Feb. 26 marked the beginning of the high school spring sports season. West Valley Preps asked local softball coaches to take a look at their teams:

Dysart Demons

4A Black Canyon
Coach: Bob Brumbaugh (First year as Dysart head coach)
2024 Record: 5-16, 1-8 region
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? It’s my first year as the head coach at Dysart. I was the varsity assistant last year. I returned because I see a lot of untapped talent here. One of our best attributes is these girls care for each other and want to start a new culture of competing and winning. This program has underperformed for many years. The girls want a change!
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? We lack pitching. Savannah Farmer is a junior who will be the main starter this year. She is getting better every day. We moved her in from CF. We don’t have the luxury of a club program to keep our team reloading each year. We have to grow players from freshman to their senior year. The girls work hard, adapt to the needs of the team, and strive to be better each practice and game.
Who are your team leaders? Senior Juliana Bustraan, junior Savannah Farmer, senior Staci Izaguirre, and senior Elizabeth Kent. The seniors have been here all four years. They are frustrated with the outcomes the last three years. I believe I’m their third head coach during those four years. They want to go out doing better than they have in the last three seasons. They are hungry. All four are great leaders and the JV team and their varsity teammates look to them to lead.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? Freshman shortstop Reyna Rodriguez comes from Surprise Elementary. She is a true gamer and is already a leader on the team. Her softball IQ is something that helps on the field and off. She’s got a ton of talent. Freshman Braelynn Briggs is the starting right fielder. She needs a few tweaks in her confidence game and she will be a game changer. Sophomore Lairanette Bowman transferred in from La Jolla. She’s ineligible for 10 games, but she will make a definite impact when she starts playing. I should also mention that we are fielding a JV team for the first time in more than years. The plan is to grow the commitment and dedication and build a new culture everyone can get behind. Trust the process. There is talent in El Mirage.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? A state tournament bid would be amazing. Are we there yet? I don’t think so. Can we compete and achieve a playoff berth or compete for a region title? If these young ladies play to their potential, listen to what the coaches tell them and just come out and play hard ... we can do great things. With only four seniors this year, we are looking to the future and hoping for great things. We will compete, never give up, and maybe surprise some people this year.

Paradise Honors Panthers

4A Black Canyon
Coach: Christy Waring (Second year as Paradise Honors head coach)
2024 Record: 20-10, 9-1 region (4A play-in)

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Our best attribute entering the season is the flexibility that we have. Most of our girls can play multiple positions, and they are always willing to try new things and play different positions when we need them to. We rarely have the exact same lineup. We also have two excellent catchers, Marlee Freeman and Anna Landa, and we have two pitchers, Charlee Glenn and Olivia Jimenez, who will be co-aces this year. They complement each other well, and they have very different pitching styles which helps mix things up in games! I trust them both to get the job done! We also have a great mix of speed and power in the lineup.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? We are still very young, so we need the girls to just gain more confidence and realize how good they are. They can be timid or unsure of themselves sometimes, so we’re working on that. We need a little bit more leadership on the field and in the dugout to keep things focused.
Who are your team leaders? Our team leaders are Gabby Marquez, Parker Holt, Olivia Jimenez and Meghan Stroh, These are my upperclassmen who are working hard to mentor and guide our sophomores and our freshmen. They know the history and success of Paradise Honors softball, and they are working to ensure that the program remains one of the premier teams in the West Valley and the state.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? Anna Landa is a freshman who has stepped in and impressed the coaching staff so much. She catches, plays third base, and has a great bat. She’s become an everyday starter for us, and she is going to have an amazing career at PHHS. The other newcomer that will definitely make an impact once she recovers from an injury is Chloe Short.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? Last year we fell just short of making the state tournament, losing 1-2 in the state play-in game. We only graduated three seniors last year, and so the expectation is that with our large freshman class, who are now sophomores, that they now know what needs to be done to make it to state. Our goals for the season are to win our region and to make a good run at the state tournament. They just need to stay focused, work hard, and believe in themselves.

Willow Canyon Wildcats

5A Northwest Valley
Coach: Donnie Tizzano (seventh year of second stint at Willow Canyon)
2024 Record: 27-10, 12-0 region (5A semifinalist)
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Talent. We have a number of talented kids throughout the program.
What will your team need to improve for the season to be a success? We need to learn to play the game at a high level. Although we are talented, we are young. This is one of the youngest teams I have had here at Willow Canyon.
Who are your team leaders? Izzy Ray and Caylee Walding are our team captains. They do an outstanding job mentoring our young players. Lucy Burroughs has stepped up in a big way as well.
Who are newcomers to the varsity squad that could make an impact? Bella Mora is a stud. She can play all over the field at a high level. She has good power at the plate as well. Jada Williams and Liberty James are two freshman outfielders that could see a lot of time. Both are smooth athletes who will improve with experience. Easton Spriggs is a true ace. She’ll be a dominant pitcher in the state over the course of her career. Mel Fox has a lot of upside in the circle. Her calm demeanor and her ability to command her pitchers will help balance out our staff.
What needs to happen for your squad to reach the state tournament this season, or reach the goals the program has set? Mataya Olson is one of the best sophomore players in the state. She will have to continue to play at a high level while the freshmen get their legs underneath them. If the freshmen mature quickly, we will reach the goals that we have set for ourselves this season.