- February 18, 2026
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Put on that visor and dust off that bat. High school softball has returned to Sarasota.
One team won a regional title last season while others struggled to make much noise. There are new coaches on the scene and talented players back in action.
Here's everything you need to know about the area's high school softball teams following the Feb. 16 start to the FHSAA regular season:
Coach: Andrew Jensen (first year)
Last Season: 21-8 overall, 3-1 in Class 7A-District 8, reached state semifinals
The glass slipper fit Sarasota in 2025. It was a true Cinderella, rallying all the way to the FHSAA Class 7A state semifinals after falling in the 7A-12 district semifinals.
No other team in this area even won a game in regionals.
For the first time since 2015, the Sailors were one of the last four standing in their class — an achievement worth celebrating. But the time for celebration has passed.
They ride a tide of change into this season with new coach Andrew Jensen and the loss of outfielder Sommer Speers to graduation. Now competing for Saint Leo, she was its top hitter with a .500 batting average, 47 hits and 24 RBIs.
Returning senior talents Ashlan Guengerich and Gianna Williams make the waters not so murky.
The third baseman/pitcher and center fielder/outfielder, respectively, are back in the fold as the team's other top-three hitters. Guengerich had a team-high 51 RBIs and batted .455 at the plate, complemented by a .430 mark and 34 hits from Williams.
In the circle, one third of the rotation was lost with the graduation of Tyler Sciesinski, but the other two pieces — Guengerich and junior Gemma Mulhollen — remain. Mulhollen was the workhorse with 82 innings pitched.
Playing Cinderella is fun. With a bit of magic on a team's side, it feels like any opponent can be beaten.
Becoming a legitimate contender, though, should now be Sarasota's goal.
Coach: Luis DuPrey (first year)
Last Season: 13-7 overall, 1-1 in Class 2A-District 11, reached regional quarterfinals
Building back from six straight years of dormancy was always going to be a slow process. It takes more than one or two seasons to restore winning culture.
Cardinal Mooney softball returned in 2019 after last competing in 2013. Once upon a time, it won the 2A state championship in 1994 and 3A title in 1995.
In these last two seasons, the Cougars have produced back-to-back winning records. And a third is well within their reach.
That starts with the junior trio of Olivia Lockhart, Ava Proffitt and Kaitlyn Will, who were top-three in plate appearances last season with batting averages of .532, .407 and .418, respectively. They also accounted for 46.1% of hits and 43.8% of RBIs.
Erin Griffith — now a senior — thrived with lesser opportunities at the plate in 2025, posting a .419 batting average, 13 hits and seven RBIs across 31 at-bats.
There's no bona fide ace for Cardinal Mooney, but junior Erin Sugg should be fairly effective following her 2.81 ERA and 6-1 record in a team-high 47.1 innings pitched last season. If this squad has a weakness, it's in the circle.
With so much offensive production returning, the Cougars have what's necessary to maintain their upward trajectory.
Coach: Ashley Beckler (second year)
Last Season: 7-8 overall, 0-2 in Class 1A-District 10, reached district semifinals
Few teams rode the rollercoaster quite like Sarasota Christian did last season.
The Blazers won all six games where they scored 10 or more runs, but lost all six when they allowed 10 or more. Their longest winning streak was three and they lost as many as three in a row.
Some much-needed roster continuity is coming. Sophomore Devoni McLaughlin returns after a terrific freshman campaign at the plate in which she batted a team-high .512 with 22 hits and 15 RBIs.
Junior Selah Spenn will be a key contributor, too, following a season in which she racked up 20 hits and 19 RBIs with a .426 batting average. Her 47 at-bats were the most of any Blazer.
The losses of Ella Aylsworth and Ashton Klinger to graduation are tough pills to swallow, though. Those two batted .395 and .386, respectively, and along with Spenn, had the most plate appearances last season.
Pitching is a major issue that needs to be remedied. Sarasota Christian's four hurlers in 2025 all posted ERAs over 7.00, and if the team wants to succeed moving forward, that number needs to be much lower.
Coach: Thomas Forkan (third year)
Last Season: 20-6 overall, 3-2 in Class 7A-District 8, reached regional quarterfinals
There were high hopes for Riverview midway through last season. The group started red-hot with a 14-0 record, setting its sights on a deep postseason run.
But that never materialized. Disappointment came instead.
The Rams lost the 7A-8 district title game, and in regionals, were one-and-done with an extra-innings defeat. Talents at the plate simply didn't deliver when the stakes were high, though the team earned its first 20-win season this decade.
It could be a long road back. Entering 2026, Riverview loses four of its top-five hitters following the graduations of Allison Cole, Ella Trandem, Sierra Lipton and Isabelle Bain. The lone remnant from that bunch is Alivia Laas.
Cole is an even bigger loss in the circle than at the plate. She had an exceptional 2025 with a sparkling 0.37 ERA and 19-3 record. While handling 152.1 of the Rams' 171 innings pitched, she also piled up 281 strikeouts.
Then-sophomore Olivia Stacey and then-freshman Reese Wilson were the only other two players to throw a pitch, and 18.2 innings between them isn't much experience to carry forward.
Recovering from senior losses will be tough for the Rams. Forget about 20 wins — just getting to 10 could be a struggle.
Coach: Shatoya Davis (third year)
Last Season: 5-6 overall, 0-3 in Class 3A-District 12, reached district semifinals
"Messy" feels like the right word to describe the 2025 season for Booker. It played only 11 games, but saw a ridiculous number of runners cross the plate.
The Tornadoes scored an average of 18.6 runs per game. At the same time, they surrendered an average of 20.3 runs per game.
At one point, the team defeated Southeast, 50-33, in a high-scoring affair for the ages. That reads like a basketball or football score — not softball.
Booker's batting was exceptional against weak competition. Five players hit over .500 on the season, including then-sophomore A'Rayia Davis and her team-best mark of .667.
On the other hand, pitching was a disaster of epic proportions. No individual posted an ERA lower than 20.00 and six different players made appearances in the circle.
The Tornadoes have a long way to go before contention is in the conversation.
