New conference, new changes for Talawanda softball

This story was produced by Miami University journalism students Kethan Babu and Alexis Varner in partnership with the Oxford Free Press.

Talawanda High School is not just embarking on a new softball season this year, but a new conference.

After playing in the Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC) for 13 years, the Brave have moved every athletic program except football to the larger and more competitive Southwestern Buckeye League (SWBL). 

For the softball team, this means attempting to replicate a long line of success in the SWOC with a new slate of 13 conference opponents. 

In their final year in the four-team SWOC, the Brave captured their second consecutive  conference title and finished the season 19-8. The team went undefeated in conference play and advanced to the second round of the Division III sectionals. 

“The competition in our conference this year is definitely harder than it has been in the past,” senior outfielder Shelby Kerby said. “We’ve been successful in our previous years in our other conference, so I think we have a really good shot to do the same.”

Next player up

This year, Talawanda will be without Kylie Cobb, who holds the school record for career home runs with 16. The senior finished the 2025 season with six home runs and 39 RBIs. As the team’s starting pitcher, she recorded a 1.87 ERA for the season. 

Davie said Cobb’s presence will be missed this year, but her leadership will not be forgotten. 

“We’ve got some really talented girls coming back who have played with and played under her leadership,” Davie said. “I feel good from an offensive perspective in terms of trying to fill those shoes.”

Davie added that pitching will be a bit different this season as well.

“This will be an interesting year for us because it’ll be more of a committee than one or two girls who will take the majority of innings.”

Kerby and senior outfielder Audrey Hilbert were named team captains ahead of the 2026 campaign. The duo led Talawanda with 29 and 28 runs last year, respectively. 

“We always have a good-fitting team,” Hilbert said. “We do a lot of team bonding outside of (practice),  and since we’ve all spent so much time together already within the past couple of months, I think we fit well together.”

In addition to Cobb, Talawanda also graduated seniors Alice Morehead (13 hits and 11 RBIs) and Abby Detherage (three hits and two RBIs). The trio of seniors had a combined 51 hits, 43 runs and 52 RBIs last season. 

New approach 

“This season isn’t just going to rely on hitting,” senior pitcher Kaylee Griffin said. “This season is going to be really hard on our pitchers. We just have to work together.”

Griffin said that freshman players will play a big role this season.

We have some freshmen that have come up, and they’ve definitely stepped in that position,” she said. “We’ve put in a lot of work, and it’s going well so far.”

Talawanda will start its 2026 season with scrimmages against Valley View, Fairmont and Badin. The season officially opens when the Brave travel to Arcanum for a doubleheader on March 21. 

“We haven’t necessarily done ourselves any favors with our non-conference schedule,” Davie said. “You’re talking about section champions (and) teams that have won regionals last year. But if you want to beat the best, you have to play the best. That’s the expectation here. The standard is the standard.”

The Brave will face their first SWBL opponent with a home-and-home series against former SWOC rival Ross High School, first away on April 8 and then home on April 10. Ross captured the 2025 SWBL conference title in the Southwestern division.