How will the Skyhawks respond? UT Martin Softball Targets Growth, Depth, and Toughness in 2026
UT Martin Skyhawks Look Towards Improved 2026
Coming off a 16-31 season in 2025, the UT Martin Skyhawks look to learn from that experience and turn 2026 into a different result. Head Coach Chelsea Farmer and her husband, Assistant Coach Daniel Farmer, feel encouraged by what they have seen over the summer and fall.
“Honestly, the fall this season has been awesome. It was honestly completely different than what we saw spring of 25, and completely different than what we saw fall of 24,” Chelsea Farmer said.
“That was really our approach moving into this fall. We wanted to do just a complete 180 and make sure everything that we were doing was different based on the needs of what we needed to get out of our current team,” she said. “Obviously last year, 16 wins is not great, and so we knew we had a lot to change and a lot to improve on.”
The mindset started before the summer, in exit meetings, according to Coach Daniel Farmer. They knew then that things had to change and were ready to take on the challenge.
The Skyhawks lost infielder Alli Robinson to graduation. Robinson was the only hitter that hit .300 or better last year, as the team as a whole hit .246. Not a great offensive showing from UT Martin, and something Chelsea and Daniel Farmer are motivated to address heading into 2026.
“Since last year, it’s just kind of been my daily reminder to make sure that we’re not in this same position again,” said Daniel Farmer. “I spent a lot of time working on our film from last year, watching it this summer, and trying to get specific things that our hitters need at the plate instead of the overall picture.”
Instead of addressing hitting as a group, the staff has spent more one on one time with the hitters to sharpen and retool their games. They have also given specific things to work on each month to help build toward the overall goal. The staff feels the improvement after the fall and believes 2026 will be different from last season.
Coach Daniel took most of the blame for last year’s offensive struggles, pointing to how hitting was approached too broadly instead of individually.
“Watching all of our games back this summer and watching film again of our individual stuff, I realized everybody’s different. Everybody’s approach is different. Everybody approaches the game different,” said Daniel Farmer. “I put them in a box. Kyla, you’re this kind of hitter. Carly, you’re this kind of hitter. You’re this kind of hitter.”
“I’ve made it more individualized for them. I think our workouts have been a lot more productive like that because it’s not whole group all the time. It’s more of like me and them, or me and two people, or me and three people,” he said. “So I’ve told them all fall, I’ll take last year as my fault, but we will not hit .246 again.”
Power wise for the Skyhawks, they bring back senior Avary Makarewicz. Mak hit a team high eight home runs last season and looks to be a more complete hitter after working over the summer and fall. Being from Ripon, Wisconsin, Avary played in the Northwoods League this summer for the La Crosse Steam, where she won the Home Run Challenge in July.
“She’s very driven. She played a lot of games this summer and I think she gained her confidence back and became the player that she has always wanted to be,” said Daniel Farmer. “She will be a difference maker in the lineup for us this spring. She had a wonderful fall.”
Coach Chelsea Farmer echoed those thoughts.
“If it’s a home run that she can hit, great, or if she needs to hit a gap shot to score somebody, that’s great too,” she said. “That’s probably one of my favorite parts about Avary. She’s smart enough to get in that box and know what she needs to do, but also capable enough to actually do it.”
Other players to watch at the plate for the Skyhawks are Dylan Scott and Addie Roberts. Roberts did not play much last season but showed real potential during fall competition, hitting over .500.
UT Martin brought in a small freshman class for the 2026 season, but the Skyhawks feel the group has the ability to contribute sooner rather than later.
Payton Hurst, from Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, showed flashes during the fall despite dealing with some setbacks.
“She’s been battling some injuries this fall,” Daniel Farmer said. “When she did get her opportunities, she did produce at the plate for us. I think if we can keep her healthy this spring, she’ll be able to help us.”
Outfielder Teagan Hayes adds an intriguing long term piece to the roster after arriving from California. While still adjusting to the college game, the staff likes her upside and situation.
“She is gonna do some good things for us,” Farmer said. “She’s just getting used to this level of ball. She’s got some good people ahead of her. Our outfield should be very strong this year and they’re all older, so she’s got some good people that can teach her some things.”
One of the most talked about freshmen internally has been Kaytie Chandler, who quickly made an impression on campus.
