The 2025 softball season in the Big Ten Conference is approaching, which means that the first year of play for the four West Coast-based schools now in the league (UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington) is upon us. Undoubtedly, an already-tough softball conference just got even tougher. However, one of the members of the old guard is determined to try and not let the new teams on the block win so easily on the diamond. Indiana softball, which is currently amid one of its finest periods in program history, is wanting to make a leap to the next level after two consecutive impressive seasons that each ended in the NCAA Tournament.

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Now that a standard of success has started to be set by the Hoosiers again, they want more, including deep postseason runs and Big Ten championships. Before they can do all that, though, tough tests under the tropical sun at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in mid-February await them.

Here’s a look ahead at what to expect out of Indiana softball at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge next month, which is to be streamed live and exclusively on FloCollege:

How Did Indiana Softball Do In 2024?

The Hoosiers made a statement by taking down No. 15 Oregon on opening day at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, and things just kept going on up from there. IU finished with 40 wins for the second straight season and made the Big Ten Tournament championship game in back-to-back years with it, too, and while the Hoosiers weren’t able to bring home a piece of conference title hardware, they were able to qualify for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection — the second straight year they’ve done that and the first time IU softball has accomplished that feat since the mid-1980s. Indiana had an electric lineup that raked at the plate, finishing as the Big Ten’s leader in team batting average (.311), on-base percentage (.398) and slugging percentage (.505) as well as topping the conference charts in home runs (69), RBIs (325) and stolen bases (107), the latter of which ranked 12th nationally. Infielder Sarah Stone was IU’s representative on the First Team All-Big Ten at season’s end, while outfielder Taylor Minnick and utility player Aly VanBrandt were each honored onto the Second Team All-Big Ten, as well. Oh, and in bad news for Indiana’s opponents this season, all three of those players are back for 2025.

Who Coaches Indiana Softball?

Shonda Stanton enters her eighth season in charge at Indiana in 2025, and she’s spearheaded the program’s rapid rise back up to national prominence. A longtime college head coach before coming to Bloomington as she had a one-year stop at IU Indy in 1999 before an 18-year stretch at Marshall, Stanton in her second year at IU in 2019 led the Hoosiers to a 14-0 start and first national ranking since 1996. The pandemic-shortened 2020 season and a pair of over-.500 campaigns followed before Stanton had her best season yet with the Hoosiers in 2023 as they won at least 40 games for the first time since 1994 and made their first NCAA Regional trip since 2011 heavily thanks to the explosion of Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year Taryn Kern, now the starting second baseman at Stanford following her transfer. Kern’s departure didn’t slow IU down, though, as it won 40 games again, successfully got back to the NCAA Tournament and put Stanton just three wins away from 800 in her career entering the 2025 season. Adding a Big Ten regular-season title this season — which would be the first won by the Hoosiers since 1994 — would be the cherry on top of it all.

Has Indiana Softball Ever Won The Women’s College World Series?

No, Indiana softball has never won the Women’s College World Series, but the Hoosiers have made the grandest stage in college softball twice in their history in 1983 and 1986 (and four times if you count pre-NCAA WCWS appearances in the now-defunct AIAW). IU’s back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances the past two seasons signal that it’s a good time in the program right now; the last time the Hoosiers did that on the diamond was in 1985 and 1986.

Who Will Indiana Softball Play At The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge?

Boise State softball will square up against North Dakota State (8 p.m. ET Feb. 13), Illinois State (4 p.m. Feb. 14), Boise State (7 p.m. Feb. 14) and BYU (1 p.m. Feb. 15) across three days of play at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, played entirely at Nancy Almaraz Field in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and streamed live and exclusively on FloCollege. 

It is the ninth time that event — which was the first college softball event ever to take place outside the United States upon its launch — has taken place in the sunny resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, and Indiana will take part in Session #2 of the event to be held from Feb. 12-15. 

All games from both sessions at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge will be streamed live and only on FloCollege.

