South Carolina builds off a historic year with strong returners, key newcomers, and a deeper circle
South Carolina’s Sting Still Fuels the Fire
South Carolina Gamecocks Softball returns off of a historical season for the program. Coach Ashley Chastain Woodard led the Gamecocks to within one win of a trip to OKC. It is a painful sting that she believes will never fully go away, but South Carolina has turned the page and uses that moment as both a lesson and fuel. The Gamecocks have the right fit of players in place, both returners and newcomers, to make another run in 2026.
“I don’t know if that sting will ever leave us, but I think that you have to move on from it and you have to be better for it. We made the decision that we would learn from it, be better for it, and that it would help us in the future some way, somehow,” said Chastain Woodard.
She also mentioned how last year’s group left a strong foundation even though the book has closed on that season. While lessons can be drawn, this is a brand new year and new team.
“We try really hard to close the door and move on because we do not want this team to feel the burden of trying to be last year’s team. We want this year’s team to create a new identity and do new things and be themselves.”
Returning Leaders Set the Tone
The returning production is there for the Gamecocks. Last season they set program records in several offensive categories. As a team, 342 RBIs were tallied, 363 runs scored, the patience at the plate was tremendous with 256 walks, and when it came to doubles, they recorded 98.
“As a coach, I think there is a lot of confidence on my end of who we returned because we returned a lot of our core offensive pieces. We returned a lot of core experience,” she said.
Players such as Arianna Rodi, Lexi Winters, Quincee Lilio, Karley Shelton, and Jori Heard in the circle are all back with great experience to build on. Shelton led South Carolina with 68 hits, 58 runs, and 18 doubles last season as a sophomore. More importantly, she held down second base the entire year and gave them stability on both sides of the ball.
Rodi was a slugging machine last season, with a 1.201 OPS and led the team with 17 home runs. At first base, her play was solidified as one of the best in the country. She took home a Rawlings Gold Glove for 2025, with a .995 fielding percentage.
Those returners also bring belief and leadership that naturally rubs off on the rest of the team, especially the newcomers.
“They now give that to everyone new that walked through the doors in August. They have really strong voices in the program, and a lot of that came from their experience last year with the success we had,” Chastain Woodard said.
“I think we are humble. I think that those players are very humble in the way that they train and the way that they think about themselves and our team.”
Building the Roster on Fit
The leadership matters, but the newcomers around them matter just as much. We talked about the importance of the fit and choosing players who truly model what South Carolina softball is all about. Whether it is freshmen or transfers, that selection process is something her staff takes seriously. With roster sizes now up across the sport, the evaluation process becomes even more important for every program.
“Here at South Carolina, our roster got bigger. So we just had a lot of spots to fill, and we didn’t want to jeopardize character and people,” she said. “We really wanted to make sure that we were picking the right fit to continue the legacy of what we did last year.”
In doing that, South Carolina added players they believe can contribute right away. Freshmen like Ansley Bennett, KG Favors, Kai Byars, and Dakota Potter all have potential to play meaningful roles. Transfers like Tate Davis, Emma Friedel, and Tori Ensley also bring experience and talent that elevate the roster.
“There were a lot of players that were really interested in the moment and the journey we went on together. The story we wrote created a lot of interest,” she said.
NC State transfer Tori Ensley even visited during the super regional, and the South Carolina atmosphere during that time most likely sold her on Columbia.
“Tori Ensley was actually on a visit with us during the super regional because the portal had already opened,” she said. “So she was here and got to kind of breathe the air from the crowd, like just feel the intensity and the electricity that was here in Columbia during that super regional. She was one of our first commits of the summer from the transfer portal.”
Ensley brings great talent and experience in the outfield. She has compiled a .981 fielding percentage in her career, with only three errors committed in two seasons of play. Her character is something that was an even better add to the program.
“Tori Ensley has been such a great addition for our roster of you her heart who she is as a person or character but also on the field like really high talent, you know that we got to add into the outfield and into the lineup.”
A Deeper Circle
One of the biggest shifts for the Gamecocks heading into 2026 comes in the circle. The staff is deep and filled with more matchup options. Coach Chastain Woodard praised pitching coach Zack Parsons for the work he has done building the staff and preparing them for the upcoming season. Sam Gress, who carried 150.2 innings and won 14 games in 2025, has graduated, and they felt the need to go out and add a few arms to help replace her production.
“We knew that we were going to have to add multiple people to make up for what she brought to the table, not only from a physical standpoint but from a leadership and mental standpoint as well, she said. We have more depth in the bullpen than we did last year, and we are really excited about that.”
