Home Heavy Schedule, Plus Trip to Colorado, Highlights Rifle's Competition for 2025-26

SCHEDULE

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Eight home matches, including seven of the first eight overall matches at home, plus a trip to Colorado Springs, highlight the Morehead State Rifle team's 2025-26 schedule.

The Eagles will host eight total matches in Button Range, including seven of the first eight on the season. The final home match comes on Jan. 31. The Eagles' trip to Colorado is set for Nov. 15-16 weekend and features a tri-match with Air Force and Ohio State. Air Force finished seventh at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

"Our trip to Colorado will be a highlight and should be a great experience for our team," said Head Coach Alan Joseph. "We also have another great opportunity to shoot against a highly ranked team versus Alaska this season, as well as Ohio State and Mississippi. The schedule played out so we have a lot of home matches at the beginning, and I think that will be a positive aspect for our team as we get more experience as the year goes along. We are comfortable shooting in our home ranges, and I think it will help boost our confidence heading into tougher competition away from home."

The schedule opens with a pair of weekend home matches on Oct. 4-5 against second-year program Mount Aloysius (Pa.). The Mounties are coached by former Eagle shooter Siarra Crum. 

Three of the next four weekends also feature home matches, including Jacksonville State (Oct. 11), UT Martin (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1), VMI (Nov. 8) and Memphis (Nov. 9). The only road match in that four weeks is versus Akron, and that will take place at a neutral facility at the X-Count in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Following the Colorado trip, MSU will host the Eagle Open on Nov. 21-23. While not shooting in the match, MSU hosts junior shooters, and the Air Rifle portion is now a ranking match by USA Shooting.

Starting the new year, MSU will head to Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 24-25 for a pair of tri-matches. MSU, OSU and Alaska (Fairbanks) square off Jan. 24, while Mississippi comes in to join the second match and replace Alaska on Jan. 25. The Alaska Nanooks took third place at the NCAAs. The Rebels were fourth place at last year's NCAA Championship. Ole Miss' Audrey Gogniat shot a perfect 600 to win the NCAA individual Air Rifle title last March.

The final home match is set for Jan. 31 as North Georgia visits. The OVC Championships will be contested Feb. 7-8 at UT Martin, and the NCAA Qualifier is Feb. 21 at Kentucky. Last time at UK's range, Hayden Bell set a program record with a 598 Air score to earn his spot at the NCAA Championships.