As softball season gets underway, the programs of southern Denton County will likely once again demonstrate why the region is known for being such a hotbed of talent in the sport.
Two local teams had long playoff runs in 2024 and three more earned a playoff berth.
The Guyer softball team is coming off of a phenomenal 2024 season, in which the Wildcats finished 35-7 and reached the state semifinals.
Coach Keith Medford said he believes his team is capable of picking up where it left off last season.
“Things are shaping up nicely so far,” Medford said. “Our 2025 team has been working extremely hard in the offseason and preseason preparing for a challenging 6A campaign.”
Finley Montgomery, Brianna Williams, and Aubriella Martinez should lead the way for Guyer this year in a season in which Medford said the expectations are pretty straightforward.
“The objectives this season are to win the district and make a deep playoff run,” Medford said.
The Wildcats finished 13-1 in district last season and won a district championship.
To repeat that type of success, Medford said the team will need to do a few things.
“It will take great pitching, timely hitting and incredible team chemistry for us to make a deep playoff run,” Medford said.
Over in Flower Mound, the Marcus High School softball team went 24-10-2 last season with a 12-2 mark in district competition.
Coach Christy Tumilty said the great thing about the coming season for the Marauders is that most of her players are back.
“We are returning all but one starter from last season, so we hope to accomplish many things this season,” Tumilty said.
Tumilty said that “all of our returners played a part in our success last season and we will look to them for continued success this season,” and following a district championship in 2024, she said the recipe to repeat requires more of the same character her team demonstrated last season.
“We need to continue to have positive team chemistry and everyone focused on one goal and playing their best to achieve team success,” Tumilty said.
Players to watch for Marcus include Chloe Poteete, Emily Souders and Makenna Barr.
Across town at Flower Mound, the Jaguars were able to claim the fourth playoff spot in district with a 7-7 mark in 6-6A competition in 2024, and coach Mark Larriba said he is optimistic about his team’s chances in 2025.
“Things are going well,” Larriba said. “We are developing nicely. We’re still a young team compared to the years past.”
Adi Bicknell, Daph Galason and Olivia Rains should lead the way for Flower Mound this season.
The Jaguars fell in the bi-district round to Guyer last season.
“The objectives are always the same,” Larriba said. “To get better today than yesterday and continue to grow as a team/program.”
To get back to the playoffs, Larriba said he will need players to step up.
“We’re young but talented,” Larriba said. “We’ll start two seniors, four juniors; two sophomores and two freshmen. We need to have good pitching, great defense, and timely hitting. If we grow every day, then we will be satisfied at the end of the season.”
In Argyle, the Eagles are looking to rebound from a sixth-place finish in district last season and 5-9 mark in 7-5A competition.
Coach Brianna Barnhill said while the Eagles are dealing with inexperience, she is impressed with what she has seen early on.
“Scrimmages have been encouraging,” Barnhill said. “New players in key spots are working on getting comfortable with one another. We’re a younger team when it comes to varsity experience.”
Players to watch for the Eagles this season include Avery Hankins, Kelsi Klein, Avari Sandifer and Brooklyn Barnett.
Argyle finished 13-19 overall last season, and the objectives for this season are to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
“We have to take one game at a time,” Barnhill said. “We have to manufacture runs and control the controllables.”
To compete for a playoff spot this season, Barnhill said her team will need to have “consistency across all aspects of the game: pitching, defense, and offense,” and “making adjustments during games.”
Up the road at Liberty Christian, coach Johnny Isom said he is confident his team will compete for a playoff spot this season based on his observations to this point.
“Things are shaping up well so far,” Isom said. “We’ve got a strong core of returning players, and the new additions are showing great promise. The team has been putting in the work during the offseason, and we’ve seen a lot of growth in terms of skill development and teamwork. We’re feeling positive about the upcoming season, but we know there’s still a lot of work to do.”
Liberty Christian went 4-4 in district competition and finished in third place.
The Warriors fell in the first round of the playoffs to Grapevine Faith.
Strong returning players include Sydney Griffin, Avery Combest, Sloane McCown and Pearl Battaglia.
Isom said his team’s primary objective never changes, which is “to bring glory and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the way we play and interact with others during our season,” and on the field, it is to do better than it did last season.
“Our secondary objective is to improve on last year’s performance and make a deeper playoff run,” Isom said.
To compete for a playoff spot again, Isom said LCS will need a couple of things to happen.
“It’s going to take a lot of hard work, discipline, and mental toughness,” Isom said. “We also wouldn’t mind some friendly bounces along the way. We’ll need to stay healthy and keep improving week by week. Our biggest key to success will be coming together as a team, battling adversity and playing for a bigger purpose than ourselves.”
