Miami University softball entered a new era last season.
The RedHawks played their first season under a new head coach after former coach Kirin Kumar left to head the Ohio State University Buckeyes. Kumar had led Miami for four years prior, leading the program to four-straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships and NCAA tournament appearances.
With a different coaching staff and 10 new faces on the roster, new head coach Mandy Gardner-Colegate embarked on her first year at the helm in Oxford in 2025. The program didn’t miss any steps, as the RedHawks won another MAC championship and made it to the NCAA regional round last spring.
In her second season coaching Miami, Gardner-Colegate looks to continue the RedHawks’ dominance in the MAC and send the team further into the national tournament.
“The winning standard that was here before, that didn’t leave,” Gardner-Colegate said. “The standard will always be winning the MAC, but we had to fight and claw a little bit more than the years past … We had to deal with more adversity, and [the team] loves that. They love that we were able to fight through it as a team.”
After one year building the foundations of the new era, the RedHawks feel like they have less to build this year compared to 2025. Junior infielder Ella Carter said the focus is expanding on last year’s principles rather than on starting fresh again.
“We’re going to be able to start ahead of where we did last year,” Carter said. “There’s always things to build, but there’s a lot less to build on. We gave ourselves a really good starting point [that] we can build off of instead of starting from ground zero.”
Along with Gardner-Colegate, Alivia Forshey and Emerald Doria returned to the coaching staff as the associate head coach and assistant coach, respectively. Jenna Golembieski, who played four years at Miami and led the MAC in home runs last year, will be back in Oxford this season as an assistant coach.
Following the loss in the NCAA regional round, eight players departed from Miami, with three graduating and five transferring out. The RedHawks brought in a class of seven freshmen as well as another seven transfers, filling out a new lineup. Carter said the team wasn’t looking to replace specific positions but recruited players for their skill and fit on the team.
“Last year, we had a really good nine and did a really good job, but we have a really good 23 this year,” Carter said. “It’s crazy looking at practice; we have people moving all over the field. You can’t tell that they are at their secondary or a position that they just stepped into. At the end of the day, we are all there to win.”
Junior pitcher Madilyn Reeves, a First-Team All MAC selection, transferred to the University of Louisville after pitching in 45 games, starting in 40, for Miami last season. The RedHawks mostly used three pitchers throughout the season, something that Gardner-Colegate wanted to improve.
Incoming transfers Liliana Arana, Presley Hosick and Angelina Ricciardi join the pitching group along with returners Shelbie Krieger, Alex Caouette and Léa Chevrier. Chevrier had the most experience behind Reeves last season, appearing in 33 games and pitching a no-hitter against Ball State University in the MAC tournament.
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Having six pitchers to rotate is something that Gardner-Colegate said will be immensely helpful and new for the program.
“The biggest thing was getting more pitchers,” Gardner-Colegate said. “Our lack of depth from a pitching standpoint last year got us into the most trouble … It’s tough to have success with three pitchers. What we did was pretty remarkable, but I don’t want to have to do that again. I don’t want to have to rely on one arm or two arms; I wanted a whole staff.”
Along with an extended pitching class, Miami needed to recruit hitters that would keep the team dominant at the mound. The RedHawks ranked 20th in the nation with 76 home runs and led the MAC in runs (350), hits (508) and home runs.
Last year’s seniors – Golembiewski, Shelby Kunkel and Chloe Parks – combined for 147 runs. Kaylee Oh and Holly Merritt, who had 43 and 20 runs, respectively, transferred out, leaving plenty of spots on the roster to fill with hitters.
“[There are] a lot of home runs to make up,” Gardner-Colegate said. “We are bringing in some great power. It’s hard to predict the future: I don’t know if we’re going to have anybody that hits 20+ home runs. But I think we’re going to have more players hit double-digit home runs than we did last year.”
Carter and McKenna Campbell, who had a combined 112 hits and 56 runs, bring their experience from previous years back to Miami this season. Gardner-Colegate said several transfers and freshmen also showed potential in the preseason to keep the RedHawks’ offense dominant.
The RedHawks open the 2026 season with a trip to San Diego, California, for a five-game tournament from Feb. 6-8. Following the opening matchup against the University of Kentucky Wildcats, they will play against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers twice before closing out the weekend against the San Diego State University Aztecs and the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers.
With conference play starting on March 13, the RedHawks are looking to continue their success from Gardner-Colegates’ first trial last season and push further into the NCAA tournament.
“Greatness is coming,” Gardner-Colegate said. “They have been talking about Super Regionals since we got back this fall. If you put it in the universe, it’s going to happen. That is all that they talk about. It’s all they set their mind to. If we peak at the right time, we’re going to be a pretty dangerous team.”
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