Notable Returning Players

Taylor Minnick, OF

The hometown kid from Bloomington has been as rock-steady of a weapon as it gets for the Hoosiers and has evolved into a leader to go along with IU softball’s rise back up to the upper echelon of the Big Ten. Though her sophomore season in 2023 was her best statistically, when she was named a NFCA Third Team All-American and as a First Team All-Big Ten pick after batting .390, her junior year in 2024 was arguably more important as the Hoosiers lost superstar Taryn Kern to the transfer portal and needed to prove that they could handle being down some firepower. Minnick helped do just that by batting .357 in the three hole in the lineup last season with 10 home runs and 54 RBIs along with 24 extra-base hits to boot. This spring will be Minnick’s final hurrah with the Hoosiers, and as the veteran leader in the lineup and outfield, she’ll be pushing to do as much as she can to end her college softball career on a high note and make some history for Indiana’s program.

Aly VanBrandt, UTL

A top-25 recruit nationally ahead of her freshman season last year, VanBrandt lived up to the hype and more in her first year in Bloomington as she immediately became a major, important contributor toward IU’s success. A career .641 hitter in high school, the Michigan native ripped it up for the Hoosiers right away, earning the starting spot at second base and proceeding to hit a team-best .369 on the season (10th individually in her conference) for the top hitting squad in the Big Ten. She was one of only five freshmen to be named First or Second Team All-Big Ten a season ago and comes into her sophomore campaign for 2025 with heightened expectations for both herself and the Hoosiers; a disciplined hitter who only struck out 10 times in 160 at-bats with good speed (12 stolen bases), VanBrandt has the tools to truly evolve into a superstar-type player for IU this spring as the program aims for a third straight trip to the NCAA Regional round for the first time in school history.

Notable Newcomers

Melina Wilkison, OF

The Hoosiers’ top coup from the transfer portal in the offseason, the Indiana-born Wilkison returns to play in her home state after spending the previous three seasons at Big Ten rival Ohio State, and what a three seasons it was. Her sophomore season with the Buckeyes in 2023 was especially spectacular, in which she started every game in right field and was a First Team All-Big Ten choice after leading Ohio State and being among the conference leaders in multiple major offensive categories including batting average (.373), home runs (11), RBIs (44), slugging percentage (.718) and stolen bases (13). Poised for a massive year as a junior last season, Wilkison’s 2024 campaign instead came to a close not long after it began, in which she suffered a season-ending injury after playing in only five games. She earned a medical redshirt because of that bad luck, meaning she’ll get two years of eligibility with the Hoosiers as they add another high-octane piece to a lineup that already returns its core pieces from being the Big Ten’s best a season ago — and, crucially, one that’s already seen and knows how to deal with Big Ten competition as the conference only got stronger from last year.

Hannah Haberstroh, OF

The Indiana-Ohio State games in late March may have a little extra animosity to them this time around as not only did the Hoosiers swipe away one of OSU’s best returners in Wilkison, but they also poached a previous Buckeyes commit in Haberstroh and instead got her to sign the dotted line with IU instead. Haberstroh was part of OSU’s 2024 recruiting class prior to her senior year in her hometown of Greenwood, Indiana, located about an hour’s drive outside of Bloomington, but she eventually decommitted from the Buckeyes and opted to sign with the Hoosiers instead. As a result, Indiana will now be getting a high-contact speedster that gets on base and fits right into its aggressive style on the basepaths; Haberstroh had 94 stolen bases in her career at Center Grove High School, including 30 alone as a junior, and batted .490 for her career with a fantastic .542 mark to boot for her senior year as she was named an all-state selection three times. Considering that IU doesn’t have any fear to play promising freshmen right away (see VanBrandt’s season from last year), be on the lookout for Haberstroh to be a potential big contributor to the Hoosiers from opening day.

