Lady Blues gearing up for 2026 softball season

As the new year approaches, so does a fresh slate of winter and spring sports. One of those sports that is approximately a month away is the start of a new Lady Blues softball season. 

Last season, the Lady Blues had their playoff run come to an end in the first round against the Snyder Lady Tigers. Fortunately for Graham, they will be gaining back a lot of experience from last year's roster. 

Zoey Harrell was the lone senior who graduated from the team, so a majority of last season’s roster will be returning once again this year with another full season of experience under their belts. 

“I think the thing holding us back last year was maturity level. It was a bunch of 14-15 year olds playing 17-18 year olds,” head coach Adam Arrington said. 

The team has been preparing throughout the summer and fall participating in multiple offseason leagues to get reps in and gain experience for the upcoming year. 

The softball program has also been running skills sessions in preparation for the new season getting down the fundamentals of the game. 

Arrington said he saw a high turnout of players with around 37 kids coming out to participate. 

“(We’ve) never had that many kids,” Arrington said. 

Another new feature to the team could be that with a potentially deeper roster comes the potential for a full pitching rotation. 

Arrington said he expects to see Tiffany Cotter take over the role Harrell left behind as an everyday starter on the mound, however the team has “four or five girls who can pitch,” meaning that she will not have to pitch every game. 

Cotter spent much of her time last year as a shortstop for the Lady Blues and Arrington emphasized the value of being able to play multiple positions for every player on the team. 

The other main goal that Arrington stressed in order to be a successful team once again this year is being solid on defense. 

“For our fielding percentage on the year, I think a good goal is 90%,” Arrington said. “Just make the routine plays. If you make the routine plays you give yourself a chance to win. I think last year our fielding percentage was 87%. I think if we can make the defensive plays 90% of the time that gives us a chance to be successful.” 

The Lady Blues will look to have another strong season, especially on the final run for seniors like Cotter, Larissa Warren, Montana Guinn and Kimberly Aguirre. 

The season kicks off a scrimmage Jan. 24, 2026 against Abilene Cooper with JV and varsity teams participating.