With spring on the horizon, the 2025 Ball State softball season is just around the corner. The Cardinals capped off 2024 with a run to the championship game of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament as the No. 6 seed where they fell to No. 1 seed Miami of Ohio.
Many of the large contributors to that run left the program through graduation in the offseason. Still, the Cardinals have reloaded with new faces and key returners to make another run at the MAC Championship.
“Last year's team is its own team,” Ball State head coach Helen Peña said. “This year's team, we have to attack our offense differently and attack our pitching a little bit differently too. It's really about meeting ourselves where we're at now, and the skills that we have today are different from what we had last year.”
A new team means new leadership. In today's college athletics, there is always a plethora of roster turnover each year, with transfers and freshmen. Integrating those new pieces is crucial year in and year out, and seniors Kaitlyn Gibson, McKayla Timmons and McKenna Mulholland will all be important in aiding the newcomers' transition to Ball State softball.
With uncertainty about who will be in the locker room each year, having a firm culture in place is a must to keep the team close-knit. Peña has instituted that family attitude from the very beginning of her tenure with Ball State.
“Since day one, Coach Peña has harped that our number one priority for our pillars is relationships,” Gibson said. “That's the first thing we work on. We get together with two people, and we've been meeting. We have coffees, or we have dinners. I think doing that from the start has created such a great family. It's honestly been the best thing about us, and I think that's what's going to set us apart from a lot of other teams.”
Those new faces on the roster this season have been integrated into that family with ease.
“Seamless, that's the only way to describe it,” Timmons said. “They fit right in with us. They're weird, they're funny, they work hard, so that's all I could ask of them, from freshmen and transfers.”
With the new faces, the character of this year's team has been found, and it was inspired by the postseason run in 2024. While trying not to dwell on last year, there are certain elements that the red and white want to cling to to continue motivating the season's success.
“Our grit, our family and our trust,” Gibson said. “I think we have brought that into this year, and we have started with getting down to the nitty-gritty of being ourselves and playing free. When we play free but competitive, we're at our best.”
While off-field activities have been a primary focus for Coach Peña, she knows the on-field talent she retained and brought in during the offseason.
“We've got a lot of special pieces that we brought from the portal, but then also the ones that are returning. They've been able to step up in so many ways,” Peña said. “We knew we were going to be able to have the skills. It's just, can we come together at the right time? Can we fulfill our roles the way they need to, and then from there, just can we compete as one? So right now, I feel like they're hungry for it.”
One of those pieces that was brought in from the portal is junior catcher Gabbie Evans. Evans, who started her college career at Michigan State before transferring to Western Michigan, looks to make an immediate impact for the Cardinals as she finished her sophomore season with a .237 batting average, 14 hits and a pair of home runs in her 20 starts for the Broncos.
As the Cardinals took a dip in the transfer portal for a few players, they’re also returning 16 total players from last year’s team highlighted by Timmons who had a batting average of .405 while also hitting 25 home runs, 59 RBIs, 55 runs scored and a total of 68 hits on the 2024 season while also garnering the 2024 NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team, 2024 First Team All-MAC, 2024 MAC All-Tournament Team and winning MAC player of the week twice.
Not only did they return key pieces from last year’s team, but they were also able to bring in two true freshmen.
“I think the freshmen and all the new people who have come in have been absolutely amazing,” Gibson said. “They’ve been determined, they have been encouraging. They’ve been like a light to this team.”
As Coach Peña and her Cardinals squad are all set for the season, they look to start off strong right out of the gate as they’re set to kick off their season with four early season tournaments (Mustang Classic, Charlotte Invitational, Middle Tennessee State Invitational and Bellarmine Invitational).
The Cardinals first pitch of the 2025 season will begin with the Mustang Classic in San Luis Obispo, California, taking on California Polytechnic State University Feb. 6 at 8 p.m.
Contact David Moore with comments at david.moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63. Contact Rylan Crum with comments at rylan.crum@bsu.edu or on X @RylanCrum.
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