With the 2025 season set to begin in a few weeks, the Grayson County High School softball team hosted a team-building event on Sunday afternoon at Hometown Hangout.
The squad enters the new year under first-year head coach Jeff Rak, who was hired in August.
Rak is the fifth head coach in the last decade for the Lady Cougars who haven’t had a group have the same coach for at least four years since John Skaggs; who led the team from 1999-2006.
This led to a common goal for the upcoming season across all aspects of the program.
“Consistency. That’s been our mantra since October is just staying consistent,” Rak told K105 at the event. “I mean offense, defense, we just have to be consistent and stay out of our heads and have fun.”
The Lady Cougars are looking to replace two seniors from last season who both held major leadership roles.
Rak specifically mentioned that junior Reagan Nash, who returned to the team this offseason, was someone who has been willing to step into that role.
“I love being in charge, so I think I got into a spot where they could listen to me, but I was never a brat with it,” Nash said about stepping into that role. “I just knew I could help them since I played the longest, so it was just easier to take charge and guide them in the right direction.”
Any good leader acts as a mouthpiece for what the goals of the program are, and that was shown through her using one of Rak’s major keywords.
“I think we need to be really consistent,” Nash added. “Consistency has really been a big thing for the team this year, and I think if we stay on a really good slate and don’t let our minds get to us, we’ll be good.”
Currently, the team is waiting for multiple potential starters to join the practice realm as athletes like Breigh Jones, Payton Bowman, Ella Narvaez, and starting pitcher Ellie Bratcher are still playing basketball.
This has made practicing a bit more challenging, but has allowed for the coaching staff to continue to look at future stars of the program like Jacie Alexander and Karlee Herrington, amongst others.
“I don’t really have goals. I just have more of expectations of what I expect of myself,” Alexander said. “I am more of a defensive player instead of offensive, so I need to focus on my offense and get it to be at the same level as my defense.”
One of Rak’s hires as an assistant coach was Nicole Piscopo, who he specifically mentioned has a lot of knowledge when it comes to pitching.
With Bratcher out until basketball season comes to an end, it has allowed her to work a lot with Herrington in improving her craft in the circle.
“I would like to start varsity and be halfway decent,” Herrington said. “I guess it’s just starting and not make a lot of errors and then probably I would like to have at least above a .250 batting average.”
Events like Sunday are pivotal to continuing to grow the connection between the team both on and off the field.
“They’re all friends in school, but they all have their separate set of friends out of softball,” Rak said. “It is important for them to get together and just relax, have some good food, have some fun, and laugh at the coaches and parents.”
The relaxing nature and laughter are just one step into creating a more relaxed mindset for the group.
The 2025 Grayson County softball team will open the season with a scrimmage on March 13 before the season opener at Barren County on March 20.
Your first chance to see the team on campus in Leitchfield will be March 21, as they host Warren Central.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
