Featured photo by Preston Todd
Story by Luke Cameron
MURFREESBORO, Tenn- 12-year MTSU head softball coach Jeff Breeden is looking to build on his program’s momentum generated by last season’s 42-win, NCAA Regional-qualifying squad.
Two players from last year’s team are no longer with the program: pitcher Paige Connors and shortstop Laura Mealer. Mealer now plays for the University of Tennessee.
Four players are new to the program: Mary Martinez, a pitcher and transfer from Louisiana Tech, infielder Ava Brooks, a transfer from Walters State, freshman pitcher Jesyne Espinal and freshman infielder Mary Owens.
Gretchen Mead exhausted her eligibility and is now an assistant coach, along with new assistant coach Bryce Brentz.
Breeden sees his outfielders as among the team’s strong points. “I don’t think there’s a better outfield in America,” he says. Outfielders this season include Savannah Behabetz, Shelby Sargent, Amaya Harris, Bryanna Coffman, Lexi Medlock and Anyce Harvey.
Behabetz had a 1.000 fielding percentage last season, with 125 put-outs and one assist.
To fill the pitching void left by the departures of Connors and a 20-game-winner in Mead, Breeden is looking to Martinez, Espinal, Claire Woods, Keri Munn, and Kamryn Carcich. Mead says each of the pitchers brings something to the table.
Martinez won 10 games as a starter last season in Conference USA, Carcich had a 1.94 ERA last season, Woods throws three different pitches, Espinal has a quick arm and Munn throws an effective rise ball.
Replacing Mealer’s hitting production will be a group effort, Breeden acknowledges. “It’s going to take a couple of people offensively,” he says. Defensively, Shelby Echols looks to move over to fill Mealer’s shortstop position.
Breeden is pleased to have assistant coaches Mead and Brentz. Mead, in addition to starting 28 games as a pitcher last season, had a 1.000 batting average. Brentz is MTSU baseball’s career home runs leader, hit home runs in Minor and Independent Leagues and hit a home run as a Major League player. He occasionally accidentally hits the ball over the fence when simulating game-action hitting during softball practice.
Mead believes getting into coaching was a natural progression for her. “It was always a goal,” she says. Breeden has praise for his former hurler, calling her one of his greatest success stories as a coach.
“Gretchen is a competitor,” Breeden says. “She stayed the course.”
Breeden notes Mead stayed as a player for five years, choosing not to transfer but instead to wait for her opportunity—which came in the 2022-2023 season when she led the program to its most successful season on record.
Post-playing career, the Kingwood, Texas native has stayed in Middle Tennessee because of her love for the softball program, and also because of the weather.
“I have the four seasons here,” Mead says.
In Brentz, Breeden has a coach who knows hitting like Yo-Yo Ma knows the cello. Brentz had not coached softball before this year, but he has picked up on some things about the softball athlete.
“The female athlete, when they show up—they’re coming to work,” Brentz says.
Brentz works with each hitter individually to develop a hitting approach tailored specifically to that player. He combines that with a lot of practice in the batting cage.
“We do machine work every day,” Brentz says.
He calls the machine work “baptism of fire” and strives to make things “more difficult in the cage than what they see in a weekend [series].” That way when game time comes the players are prepared.
Breeden says the team is focused on trying “to get one percent better every day.” With that said, his general expectations are to compete at the highest level in the conference. And his desires do not end there.
“I want to take this thing to a Super Region,” Breeden said.
In addition to the previously mentioned players, this season’s roster is rounded out with Claire Czajkowski, Ashlee Jacoway, Ava Tepe, Julia Garcia, Ansley Blevins, Julia Sitterding and Riley Gilmore.
MTSU begins seon ason play February 9 at the NorCal Kickoff tournament in Sacramento, California, followed by tournaments in Fort Myers and Madeira Beach, Florida. The first home games will be March 1-3 at the MTSU Invitational tournament. Home series this season will be against Louisiana Tech, Florida International, Liberty, and New Mexico State.
Luke Cameron is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com. Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mtsusidelines, or on X @MTSUSidelines.
