BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The College of Coastal Georgia softball team enters the 2026 NAIA Opening Round as the No. 2 seed in the Hattiesburg (Mississippi) Bracket, hosted by William Carey University, with a chance to make a deep postseason run. The Mariners open bracket play on Monday, May 11, against a familiar foe — No. 3 seed Georgia Gwinnett College — at 3 p.m. central time.
It will be the second meeting between the two programs this season. Coastal Georgia claimed the first encounter on April 17 in Brunswick, with a 3-2 victory. The Mariners will look to carry that momentum into postseason play.
A SEASON TO REMEMBER
Coastal Georgia arrives in Hattiesburg carrying a 37-12 overall record and ranked No. 18 nationally, earning an at-large bid out of The Sun Conference. The Mariners have been one of the most consistent teams in the NAIA this spring, posting a 21-8 conference mark and going 18-3 at home. The offense has been the engine of this club, batting a collective .331 as a team with 275 runs scored and a .464 slugging percentage through 49 games.
MILLS DOES IT ALL
There may not be a more valuable two-way player in the NAIA than junior Rylee Mills. At the plate, the first baseman leads the team with a .399 average, 55 hits, 15 doubles and 36 RBI out of the three-hole, slugging .543 with a .482 on-base percentage. In the circle, Mills is even more imposing, carrying a 19-6 record with a 2.06 ERA across 143 innings — working out of 30 appearances and 27 starts with 16 complete games. She has allowed just 42 earned runs while striking out 68 batters, and her .222 opponents' batting average tells the story of how difficult she is to square up.
LINEUP TOP TO BOTTOM
The Mariners can hurt opponents from top to bottom. Kaitlyn Carolino has been the offensive catalyst at the top of the lineup, leading the team with 52 runs scored while hitting .377 and swiping 41 bases in 43 attempts. Rily Andrews has been the run producer at .360 with four home runs and a team-leading 42 RBI, while Mackenzie Southerland has been a doubles machine — her 17 two-baggers are the most on the squad as she hits .328 with 33 RBI.
Brooke Perdue and Emma Jones add further punch, hitting .322 and .333 respectively. Perdue has slugged .554 with four triples among her 11 extra-base hits, while Jones has been an anchor in the field up the middle, committing just eight errors over 155 chances at shortstop.
DEPTH IN THE CIRCLE
Beyond Mills, the Mariners have relied on sophomore Emilia Clemons to provide crucial innings. Clemons is 12-3 with a 2.73 ERA across 95 innings, logging five complete games and proving to be one of the more reliable one-two punches in the field. McKenzie Collins — the hero of the April 17 win over GWC — has also contributed in relief and as a spot starter, going 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 48 innings. The staff collectively owns a 2.68 ERA and has held opponents to a .250 average.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
Georgia Gwinnett arrives at 29-22 as the CAC Tournament champion, having swept through the conference bracket to earn its bid. The Grizzlies feature a dynamic offense led by sophomore outfielder Casey Beaver, who is batting .415 with 36 stolen bases, and senior Savannah Jenkins, who has knocked in 46 runs. Senior Kailyn Berry (15-5, 2.13 ERA) leads the pitching staff and was named the CAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while freshman Tatum Helsom (11 wins, 82 strikeouts) gives GWC a capable second arm.
THE ROAD AHEAD
Monday's winner advances to a winner's bracket game Tuesday at 3 p.m., while the loser faces an elimination game at noon. The five-team double-elimination bracket also includes tournament host and top seed William Carey, No. 4 Marian University (Indiana) and No. 5 Columbia College (Missouri). The bracket champion will be among ten teams advancing to the 2026 NAIA World Series.
With Mills anchoring both the lineup and the rotation, and a deep, balanced offense capable of putting up crooked numbers in a hurry, the Mariners have the makeup of a team that can play their way through Hattiesburg and punch their ticket to the World Series.
First pitch Monday is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
