Tested Early, Tested Often: No. 12 Softball Returns Proven Bats, Adds Circle Depth

FULTON, Miss. – Itawamba Community College softball opens the 2026 season with a number next to its name and a target on its back.

ICC begins the spring ranked No. 12 in the preseason NJCAA Division II Softball Rankings presented by Netting Professionals, a nod to what the Indians proved a year ago and what they believe they can become next.

The ranking also underlines the weekly reality in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference. Co-Lin (No. 2), Jones (No. 4), Pearl River (No. 7) and Northwest Mississippi (No. 20) all appear in the preseason list, meaning there will be few quiet weekends once league play arrives.

Carson Owens and Madison Monson enter their second year guiding the program, building on a 2025 season that ended 30-21 with a trip to the third round of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament. The next step is obvious. Turn last season's flashes into a standard and turn close games into a habit of finishing.

The best version of ICC this spring starts with a lineup that does not rely on one style. Last season's offense hit .288 as a team with 35 home runs and 141 stolen bases, a combination that can wear teams down whether the inning calls for patience, power or pressure.

Maddie Porter returns after one of the most complete seasons on the roster. She hit .341 with 19 doubles and three home runs, drove in 28 and reached base at a .511 clip. A.B. Marlar is back after hitting .333 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs, giving the middle of the order real thunder. Taylar Shands returns as another game-changer, posting 10 home runs and a .655 slugging percentage while driving in 31.

There is speed and table-setting returning, too. Morgan Green is back in the outfield after a freshman season that showed pop in the gaps, and the roster has multiple outfield options with Campbell Guin, Alana Dossey, Victoria Fields and Skylar Partlow joining the mix. The infield group has experience and depth with Houston-Rea Grantham, Macie Starling, Fischer Short and Ella Duhon, plus Emarie Boddie and Anna Thomas Luke providing versatility across positions.

The catching group is steady and deep, led by Porter and Zoe Goodman, with Kaylin Lynch added as a freshman option.

If ICC is going to make a push in a loaded conference, it starts in the circle.

The Indians went 30-21 last season with a 3.50 team ERA and 232 strikeouts, and the 2026 staff has the kind of depth that can survive February and win weekends in March and April. The headline addition is Ramsey Montgomery, a transfer from rival Northeast with proven frontline numbers. In 36 appearances last season, including 29 starts, Montgomery went 25-2 with three saves in 182 innings. She posted a 1.04 ERA with a 0.89 WHIP and struck out 232, giving ICC an arm that can control a weekend and shorten games.

Around Montgomery, ICC returns multiple pitchers who logged meaningful innings a year ago. Ella Lilly is back after working 107 1/3 innings, while Neely Hodum adds versatility after being used in both pitching and utility roles. The freshman class adds depth in the circle with Lizzie Meeks, Ashlynn Dabbs, Gracyn Snell and Alanee Wheeler, giving ICC more options to navigate doubleheaders, quick turnarounds and the grind that comes with a schedule built to test you early.

ICC does not ease into 2026. The season opens Tuesday, Feb. 3, with a doubleheader at Northwest Shoals, then the Indians head to Florida for a loaded weekend that includes Coastal Alabama-South and Pensacola State on Friday, Feb. 6, followed by Andrew College and a marquee matchup with No. 3 St. Johns River State on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Gulf Coast State JUCO Showdown.

The home debut comes Wednesday, Feb. 11, when ICC hosts Jackson State for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Andy Kirk Field. From there, the month stays packed with invitationals and midweek matchups designed to prepare the Indians for the conference grind.

MACCC play arrives in March and the calendar does not soften. Series with Mississippi Gulf Coast, Mississippi Delta, Hinds and East Mississippi roll into a stretch that includes road trips to Meridian, Northwest Mississippi, Southwest Mississippi, Copiah-Lincoln and Jones. Every week will demand consistency, and the preseason ranking guarantees ICC will get everybody's best shot.

The headline is simple. ICC is ranked, tested and returning impact pieces at the plate with a circle group built for the long haul. The goal now is to play to the number, then play beyond it.