“Everybody calls her Mama Katie, but she’s very mature for her age,” Chelsea Farmer said. “If you spoke to any of them on our team and didn’t know what grade they were, you would never pick her out as a freshman.”
“She’s outgoing. She has made a name for herself already. The people in the city know her. The people in our university know her. She’s just one of those lights that you just love to have on a team,” he said.
Chandler, along with Hurst, battled injuries and illness during the fall, but the coaching staff remains confident in her ability.
“I still want you to be a contributor,” Chelsea Farmer said of conversations with Chandler. “She has the talent to be a contributor this spring. She’s capable. She’s good. She throws hard, and her ball when it’s moving is good.”
Farmer added that Chandler’s mentality stands out.
“She’s got the head on her shoulders, which most freshmen do not have. So physically, if she can hack it this semester, she’ll do really well because her confidence and her mentality of life and the game is going to take her far.”
The Skyhawks also picked up two transfers who are sisters from St. Bonaventure. Karena Recrosio joins UT Martin as an outfielder after starting and playing in 46 games for the Bonnies last season. She hit .370 with 51 hits, seven doubles, one triple, and 33 runs scored. Recrosio also stole 12 bases, posted a .435 slugging percentage, and started all 46 games in left field.
Angelina “Gia” Recrosio also transferred in from St. Bonaventure. Gia is a middle infielder who did not see much playing time as a freshman last season, but brings added depth and development potential to the infield heading into 2026.
One thing about the Skyhawks last season is they were among the best in the country in stolen bases. According to NCAA.com, UT Martin ranked 29th nationally with 87 total stolen bases and 19th with 1.85 stolen bases per game. That speed remains part of the identity heading into 2026.
One reason for that aggressiveness, according to Daniel Farmer, was necessity.
“If we’re having a bad weekend and we’re not seeing the ball well, we’re not hitting well, I don’t want to sit there and just watch. We’ll try something,” he said. “So I think that was kind of our mindset last year. They enjoyed it. I think towards the end they kind of saw, all right, this is kind of fun to mix it up a little bit. So I think they got on board. We do have some more kids this year that can run. So we’ll try to push the envelope if we’re not hitting well.”
In the circle, Ashtyn Green returns after leading the Skyhawks last season with a 2.89 ERA, eight complete games, and 109 innings pitched. She enters 2026 with improved mentality and work ethic.
“I think her biggest improvement has come just from, A, her mentality, and B, her work ethic,” said Chelsea Farmer. “She’s been pretty good her entire life. Like when she was in high school, they won a basketball championship. They won a softball championship. She has won a lot.”
“So I think last year was kind of her realization year of like, oh, I actually have to work really hard to be as good as I want to be at this level,” she said. “So from last year to this year, I have truly seen just more work out of her. She’s constantly pitching. She’s going on her own to pitch. She’s pitching when it’s cold. She’s pitching when she has no catcher.”
Even while completing her student teaching this semester, Green has maintained that work ethic.
“She actually completed her student teaching this semester, and she would wake up early, go to weights, go to school,” Chelsea Farmer said. “She would get out of school and then she would go pitch. We would already be done with practices and stuff, but she would come and pitch on her own.”
“So work ethic wise, she is good and she has good stuff, but I think that bump up in level of effort and intentional effort is really going to help her bump up to the next level this season for us.”
Green will not have to shoulder the load alone. Chelsea Farmer believes UT Martin has a true staff of seven capable pitchers this season, with an emphasis on balance and shared responsibility.
One new arm is Sami Scholtz, who began her collegiate career at Dayton before transferring to John A. Logan at the JUCO level. Last season, Scholtz went 24-2 with a 1.10 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP, and 213 strikeouts in 165.1 innings across 35 appearances and 14 complete games.
“At this point, I’m looking for her to carry a load,” said Chelsea Farmer. “But I think something that’s exciting for her is she doesn’t have to carry the entire load. So last year she beat herself to death throwing every single game, and by the time they got to postseason, she was pretty tired. And she still was throwing.”
“I expect her to be a starter,” she said. “She keeps the ball more in the zone, so she’s somebody I look to who can go out there, start us off a good ball game, and then maybe throw three or four innings, get somebody else in there, and then save her again for either a start the next day or a start in our upcoming midweek.”
Scholtz gave up only five home runs last season, a product of her ability to change speeds and keep hitters off balance.