“We are very pitcher by committee mindset. We want to make sure we have a lot of tools to beat most offenses we face.”
Emma Friedel is a transfer from Kennesaw State who carried a heavy workload last season. With a deeper staff at South Carolina, she will have the chance to be used in more ways, along with the opportunity to start games. Friedel pitched 127 innings and struck out 132 in her sophomore season at Kennesaw State.
According to 64 Analytics, she inherited 20 runners on when entering games last year and only five scored. She also stranded 75 percent of runners on base. Chastain Woodard talked about her being trusted in high leverage moments as well as starts.
“What we’ve seen from her this fall, I think she’s going to be able to handle a lot of different roles for us, and I do think you’re going to see her throw a lot for us,” said Chastain Woodard. “You know this season, I think early on getting her out there, getting her confident, getting her the reps she needs and the experience she needs early in the season. So that way she feels really ready to step into conference play.”
Returning arms like Jori Heard, Nealy Lamb, and transfers such as Josey Marron from Mississippi State and Julie Kelley from Kentucky give the Gamecocks real depth. The plan is to get everyone confident early, then allow roles to sharpen once SEC play arrives.
Early Lineup Picture Coming Into Focus
Some parts of the lineup already feel solidified based on fall training. Coach gave her insights on what “could” be when February arrives. Shelton returns at second and Rodi at first. Winters anchors catching once again, and McKay gives them another strong option who could also help in the outfield and hit when she is not behind the plate.
Quincee Lilio returns as an everyday outfielder, with Tori Ensley rising into a major role with her combination of power and speed. Sophomore Shae Anderson has impressed with her maturity at shortstop, taking ownership of a position that demands it after Brooke Blankenship graduated.
One name that consistently came up during fall work was Tate Davis. Her power gives South Carolina another middle of the order threat and another run producer.
“I think Tate Davis has impressed me so much offensively this fall. I mean, she has so much power and as a pitching person, calling the game with Zack, every time Tate got in the box this fall was like, how are gonna get her out? She’s got so much power, she’s so good and had a lot of success at the plate for us. I feel like she hit a homer every time we went live. I was like, I don’t know how she’s doing that, but it was great,” Chastain Woodard said.
These are still all projections, and while things could turn out exactly how she said, the important factor still remains that everything is still in open competition and the encouragement for everyone to fight to get better and earn their spots.
“I don’t want to discount the other players that are fighting and competing for some spots. You know, I think there is still a lot of time left and, you don’t want to make decisions too early, but you just want to make sure you’re giving the right reps, in the right situations, to the right people as we close the gap to opening day. But still a lot to be determined.”
A Schedule Built for Testing and Growth
South Carolina’s 2026 path is challenging and competitive, which is exactly the way they want it. The Gamecocks open SEC play by hosting defending national champion Texas. That will be Texas’ first time in Columbia since a 1-0 South Carolina win in eight innings back on March 13, 2018. A trip to Tennessee on Easter weekend adds another high level environment, as will every SEC series they play.
South Carolina will not only get Texas at home, but LSU, Florida, and Texas A&M as well. Having home field advantage is always a nice thing in these tough series. Something Coach Chastain felt was a difference when they traveled to Fayetteville last season to face the Razorbacks.
“It’s awesome to play a series like that in front of your home fans and just have a little bit of home filled advantage. I think that goes a long way, but you draw who you draw, where you draw them. We have to be really good playing at home, and we also have to be really good at playing on the road,” she said.
Well before SEC play, the Gamecocks will open the season at home against Virginia Tech in the Gamecock Invitational, where they will also welcome Syracuse, Binghamton, and Winthrop. After that, they host Louisville, UC Riverside, Boston University, and Kennesaw State in the Carolina Classic. Once those two home weekends wrap up, South Carolina will head out to the Mary Nutter Classic in California, where elite competition will sharpen them well before conference play.
There they will face Washington, Nebraska, Oregon, and a rematch with UCLA. There is no denying the schedule difficulty in 2026, but this is what you go to programs like South Carolina to do.
“We are excited about the competition. If we truly believe we want to play deep into postseason, we want a shot at going to Oklahoma City and playing for the national championship. You have to test yourself all the time with opponents. You have to play the best to be the best, and we do not want to shy away from that. So we wanted to throw our team in the fire as early as possible,” she said.
Closing Thoughts
Personally, I cannot wait to see this group in February. This South Carolina team is not trying to copy last year. They are focused on building their own identity, and based on the leadership, depth, and energy that Coach Chastain Woodard shared, the Gamecocks have every opportunity to take another step forward in 2026.
