2026 SEASON PREVIEW: Yellow Jackets amped up for new campaign
DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College softball opens the 2026 season this weekend, kickstarting a busy opening week for the Yellow Jackets. Starting with Friday's doubleheader against Rio Grande in Charleston, W.Va., Defiance is scheduled to play on 8 days in a 10-day period. The team will then have a week off before traveling to Florida over spring break, and then get one more week off to prepare for the conference opener in mid-March.
The Yellow Jackets enter their third season under head coach Jordan Osborne. Last year, DC finished 11-35 while logging the most regular-season games in program history with the flip to NAIA competition. Defiance also failed to reach the conference tournament after competing in the HCAC Tournament during their final three years of membership.
About the Team
The 2026 edition of Defiance Softball is blended with newcomers and returners. "We are almost 50-50, returners and newcomers," says head coach Jordan Osborne. "We're excited to see the experience and game knowledge that some of our returners are bringing back, along with the fresh energy from the newcomers."
This year's team will have to fill the void left by star pitcher and outfielder Anika Craft. A four-year player at DC, Craft set the program's hits record last season and departed among the top-10 for nearly every career pitching category as a two-time all-conference player.
Fortunately, the Yellow Jackets are reloaded with familiar faces around the diamond and throughout the lineup. Among those key returners are seniors Ali Mowen, Morgan Scott Kaylee Heath, and Anna Emswiler who were all right behind Craft's team-leading .408 average last year. Scott nearly broke the school RBIs record with 41 driven home and also smacked 17 extra-base hits as a top-10 season at DC. Heath batted .298 to finish third on the team as the primary third baseman during her first season since transferring to Defiance. Mowen enjoyed a career year as well, batting .267 with 39 hits and came up just short for program records for walks (25) and runs scored (37). Mowen enters the season just 10 hits shy of 100 career hits and has the potential to break DC Softball's games played record (currently 125, record is 166). Emswiler also looks to build on a solid junior campaign where she split time at catcher and first base, playing in 45 of 46 games last year and setting offensive-bests across the board.
DC's returners also include an experienced group of juniors who have started since they reached campus in 2024. Madison Guggenbiller was an all-conference player as a freshman and was just a handful of hits shy of matching her offensive output last season despite a dip in hitting for power. Avery Roever will once again be one of the anchors of the outfield and a threat on the bases while Emma Rodgers returns as one of the program's most experienced pitchers with 27 career outings in the circle. In fact, the entire pitching staff, aside from Craft, is back for 2026 including sophomores Taighen Zipfel and Devyn Hamilton who combined for 30 appearances in the circle last spring.
Among the new faces with the team are junior transfers Carly Cramer and Paige Stewart from Thomas More. Additionally, the Jackets brought in 11 freshmen from the tri-state area, including local talent from Montpelier in Madelyn Hopper who was a three-time conference player of the year.
"If we can find a consistent lineup before heading to Florida, if we play all games as scheduled, I think we'll be in a really good spot moving into conference," says Osborne.
Conference Outlook
Madonna was the unanimous preseason favorite in the 2026 WHAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Crusaders were unbeaten in conference play last year before losing to UNOH twice in the conference tournament. Madonna has won 3 of the last 4 regular-season titles and 2 of 3 tournament championships, and bring back reigning WHAC Player of the Year Ashley Rosiewicz, Newcomer of the Year Brynn Anteau and a number of All-Conference selections. Indiana Tech, UNOH, and Cornerstone all follow in the preseason rankings. The Yellow Jackets were chosen to finish 10th.
The conference slate begins on March 20. DC's first conference matchup is at home against Cleary on Saturday, March 21. This year's WHAC schedule will feature doubleheaders against the 10 conference opponents with DC ending the regular season at home against Madonna on April 17.
-JACKETS-