2025 Indiana Softball Roster 

(Name, Position, Class, Hometown)

• Hannah Haberstroh, OF, Fr., Greenwood, Ind.
• Taylor Minnick, OF, Sr., Bloomington, Ind.
• Aly VanBrandt, UTL, Soph., Ottawa Lake, Mich.
• Madalyn Strader, INF, Fr., Cedar Park, Texas
• Jasmine Reyes, P, Fr., Oxnard, Calif.
• Alli Gavin, C/UTL, Fr., Trafalgar, Ind.
• Jenae Berry, P, Fr., Queen Creek, Ariz.
• Sarah Stone, INF, Sr., Bedford, Ind.
• Cassidy Kettleman, OF, Jr., Amherst, Ohio
• Brianna Copeland, P/UTL, Sr., Pelham, Ala.
• Avery Parker, C/UTL, Jr., Westfield, Ind.
• Sydni Burko, INF, Fr., Ona, W.Va.
• Savannah Oden, C/UTL, Soph., Nashville, Ind.
• Melina Wilkison, OF, R-Jr., Greensburg, Ind.
• Kinsey Mitchell, OF, Sr., New Palestine, Ind.
• Josie Bird, C/INF, Fr., Hamlin, W.Va.
• Alex Cooper, UTL, Soph., Mooresville, Ind.
• Peyton Drummond, OF, Fr., Floyds Knobs, Ind.
• Taylor Hess, P, Jr., St. Augusta, Minn.

How To Watch the 2025 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge

Watch the 2025 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on FloSoftball and the FloSports App.

FloSoftball will be streaming several NCAA Division I College Softball tournaments including the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Rocket City Softball Showcase, FAU Paradise Classic, and the FAU Joan Joyce Classic.

2025 PVCC Team List - Session 1:

• Florida State
• Louisiana Tech
• Northern Colorado
• Oklahoma State

2025 PVCC Team List - Session 2:

• Boise State
• BYU
• Florida International
• Illinois State
• Indiana
• North Dakota State

When Is The Puerto Vallarta Softball Tournament?

Session 1 for PVCC will take place February 6-9th followed by Session 2 from February 13-16th.

Puerto Vallarta College Challenge 2025 Schedule

PVCC Session 1 schedule (all times CT): 

Feb. 6

• 10 a.m. – Florida State vs. Oklahoma State
• 1 p.m. – Florida State vs. Northern Colorado
• 4 p.m. – Northern Colorado vs. LA Tech

Feb. 7

• 1 p.m. – Florida State vs. LA Tech
• 4 p.m. – Oklahoma State vs. LA Tech
• 7 p.m. – Northern Colorado vs. Oklahoma State

Feb. 8

• 1 p.m. – LA Tech vs. Northern Colorado
• 4 p.m. – LA Tech vs. Florida State
• 7 p.m. – Oklahoma State vs. Florida State

PVCC Session 2 schedule (all times CT):

Feb. 12

• Noon – North Dakota State vs. BYU

Feb. 13

• 10 a.m. – Florida International vs. Boise State
• 1 p.m. – Florida International vs. North Dakota State
• 4 p.m. – BYU vs. Illinois State
• 7 p.m. – Indiana vs. North Dakota State

Feb. 14

• 10 a.m. – Florida International vs. Illinois State
• 12:30 p.m. – Florida International vs. North Dakota State
• 3 p.m. – Illinois State vs. Indiana
• 6 p.m. – Boise State vs. Indiana
• 8:30 p.m. – Boise State vs. BYU

Feb. 15

• 10 a.m. – Illinois State vs. North Dakota State
• 1 p.m. – Indiana vs. BYU
• 4 p.m. – BYU vs. Florida International
• 7 p.m. – Boise State vs. Florida International

Where Is The Puerto Vallarta Softball Tournament?  

The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge is at Nancy Almaraz Field in Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico.

The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge 2025 Stream

The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge is streaming on FloSoftball and the FloSports app. Replays of the games, highlights and more breaking news will be on both platforms. 

You make the call 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 or 𝐎𝐮𝐭?

The @uwsoftball vs @ou_softball was a wild one 😳 this early in the season@pvcollegesb#PVCC #collegesoftball #ncaasoftball #d1softball pic.twitter.com/rwLewNE6Iq

— FloSoftball (@FloSoftball) February 10, 2024

FloSoftball Archived Footage

Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloSoftball subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

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