JACKSONVILLE – The schedule for head coach Jana McGInnis' 31st season leading Jax State softball is out and the Gamecocks are set marquee tests early and often in 2024.
 
The 2024 slate features 16 home dates plus a home tournament with the Jax State Invite slated for Feb. 23-25. As McGinnis' program enters its third conference in four seasons with the move to Conference USA, league opponents Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky will visit Jana McGinnis Field for three-game series each. The Gamecocks will also host non-conference in-state foes, Samford (Apr. 30), Alabama State (Apr. 3) and Alabama (Feb. 28). The early-season matchup with the Crimson Tide will be the first meeting between the two softball powers since UA visited Jacksonville in 2016.
 
To begin the season, Jax State jumps right into the action with tournaments at South Carolina, Chattanooga, Alabama State and Georgia. The Gamecocks also visit Chattanooga (Mar. 20) and Georgia Tech (Mar. 5) for single-game non-conference contests.
 
In league play, the Gamecocks get to see the USA with the transition into CUSA. Jax State travels to league opponents Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), UTEP (El Paso, Texas), FIU (Miami, Fla.) and Sam Houston (Huntsville, Texas). The CUSA Tournament will take place in Las Cruces, N.M. May 8-11 on the campus of New Mexico State.
 
Individual opponent schedules are still being finalized for several early-season tournaments. However, the season-opening weekend at South Carolina's Carolina Classic is set. The Gamecocks open 2024 taking on the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers for only the second time in program history after defeating UVA, 6-2, in the 2015 Diamond 9 Citrus Classic at Walt Disney World. Jax State then faces host South Carolina and North Carolina-Greensboro twice to finish the opening weekend.