ATLANTA - Head coach Roger Kincaid released the 2017 schedule for Georgia State softball on Friday, announcing that the Panthers will host 22 home games including meetings with Michigan State, Notre Dame, Illinois and Georgia Tech at the Bob Heck Softball Complex.

GSU's schedule is highlighted by 17 contests against 10 teams that finished in the top 50 RPI last season with six of those games coming at home. The Panthers will play nine Power-5 schools including three SEC opponents.

“We are excited about our non conference schedule,” Kincaid said. “It is extremely difficult to put a good schedule together. We will have some great opponents coming to Panthersville and I look forward to all of our fans coming out to support the team.”

Georgia State will compete in three non-conference tournaments beginning with the Mississippi State Invite to open the season. The Panthers will face the host Bulldogs along with Western Kentucky and Stephen F. Austin. GSU could play as many as five games with a semifinal matchup scheduled for Feb. 11 and the final slated for Feb. 12.

Following the opening weekend, the Panthers return home to host Georgia Tech in the first of two meetings between the GSU and GT this season. The Yellow Jackets will host the Panthers later in the season on March 29.

Georgia State then competes in the North Florida Invite with South Carolina State, Kansas, South Dakota State and North Florida. Georgia State visits Mercer on Feb. 22 before five straight home games against Illinois (doubleheader), Omaha (doubleheader) and Radford.

Georgia State's final non-conference tourney is a return to the USF Invitational in Tampa. The Panthers will play Syracuse, South Florida, Villanova, Hartford and Central Michigan.

Michigan State will visit the Heck Softball Complex on March 7 as GSU prepares for the start of conference play with a home series vs. South Alabama on March 11.

Georgia State will host weekend series with the Jaguars, Appalachian State, UT Arlington, and ULM while visiting Troy, Texas State, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana and Georgia Southern.

The Panthers have some fun midweek contests lined up throughout the conference slate. GSU will host Notre Dame on March 14, Kennesaw State on March 22 and Furman on April 5. Georgia State will play at Kennesaw State on April 11, Auburn on April 12 and Georgia on April 19.

“We have quality opponents with winning traditions coming to play at our place. Our team is looking forward to the challenge,” Kincaid said. “It will be a lot of fun playing these teams on our field. We need all our fans to come out, be loud and give us that home field advantage.”