A new era dawns on the west side of Houston as the Katy Tigers softball team will be under a new head coach for the first time in 26 years. But it is not an unfamiliar face.
Longtime-assistant Meghan Burrell takes over the program as she enters her 12th year on campus. Burrell takes over a group that went 38-3 a year ago and rose to be the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and reached the Class 6A Region III Final.
This team returns plenty of talent, headlined by Oklahoma-commit Ella Kate “EK” Smith (.465, 1.16 ERA, honorable mention, all-state), LSU-commit Lauryn Soken (.313, 0.93 ERA, first-team, all-district) and University of Houstoncommit Hailey Gore (.509, 1st-team, all-district).
Other players to watch include Oklahoma State-commit Montgomery “MG” Henderson (.486, third-team, all-state), NC State-commit Maddie Smith (.391, first-team, all-district), McClennan-commit Brooke Fechner (.473, first-team, alldistrict) and Missouri-commit Avery Porter (first-team, all-district). Also, be on the lookout for Lexie Waugh (UT-Arlington-commit) and Paige Stall (Cisco-commit).
Tompkins' Drew Merrell (Sr. S), Natalie Kitts (Sr. MB), and Ava Johnk (Sr. OH)Matt Powell (VYPE)
Tomball's Taylor Choate (Sr. OH)Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
Seven Lakes' Gracie Hobin (Sr. OH)Matt Powell (VYPE)
