Richland County Softball Preseason Power Poll provides insight into upcoming 2025 season
MANSFIELD — Welcome to the 2025 high school softball season.
Richland County softball teams take to the diamond this week with a couple of weekend games. But, before we get there, let's take a quick look at each team and what we should expect in 2025 with the Richland County Softball Preseason Power Poll.
10. Mansfield Senior
The Tygers are back after not having a team a year ago due to low numbers. So, they come in as the most unknown team in Richland County. The hope is a new coach and a reset button will help ignite something within the softball program.
9. Mansfield Christian
The Flames bring back six starters and eight letter winners from last year's squad and they are another year older with a more veteran roster in 2025. Sophomore Bailee Nelson earned honorable mention All-Northwest District honors last season and will be looked at to provide the offense in the lineup. Losing a big bat in Noel Cline to Clear Fork will be tough to take, but the Flames will likely rely on a little small ball this season.
8. Lucas
The Cubs hovered right around .500 all of last season and they always seem to put a good softball product on the field. With the return of Myah Midkiff and Maddie Boyer, the Cubs have the talent to do some great things on the softball diamond this season. With a move to the N10 coming sooner rather than later, Lucas will focus on building a sustainable program for their move to a pretty good softball league.
7. Plymouth
Plymouth went 2-20 last season and lost some of its best bats, but don't expect that to keep the Big Red down for long. They lost their No. 1 pitcher to an ACL injury before the start of last season which derailed things a little bit. But now that the Big Red are a little healthier and have players like Kendyll Tolbert, Cailynn Bailey and Lily Cook back with another year of experience, the Big Red should have a much better season.
6. Ontario
The Warriors finished one game under .500 last year so hopefully, that lit a fire in the players to want to put up a better 2025 campaign. Eden Howard is back in the circle for her senior year and that will be where all of the success stems from. Brinlee Kreger, Piper Studer and Kennedy Weiler bring back a lot of varsity experience after playing major innings in 2024. The goal is a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship and the Warriors have the talent to check that off the list. The Warriors have a great game right out of the game traveling to Lexington on Saturday.
5. Shelby
The Whippets won the MOAC last season for their first league championship in more than a decade. They do lose some of the best bats the program has ever seen like Mallary Gundrum and Kendal Parsons, but they do bring back a solid core of offensive producers like Kennedy Studer, Braylee Sturts, Karlie Walp and Natalie Kennard. Add in Reece Friend returning from an ACL injury that kept her out all of last season and an increased role for Alyssa Booker and the Whippets should be just fine in 2025. They get their season started on Saturday at home against Huron.
4. Lexington
Lady Lex was absolutely gutted by graduation. Three of their Top 4 hitters are gone after Kylie Galownia, Jillian Morr and Kaylie Eichorn moved on to play college softball. So, why are they No. 4? That's easy. Makaree Chapman. The returning Ohio Cardinal Conference Pitcher of the Year and arguably the best softball player in Richland County heading into the season will single-handedly keep Lex in ballgames. Add in Kylie Thornton's big bat and Quinn Patrick taking the next step in her game and Lady Lex should be just fine this year. As the younger and inexperienced players develop and a couple of talented freshman get the butterflies out, expect Lex to compete for another OCC championship. Lex hosts Ontario on Saturday in a battle of two Top 6 schools.
3. Madison
Speaking of teams that lost a lot to graduation, the Rams will have some big shoes to fill this season. Kyleigh Reiter and Emily Nolan are both off to college along with Ashley Markley. But Izzy Wamsley returns for her sophomore year after posting the second-best offensive season in 2024. Campbell Kiser will be back to 100% health after seeing her freshman season end prematurely with an ACL injury and Emma Stankovich is about to have a breakout offensive year that could rival a player-of-the-year caliber season. There are two very talented freshmen who should help fill some of the loss from last year in Lexi Lewis and Caliyah Clapper. Clapper will be the Day 1 starter in the circle and might be the best bat in the lineup right away. It should be an exciting season for the Rams.
2. Crestview
Unlike Lexington and Madison, the Cougars were not hit hard by graduation. They did take a sucker punch from it, though, with the loss of Sophie Durbin, one of the best players to come through the program in the last 10 years, but quite literally everyone else from last year's roster is back. PJ Endicott had a sensational season last year and Chesney Patton is back in the circle after a dominant junior campaign. Carlee Crider and Allison Volz had big freshman seasons and will be returning to the lineup. Eight of the nine players who hit .300 or better are back for the Cougars and that makes them a very dangerous team that could compete for a Firelands Conference championship and maybe even a long tournament run.
1. Clear Fork
The Colts went ahead and won the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship last season with one of the youngest rosters in the league and in Richland County. They do lose catcher Andrea Swainhart as well as Macy Ousley and Renee Anders to graduation, but the Colts are still absolutely loaded and it all starts with senior Mel Blubaugh, who earned All-Ohio honors as a sophomore and should have as a junior after hitting .512. But then you look at Katrina Rogers also coming back after hitting eight home runs with 37 RBIs and awesome players like Ava Carr, Addy Schlosser, Mya Perry, Hailly Thursh, Jada Brokaw and pitcher Miley Shafer and the Colts are set up to win now and for the next two years. They will start six sophomores this season and all had significant playing time as freshmen. It is an exciting time in The Valley.
jfurr@gannett.com
740-244-9934
X: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Clear Fork Colts top Richland County Softball Preseason Power Poll
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