The University of Delaware softball team will face a number of national powers in 2017, as Blue Hen head coach John Seneca has announced a challenging schedule.

The Blue Hens, who posted a 30-21 record in 2016 and won a game in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament, will take on five schools that participated in last year’s NCAA tournament, including three that advanced to the super regionals and one that competed in the Women’s College World Series.

UD's toughest schedule in school history begins on Friday, Feb. 10, at the University of South Florida (USF) Tournament in Tampa against Michigan, which finished No. 2 in last year’s final USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll before advancing to the Women's College World Series. Following a game against Illinois State later that day, the Blue Hens will take on Florida and USF on Feb. 11. The Gators held the No. 1 spot in the final Coaches Poll and advanced to the super regionals, while the host Bulls ranked 24th and competed in the NCAA tournament.

UD, which wraps up the tournament on Feb. 12 against St. John’s, returns to Florida the following weekend to face Marshall, Stetson, Providence, George Washington and Bethune-Cookman at the Diamond 9 Tournament in Orlando on Feb. 17-19

After a weekend off, the Blue Hens head to the home of another national contender by playing four games at the Tennessee Invitational on March 3-5 in Knoxville. The Volunteers, a seven-time Women's College World Series participant, finished No. 11 in last year’s final Coaches Poll and hosted an NCAA regional. UD opens the tournament with a game against Southeastern Louisiana on March 3, takes on Ohio University the following day, and faces Bradley and Tennessee on March 5.

UD again heads south the following weekend for five games at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) Spartan Classic on March 10-12, before opening its home schedule with a doubleheader against Villanova on March 15. UD then hosts the Blue Hen Invitational on March 18-19, featuring a double round robin format with Rhode Island and Cornell.

Patriot League power Lehigh visits Newark for a twinbill on March 22, before the homestand concludes on March 25-26 as UD opens its CAA schedule against local rival Towson. UD will be looking to improve on its 9-9 conference record from a year ago, which was good enough to qualify the Blue Hens for the conference tournament for the first time since 2013.

UD next heads to Drexel on April 1-2 for a three-game conference series with the Dragons, before returning home to host Rider in a non-league doubleheader on April 5. Following a CAA set at Hofstra on April 8-9, the Blue Hens host Saint Joseph’s in a twinbill on April 11 before welcoming defending league champion James Madison to Newark on April 14-15. The Dukes went undefeated in the CAA a year ago, finishing No. 8 in the Coaches Poll and hosting a super regional.

UD will then play 10 consecutive road games, including a three-game series at Charleston on April 22-23, a doubleheader at Delaware State on April 26, a three-game set at Elon on April 29-30, and a twinbill at Monmouth on May 3. The regular season concludes with a three-game home series against the University of North Carolina Wilmington on May 5-6.

The five-team CAA tournament will again be hosted by James Madison at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on May 9-12.