COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M softball Head Coach Jo Evans recently announced the Aggies' 2012 schedule, highlighted by games against 19 NCAA Tournament teams from last season including six that participated in the Women's College World Series.
The Aggies were ranked No. 14 in the nation in the final 2011 poll after posting a perfect 25-0 home mark that included sweeping the field in the NCAA College Station Regional before ending their season in the NCAA Super Regionals against Arizona State, the eventual national champion.
A&M softball's regular-season schedule is one of the toughest in the nation, flecked with games against 11 teams who finished the 2011 season ranked in the top 25.
The Aggies will kickoff the 2012 season Feb. 10-12 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., starting with a doubleheader against 2011 Super Regional team Stanford and NCAA Regional competitor BYU. Contests with San Jose State and Northwestern, as well as a game against Super Regional host and No. 8 Arizona will round out the weekend.
As is tradition each year, the Aggies will play two games against Sam Houston State, splitting host sites with the Bearkats. Game one will be on February 15 in College Station, with game two following on Feb. 29 in Huntsville.
A&M will host three tournaments in 2012, beginning with the Aggie Classic, Feb. 15-19 at the Aggie Softball Complex. The tournament holds a ten-game slate between the Aggies, North Carolina State, Texas-San Antonio and Tulsa, a 2011 NCAA Regional team.
The Texas A&M Invitational (March 2-4) and the Aggie Invitational (March 9-11) will be hosted back-to-back. The TAMU Invitational will feature three NCAA Tournament teams in Nebraska, Texas State and 20th-ranked Super Regional competitor Houston. North Dakota State and Liberty, both of whom made 2011 NCAA Regional appearances, will compete in the Aggie Invitational, along with Monmouth of New Jersey.
A&M will make an appearances at the Cathedral City Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., and will play five games in Hawaii during Spring Break. In Cathedral City the Aggies will begin the tournament with a game against National Runner-Up Florida. The team will also face No. 12 Washington, who made a Super Regional appearance a year ago, and NCAA Regional competitor Pacific. A game against New Mexico, and a second game of the season against BYU will round out the weekend.
The Aggies will play No. 5 WCWS team California in Honolulu, followed by two games against Marist, and contests with Winthrop and Hawaii.
New to the Big 12, each conference series will consist of three games in 2012. The Aggies kick off league play March 23-25 with three games at home against No. 4 WCWS team Missouri.
 A fourth-straight home game, against No. 9 Baylor, will take place on March 28. The two teams will meet again in Waco on April 10 before capping the series off on April 24 in College Station.
A&M will also split sites with No. 7 NCAA Regional host Texas. The Aggies and Longhorns will start the State Farm Lone Star Showdown on April 27 at the Aggie Softball Complex, and will move to Austin for the final two games on April 28-29.
The Aggies will play 15th-ranked WCWS competitor Oklahoma State, Iowa State and NCAA Regional team Texas Tech on the road. The Maroon & White will host No. 10 WCWS team Oklahoma, April 13-15 in College Station, and will finish the regular season at home against Kansas.
NCAA Regional tournaments (May 17-20) and Super Regional tournaments (May 25-27) will take place at to-be-determined campus sites. The top eight teams in the nation will convene in Oklahoma City, Okla., May30-June 6, for the Women's College World Series.
Many games this season will be broadcast on Sports Radio 1150 AM and 95.1-3 The Zone HD. Ticketing and radio information for 2012 will be released at a later date. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com.