Regional hosted by No. 1 Texas. The Aggies battled the number one team in the country, taking the opening victory 6-5, before falling in back-to-back one run games, including a nine-inning fight, to end their season.
Villanova finished the 2024 season with a winning record of 33-24, and took home the Big East title. The Wildcats then headed to the Fayetteville regional, where they lost the opening round to No. 17 Arizona, before coming back with back-to-back wins over Southeast Missouri State, and the regional host, No. 16 Arkansas. With the win, the Wildcats helped to knock out Arkansas, but eventually closed out their remarkable season with a 9-4 loss in the regional final against Arizona.
The Baylor Bears earned a 36-23 record in 2024, with a 14-13 conference record. The Bears advanced to the second-round of the Big 12 tournament, with an opening 3-2 win over UCF, before falling to the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns. Due to their successful season, the Bears earned a bid to the NCAA tournament, and traveled to Lafayette, La. to face Ole Miss in the first round of the regional. The Bears claimed wins over both Ole Miss and the host Ragin Cajuns in the first two games, before falling in the third. With one loss apiece, Louisiana and Baylor played for the regional final where the Bears came out on top. In the Gainesville Super Regional, the Bears lost in game three, falling to No. 4 Florida, 5-3.
In 2024, Abilene Christian was 16-32 with an 8-18 record in conference. During the offseason, the Wildcats named Jo Koons to lead the program for the 2025 season, and Koons is set to embark on the inaugural season beginning in Texas. After falling in the last six games of the season, the Wildcats did not advance to the Western Athletic Conference tournament. Under new leadership, the Wildcats look to the 2025 season for a clean slate.
The second team nicknamed the Aggies, Utah State, finished the 2024 season with a 22-28 overall record, and a 5-17 conference record. The program also fell in its last six games of the season, and thus did not advance to the Mountain West tournament. With the addition of two new coaches on staff, the Aggies take on the 2025 season with a new look.
SERIES HISTORY
The Boilermakers will take on the Aggies for the fourth and fifth times in their histories in the opening weekend, with the series currently set at 2-2. The first meeting between the teams came back on March 14, 2009, with the Boilers taking the 3-1 win at neutral site Boca Raton, Fla. The Aggies then took back-to-back wins in 2013, outscoring Purdue 11-2. In the most recent meeting in 2015, Purdue took the 1-0 shutout victory in Los Angeles, Calif.
Purdue has a perfect 4-0 record against the Wildcats of Villanova, yet the last time the two teams met was 17 years ago. In the first meeting in 2004, Purdue took the 4-1 victory in Chattanooga, Tenn. by a score of 4-1. The teams have only met at neutral sites, and are yet to play at the campuses of one another.
Against the No. 20 Bears of Baylor, Purdue has only taken one victory in the seven-game history. The first meeting came back in 2000, where Baylor came away with the victory in an eight-inning thriller. Most recently, the teams met in 2014 in Clearwater, Fla., with another tight game, where the Bears came away with the one-run victory. Purdue looks to add another win to the column, before taking on Abilene Christian for the first-ever match up in their histories.
Utah State and Purdue have faced-off five times before, but not since the Boilers took the 2-1 victory back in 2013. The Boilermakers took a pair of back-to-back wins in their last two meetings, which were separated by nine years (2004-13). The team originally met in 1995 with Utah State winning 7-3 in Phoenix, Ariz.
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