Arizona’s Candrea Classic to host softball giants in February

The official start of the NCAA Division I softball season is Feb. 5, 2027, but what might be the biggest campus-hosted tournament in the country will see first pitch a week later. Arizona will host Duke and former national champions UCLA and Michigan in the annual Candrea Classic beginning on Feb. 12.

The field will include programs with a total of 21 NCAA national titles, 13 NCAA national runners-up finishes, and 62 NCAA Women’s College World Series appearances. UCLA and Arizona account for the majority of all three categories.

UCLA is coming off its 34th official WCWS appearance in 2026. The Bruins rode a dominant offense to Oklahoma City where they fell to top-seeded Alabama in their opener before beating Arkansas in dominant fashion. They then lost to eventual runner-up Texas Tech in an elimination game.

Duke defeated Arizona in its home regional by beating the Wildcats twice on Sunday after dropping a 10-1 game to the visitors earlier in the weekend. The Blue Devils advanced to their fourth super regional where they fell to Arkansas.

Michigan advanced to the regional final in Norman, Okla. in 2026. They lost to the host Oklahoma Sooners by the score of 8-1.

Arizona is coming off a 37-18 season. The Wildcats took the upper hand at the Durham regional in 2026 by defeating Marshall and Duke in the first two games. They were unable to carry over that success to Sunday when they only needed one win to advance to the Fayetteville super regional. They lost back-to-back games to Duke by scores of 8-6 and 9-4 to close out their season.

The four teams were initially supposed to join a fifth team in a neutral site tournament in San Antonio, Tex. That tournament fell through, so four of the five opted to play in Tucson.

The Big 12 released the 2027 conference schedule in August. The remainder of Arizona’s nonconference slate will be announced at a later date. Last year, the complete schedule was released on Dec. 17.

Arizona is currently playing its fall schedule. It defeated UTEP 9-4 and 9-3 in a doubleheader on Oct. 17. The Wildcats will continue their practice games on Friday, Oct. 23 beginning at 5:30 p.m. MST. UA will host Phoenix College and Pima College in a doubleheader.