Mercer softball will start their 40th season Friday after a historic 2025 season that featured the program's first ever Southern Conference championship and an NCAA tournament berth.
Mercer won the Southern Conference championship last season under then-head coach Lindsay Fico, who resigned in May 2025 to coach at Florida Gulf Coast University. Chris Kuhlmeyer, who has been coaching at various levels across the softball world for 26 years, took over the program in June 2025.
Kuhlmeyer started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at LSU in 2000, and most recently headed the University of Maryland–Baltimore County squad from 2019 to 2025. UMBC won four straight America East conference titles and put together a 158-128 record with Kuhlmeyer at the helm.
The SoCon Coaches Poll ranked Mercer fifth of eight teams to start the 2026 season. The Bears finished 3-2 in preseason play last fall, including a 15-2 victory against Fort Valley State University. Their two losses came to the University of North Georgia and the University of Alabama.
Last year’s standout offensive leader, Tori Hedgecock '25, led Mercer in nearly every hitting category. With the infielder having graduated last spring, the Bears will look for other players to fill that role this season.
Grace Jones '28 is a candidate for the spot after being named to the SoCon Preseason All-Conference team. The right-handed pitcher batted .307 in 2025 and struck out 17 batters from the circle in 26.2 innings pitched. Jones also pitched a complete game last year in Mercer’s 4-2 win against Florida A&M University.
Kuhlmeyer’s roster includes just two seniors: pitcher Katheryn Rearley '26 and infielder Avery Barton '26. Rearley pitched a career-best season with a 3.52 ERA and a 7-2 record last year, leading a strong Bears defense that gave up the second-fewest home runs and third-fewest WHIP in the SoCon.
The Bears will open their season at 3 p.m. Friday in the Heart of Georgia Classic against the University of Evansville at Sikes Field. Evansville posted a 20-34 record in 2025. This year, their roster comes with veteran experience from their 10 seniors and five juniors. The Bears have a 2-3 all-time record against the Aces, with their last matchup back in 2017.
Mercer is slated for five games this weekend, including a second game Friday against North Carolina A&T State University, a double-header Saturday against Evansville and the University of Maine, and a final matchup against North Carolina A&T.
Nathaniel Jordan '29 intends to major in Journalism at Mercer and hopes to work as an investigative journalist. His hobbies include poetry, photography and home cooking, and you can probably find him around Macon shopping or walking through local parks with his wife and son.
