Bryant & Stratton College (WI) 2026 softball season preview
WAWAUTOSA, Wis. — Bryant & Stratton College (WI) softball finished its best season last year and Head Softball Coach Dean Herman is back to lead the Bobcats in 2026. They tied their program best 39-win mark and advanced to the NJCAA DII College Softball World Series for the second consecutive season and finished in the top eight. Now they are aiming to top an impressive 2025 campaign.
“What was the most enjoyable after looking back on it was that I’m not sure that we were expected to get there,” Herman said. It was a gritty team and by the end of the year we hit our stride at the right time.”
Two players that helped the Bobcats hit that stride were Olivia Fietz and Gia Cobert. Now sophomores, both players have found themselves in leadership roles and both are ready to carry last year’s grittiness to the 2026 team.
Freshman, Olivia Fietz, delivers with an RBI single! https://t.co/xWsm1gvLjq
— Bryant & Stratton College - WI Athletics (@BSCBobcatsWI) May 3, 2025
“I want to make sure that I am here for any of my teammates,” Fietz said. “I also want to make sure that everyone is working as hard as possible even when people aren’t watching.”
Both Fietz and Cobert were named to NJCAA Region 4 All-Region teams last year, but it’s going to take more than them to help the Bobcats compete for another trip to the national tournament.
“Were going to be expecting a lot out of returners,” Herman said. “With 17 freshmen on the roster we need our sophomores like Klylie, Delilah, Nevaeh to foster the pitching staff and we need Fia to be a leader. And we have to rely on those players and Bambi coming in here and doing everything she can to help this team and Syd is finding her voice, so I think collectively the sophomores are going to be leaned on because of the number of freshmen we have on this team.”
While the offense will look to keep up their production, the pitching staff and defense will be looking to reload with All-American Holly Lowenberg moving on. Associate Head Coach and pitching coach Erica Hayworth is getting everyone ready for the long season.
“Our pitching staff has really been competing throughout the fall. We have been mixing and matching pitchers each scrimmage and/or game we have,” Hayworth said. “We have been putting them in different situations and roles to see how they handle different situations on the mound mentally and physically. The staff as a whole has been incredibly receptive and welcoming of the competition and each other. We are returning Kylie Stark, who is bringing significant mound experience from last year.”
With a larger pitching staff in 2026, Hayworth and the Bobcats will be doing something a little different than relying on one arm for most of the way.
“We are hoping with our larger pitching staff, we can have a deeper rotation,” Hayworth said. “This will help provide some longevity in starters arms come post-season. This will also allow pitchers who are starting games to know they can go as hard as they can for as long as they can and have a strong relief system behind them.”
Along with a new ptiching staff, the Bobcats infield is full of fresh faces and they'll look to replicate a 94% fielding percentage from the previous season.
“Our fielding is something our program prides itself on and we have been diligently working on shuffling players around to find the best starting rotation possible. We do have depth at multiple positions which will prove to be a positive throughout the season.”
That positional depth has created opportunities for newcomers to step in early and contribute.
“Bella Umentum and Sam Foytik, I expect a lot out of them; they’ve produced in the fall,” Herman said. “You’ve got Jasmine [Karls] and Sarah [Bystra] coming in here…but we’re always surprised every year by freshmen we don't anticipate[to] take that leap and they surprise us. We have a very talented team and I’ve told them that our talent level is similar and what’s really going to separate them is their attitude and their effort.”
Bryant & Stratton College (WI) softball will undoubtedly have high expectations this season, but it’s something everyone involved in the program is willing to embrace.
“The sky is the limit with this team,” Hayworth said. “This team is full of athleticism and the jump that will be taken this offseason will be impressive.
They’re aware of our success in prior seasons and of the standard we hold our program to. The team has been putting forth their best efforts and stepping up and challenging each other competitively. The more we push each other, the more successful we will become this season.”
It’s hard to tell how a season will shape up to be with a little over a month to go before first pitch, but a shared belief and unity could be the driving force behind another deep postseason run for the Bobcats.
“We’re hungrier and more eager,” Cobert said. “The energy this year has been high and we know we have the skill and talent to go back to the World Series.”
“When everyone is playing as one and working towards the same goals, we’re unbeatable,” Fietz said.
