The Madill Lady Wildcats will be breaking in a wealth of new players as the 2025 fast pitch softball season begins next week.
Coach Shawn Runyan, who has plenty of experience as fast pitch assistant, takes over the head coaching reins andwillhaveonlyfourupperclassmen which he will rely on heavily to lead the charge.
Three of those are senior returning starters in centerfielder Laila Pickens, third basemanBrooklynPruittand catcher Chloe Miller.
“We graduated quite a bit so this will be a rebuilding season for sure,” Runyan stated. “We really only have three with much experience and a large group of underclassmen. We have a lot of sophomores and couple of freshmen in our 13 players this year.”
While those three catalysts should be fixtures at their positions, the remaining six spots on the field couldbearevolvingdooruntil Runyan and new assistant coach Ashli Wigington find the right fits.
Sophomore Karma Williams has shown some positive flashes at the all-important short stop position and will likely get the early nod there.
Senior Zeplin Thomas is the club’s only other upperclassmen and will move into the ace role in the pitching circle after seeing spot time a year ago. Look for sophomore Layne Albright to be the team’s other main hurler.
“We aren’t going to change a lot in what we want to do,” Runyan said. “We are still looking at several players at different positions going into the season. They have done some good things and are progressing nicely. We’ve still got a lot of work to do though while continuing to gradually improve.
“What we are trying to instill in them is to learn something new each day. It’s going to be a learning curve this year because Class 4A softball can be brutally tough. We have to keep our heads up and fight hard through adversity.”
With Wigington added to the staff, Runyan will have a wealth of experience and knowledge of the game at the highest level to rely on.
After playing high school softball in Oklahoma City, she moved on to the University of Oklahoma and was the starting catcher on the Sooners first softball national championship team.
She spent several highly successful seasons coaching high school softball in Texas.
“CoachWigingtonstepped aboard this year to help us and has great knowledge of the game,” Runyan added. “I am looking forward to working with her throughout the year. She will be a great asset.”