KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Following a regular season where the UBC Thunderbirds (27-19, 15-9) broke the program record for winning percentage in conference play (.625), the blue and gold will aim to replicate some of the playoff magic they had last year with another trip to Klamath Falls for the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship.
The T-Birds enter the six-team tournament as the No. 4 seed, finishing just one game back in the CCC standings from Southern Oregon (37-13, 16-8). It's the third year in a row that the Thunderbirds ended the regular season in fourth place, after never finishing higher than fifth in any season before the streak began.
"We had great pitching performances over the last two weekends, some really great defence, and we saw our offence live up to its potential," reflected UBC head coach Jenn McKellar on their final two regular season series, where they won seven of eight games. "So, we're hoping to take that momentum forward and have a really good conference tournament."
The postseason will (as usual) be a murderer's row, with the CCC boasting three teams in the top 10 of the entire NAIA – Oregon Tech (40-6, 20-4) at No. 2 and Eastern Oregon (37-9, 18-6) and Southern Oregon tied for No. 6. Both UBC and College of Idaho (30-18, 12-12) are in the "receiving votes" section, putting them in the top 40.
The T-Birds and Yotes will face off in the tournament-opening game – 9:00 a.m. (PT) on Friday, May 1. It's the same time slot and opponent as the T-Birds' 2025 playoff opener, one that they won 8-4. The tournament concludes on Sunday, May 3.
While the Yotes were quite up-and-down in conference play, they pack plenty of offensive firepower and split the season series against the Thunderbirds back at the beginning of April. Kina Watts finished the regular season ranked third amongst all CCC players in batting average (.426), while Madelyn Powell led the conference in RBIs (56).
With the tournament being a double-elimination format, neither of the two teams will be eliminated following the game. The winner faces top-seeded Oregon Tech later that same day, while the loser has to wait until the following morning to play in an elimination game against the loser of the No. 3 vs No. 6 matchup of Southern Oregon and Simpson (17-30, 11-13).
"The first game really sets the tone," said McKellar. "It helps you get your nerves out, helps you establish some confidence and some equal footing for the tournament. Game one is super important, but also really challenging. We have a tough matchup, but we're just going to focus on what we need to do and our process, and being the best versions of ourselves."
The T-Birds will need all hands on deck if they're to make a playoff run, with the games coming thick and fast. In their drama-filled runner's up finish at the 2025 CCC Championship, the Thunderbirds played six games in a little over 50 hours. For a team that relies strongly on their team defence and pitching (ranking second in the conference in ERA at 2.34), this weekend could become a true test of resilience and endurance.
"One of the things that we like to fall back on is that tournaments like this are very much how the girls grow up playing," added McKellar. "They've played tournaments like this their whole lives…they have more experience than even some of us as coaches doing it this way, so it's about that reminder that they can do this.
"We've relied on our staff all year, we'll continue to rely on our staff, and we have great starters and substitutions off the bench. Everyone will play a part, whether we need to do it the easy way or the hard way, and we have lots of great options throughout our team."
Every game of the CCC Championship will be streamed live and on-demand for free on the
Urban Edge Network. In addition to fighting for conference glory, the Thunderbirds are also battling to try and earn a spot in the NAIA Softball World Series Opening Round, which runs from May 11 to 14 at various sites throughout the United States.
