Griffin Excited as Lady Bucs Softball Season Begins
Shelton State Community College head softball coach Kaitlin Griffin sums up her feelings of the upcoming season with one word.
Excited.
One reason is that for the first time in three years the Lady Bucs will play all their home games in a brand new on campus stadium.
"It's a ton of excitement," Griffin said. "It's just nice to be in one spot. We don't have to worry about where our equipment is and getting it there and back and being and one spot and being able to come from class to practice."
The last two years, Shelton State played its home games at various fields across Tuscaloosa. Bowers Park was the main site, but scheduling and weather often dictated change.
Griffin won't have that problem this year as Shelton State officially opens its new stadium on Feb. 18 against Jones College.
The new stadium has all the bells and whistles, including a turf field, locker rooms, indoor batting cages, chair back seating and press box.
"It's a huge bonus, Griffin said. "Now that we have this and the indoor facility and we have access to the indoor, it's a huge for our program."
The second reason for the excitement is the product on the field. The Lady Bucs have six returnees and 10 newcomers for 2026 campaign.
"We have more depth in our program than we've ever had this year," Griffin said. So that's been a key for us. I like to recruit players that can play multiple positions.
"The depth of our team has been really good for us. There might be one lineup in one game and might be different lineup in game two just to see where a lot of our freshman are at and see who is going to step up for us."
The depth begins in the circle, where Griffin has four pitchers that can give her quality innings.
"Our pitching is going to be what we ride most of the season," Griffin said. "We have four really good capable pitchers that could start at any time."
Sophomores Mackenzie Harper (Hillcrest HS) and Chloe Mitchell (Bibb County HS) will be joined by freshman Katie Beth Beasley (Tuscaloosa County HS) and Marleigh McWilliams (Columbia, Tenn.).
"I think all four will get plenty of innings this year," Griffin said. "It will be a good mix. Most of our games an are double headers so it will be nice to get some different looks."
Harper tied for the team lead with 24 appearances last season. She posted four wins and recorded 113 strikeouts in 90 innings.
Mitchell only made one appearance last season but will get more innings in the circle this season.
Beasley led the Tuscaloosa County High Wildcats to the AHSAA Class 7A state playoffs. She posted a 12-4 record with a 1.52 ERA. She recorded 113 strikeouts in 108 innings.
Beasley is one of the top hitters and will hit in the middle of order, even when she is in the circle.
McWilliams hails from Zion Christian Academy in Columbia, Tenn. She posted a 10-4 record with a 2.45 ERA in 17 starts. She recorded 119 strikeouts in 79 innings.
"We try not to ride the same pitcher every day.," Griffin said. "We'd like to have two starting pitchers, possibly three. We will have a starter and closer for most of our games, but the expectation is for our starters to go the full seven."
On offense, Shelton State returns five sophomores, including everyday players Mitchell and outfielder Layla Bradshaw (Springville HS).
Mitchell is a power-hitting, corner infielder, who will play first base when not in the circle. She was an All-ACCC selection as a freshman the team's leading returning hitter. She hit .381 (59-for-155) with nine home runs and 31 RBIs.
Bradshaw is a speedy outfielder, who will hit near the top of the order and play centerfield. She hit .367 (62-for-169) with 16 doubles and 15 RBIs as a freshman.
Sophomores Jamie Hocutt (Hale County HS), Tyeshia Williams (Chilton County HS), and Reagan Landrum (Hale County HS) also return.
Hocutt is slated to play second base and hit in the middle of the lineup She hit .344 (11-for-32) with nine RBI in a limited role last year.
Williams is a smooth defender at third base. She played in only 25 games last season while battling injuries.
Landrum, who also saw limited action in 2025, will battle for a spot at catcher.
Griffin has brought in a talented group of freshmen with tons of AHSAA playoff experience and expects many of them to play right away. The 10 newcomers can play multiple positions and really adds depth to the roster.
Outfielder Ari Shorter (Central-Phenix City HS) played at one of the state's top high school programs and will bring a ton of speed to the outfield.
Infielder Graidin Haas (Plainview HS) is a talented player and will likely be the Lady Bucs shortstop and should help the Lady Bucs on offense and defense.
Perhaps the most unique freshmen is utility player Megan Overton (Calera HS), who will see action behind the plate, but can also play shortstop too.
"She is a true utility player," Griffin said. "I definitely think you'll see her behind the plate this year. (Switching from catcher to shortstop) "is not the easiest. You have you to be mentally prepared and you have to be athletic. You have to put in more time, because you have to catch bullpens and get your infield work."
Another utility player is Megan Wilbanks (Sparkman HS) is a middle infielder, who see action at second base and first base.
Anna Valentine (Gardendale HS) is in the mix in the outfield.
Laila Watkins (Sparkman HS) is an athletic outfielder with power and excellent speed.
"All of our outfielders can play centerfield at any time. They all played centerfield in high school and have really good range."
Lily Vold (Pickens Academy), Lyndi Perkins (Austin HS), and Kylee Grace Roy (Brookwood HS) are talented corner infielders.
Erin Williams (Stanhope Elmore HS) is one of three catchers on the roster. She has a good work ethic and could play some outfield as well.
The Lady Bucs missed out on the ACCC Tournament last year and it's a burden Griffin and the returnees have carried with this since last May.
"That's the first thing we talked about (this fall)," Griffin said. "What happened last year will never happen again. I told the girls that. I didn't take his job to mediocre. I took this job to be as good as the baseball, men's basketball, and women's basketball teams.
Griffin thinks this her best team at Shelton State
"I think so yes," Griffing admitted. "Overall, we are really athletic. We can play different positions. On offense, it's not going to be one person to score all our runs. It's going to be different people. Last year we struggled to score runs. This year will be different. I think the kids want it too.
"We've had good energy in the fall and spring. We've had great team chemistry which is great with girls because you don't know what you are always going to get. They are not afraid to correct each other. They take that feedback really well."
And that excites Griffin too.