“She throws three different speeds and she’s very hard to time up,” Chelsea Farmer said. “So when I say in the zone, I just say she can get ahead early on hitters with some of her pitches. And then she’s got a really nasty rise ball and a drop ball.”
“I think her biggest attribute is that she throws three different speeds and hitters don’t really know what’s coming when they’re in the box.”
Daniel Farmer added that his hitters struggle to time her in live situations. I will be on the lookout for Scholtz. I believe she will be a name to watch in the OVC this season.
Pitchers on roster: Joleanna Fox (sophomore), Jordyn Hustey (Senior), Payton Harris (Junior), Ashtyn Green (Senior), Kaytie Chandler (Freshman), Sami Scholtz (Junior), Natalie Kreuziger (Sophomore).
Behind the plate, Avary Makarewicz plays a critical role as the leader of the battery. She is like the quarterback for sure on the field.
“She does bring power and she loves a good home run for sure, but she’s very knowledgeable of the game,” Chelsea Farmer said. “She’s a catcher. She sees the game really well.”
“I think last year it was a lot for her because last year was her first year being the starting catcher in college, and we threw a lot of pitchers at her last year.”
Now, with a better grasp of the staff and herself, Makarewicz has earned more trust from Chelsea Farmer to make some calls if she sees fit.
“Honestly, she’s kind of like our right hand gal with calling pitches and knowing what pitch we should call in the moment,” Chelsea Farmer said. “I’ve kind of given her free range. I may call curve ball, but in that moment, if you think we need to throw X, Y, Z, either call it or call a time and go talk to the pitcher.”
“I trust her enough and trust her knowledge behind the plate and what she can see with the batters and the pitcher in the moment.”
Defensively, UT Martin enters 2026 with more depth than last season, allowing for flexibility across the field.
Senior twins Kennedy and Kyrsten Brown are on their final ride, and for the first time in their careers, they enter a season with the same coaching staff as the year before.
“Kyrsten has been a starter for us every year that she’s been here. But they have both had the craziest college experience with coaching changes and the way everything has happened,” said Chelsea Farmer.
“Now this year, I feel like they’re in a much more comfortable spot, and a much better spot mentally,” she said. “They understand the expectations. They know why those expectations are set in place, especially after what happened last year.”
“Now they’re like, okay, I get it. We’re ready. We’re on board. We trust you. Here we go.”
The Skyhawks are looking to get off to a strong start this season, something they feel is important for building momentum heading into OVC play.
“I do think getting off to a good start will be important for us. I think it will be a boost that the team needs to know, hey, all of this work that we’ve been putting in is worth it,” said Chelsea Farmer.
“However, I also really believe that we have spent a lot of this fall trying to teach them every game is the same. We want you to be a champion every single day. Treat every day like I’m trying to be a champion and get better. And that will cause less pressure.”
UT Martin will face three SEC teams during the 2026 season in Ole Miss, Missouri, and Mississippi State. Those games will not only matter for RPI purposes, but also serve as important opportunities to test themselves against elite competition and learn how to handle pressure.
As a mid major in the OVC, the path to the NCAA Tournament is narrow. The league is a one bid conference, meaning winning the OVC is the only way in. Handling pressure is something the Skyhawks struggled with last season.
“We last year could not handle pressure. We couldn’t. The team would tell you, we crumble every time there’s a pressure situation. They couldn’t figure out how to overcome it,” Chelsea Farmer said.
“This year we’ve tried to teach them, if you put that much pressure on yourself every single day as far as getting better with practice, getting better with your mentality, eating habits, classroom, relationships, everything, you’re not gonna have that stress.”
Daniel Farmer echoed that, pointing to how close UT Martin often was in 2025. The Skyhawks lost 15 games by two runs or fewer.
“I think this fall we’ve put them in so many different situations. We’ve been hard. This has been a rough fall for them. We’ve been very hard on them. They’ve worked very hard,” said Daniel Farmer.
“We’ve done enough this fall to get it off to a hot start. Coming as a one bid conference, it’s hard to get it automatic. But I think we can. I’m the every game guy. So I think a hot start is important for us just because they need to gain that confidence early to prove to themselves that, hey, we can do this.”
The belief is there from the team and Coach Chelsea and Daniel Farmer in 2026. When you have witnessed the amount of work and see the mentality switch, it is hard not to believe in what is to come. I myself look forward to the Skyhawks taking a big step this coming season. Stay tuned.
