Three weekends in a row of competition for the Cyclone softball team just means more opportunities to seize. Iowa State will have its chance to add on to a historic start to its 2021 season at the GCU Purple Classic Friday through Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona.

The bookends of competition will be played at Grand Canyon’s stadium in Phoenix while the second day will be played at Arizona State’s stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

The Cyclones are now ranked No. 25 by USA Today and the NFCA Coach’s poll. The ranking is a historic achievement for the program, making it the first time in program history the Cyclones have appeared in the NFCA’s top-25 rankings.

The early season history-making is in large part because of the Cyclones’ hot start to their season. Most recently, the team is coming off a 4-1 weekend at the FAU Strikeout Cancer Tournament, improving to 9-1 overall on the season.

Iowa State’s 9-1 start matches the best 10-game start to a season in program history.

“I’m extremely proud of how our women are playing,” Head Coach Jamie Pinkerton said. “They are coming to practice and putting the work in and getting better. The confidence they are building in themselves is why we are having this early success.”

With only two weekends under the Cyclones’ belts, there is more to be played and learn. The 9-1 start can be accredited to many things for the team, the biggest being its leadership.

“It starts with Skyler [Ramos], Sami [Williams] and Logan [Schaben], our upperclassmen,” Pinkerton said. “For as young as we are, they are playing like a veteran team right now. There are gonna be bumps in the road and we are gonna hit some rough patches, but I think the maturity level of this team is further along than what could be expected. … Twenty of the 28 players have never played in a Big 12 game because of last year’s season getting canceled and many of those are freshmen.”

The Cyclone depth comes from the strong commitment from each class of players, but Williams is the one who has led the team off to its fast start.

Williams was recently named the Big 12 Player of the Week for her hot start to her senior season and is a big believer in the depth the Cyclones have. In the first 10 games this season, Williams is hitting .424 from the plate with four home runs, 10 RBIs and 14 hits.

Even with the numbers she’s already put up, she wants more going forward.

“I’d like to work on attacking more of my pitches as a hitter and not hitting pitcher’s pitches because they place them where they want me to hit them,” Williams said.

The individual improvement on the team has been noticeable so far, but sophomore pitcher Karlie Charles said it all comes from the collective team putting in the time to get better.

“We are finally working as a unit,” Charles said. “I’m really excited to keep playing and going at big teams.” 

This weekend, the team will take on 13th-ranked Arizona State at their home stadium. However, with the practice and exposure to indoor and outdoor games, the preparation holds true.

“Well, last week, I lost my voice a little bit,” Charles said. “I’m super excited to get back in the dugout and scream and cheer on my teammates, it’s probably the most exciting thing. Our fans and our family who have come to our games have said that they love watching us, and we are so excited to watch in the dugout and on the field.”

The Cyclones will take on Portland State and GCU on Feb. 26, Portland State and Arizona State on Feb. 27 and GCU on Feb. 28 to finish out the GCU Purple Classic. This is another opportunity for the Cyclones to be exposed to opponents outside of the region and Big 12 conference.