Expect a big year for high school softball in the Mainstreet coverage area.

Trenton is seeking its third straight state title, Branford is in the mix for a return trip to the final four, while Buchholz, Gainesville, Newberry and Santa Fe (Alachua) look to take the next step.

The defending FHSAA Rural state champion Tigers (19-6) have plenty of talent in 4-year starter Presley Akins (.354 average, 18 stolen bases), 6-year starter Addison Allaire (1.42 earned run average, .361, 7 home runs), 2-year starter Mackenzie Fisher (.427, 14 SB, .981 fielding percentage, .173 batting against average), and 2-year starter Addilyn Welbers (.362, 11 SB).

Key additions include catcher Khloe Kirby from Fort White, which will allow Fisher to pitch more and play other positions, Santa Fe transfer Montana Moen, and Bell transfer Alexsandra Faught.

Allaire, who was the Florida Dairy Farmers Player of the Year for her classification in 2024 and in 2025, finished 12-2 in the circle with a 1.42 ERA as a sophomore. She allowed just 21 walks with 184 strikeouts in 98.1 innings pitched.

The University of Florida commit struck out 16 batters on Thursday night in an 8-1 win against Gainesville High. The Tigers are 2-0, including a 4-1 win in the home opener against Columbia (Lake City).

“We have a strong mix of returning experience and emerging young/new talent, and our goal is to build a team identity rooted in discipline, resilience, and accountability,” said Trenton coach Kevin Benson, who enters his second season. “We expect to be competitive in every game we play and to put ourselves in position to make a deep postseason run again this season. However, success for us goes beyond wins and losses. It’s about continuing to raise our standard — in preparation, in execution, and in how we represent Trenton High School and our community.”

Williston, which lost to Trenton, 6-2, in last year’s district title game, will be in the mix again, while Bronson is much improved.

The Eagles, who finished 14-12 last year, return six starters.

“I believe we should be competitive in a very competitive district,” said 2nd-year Bronson coach Jeff Blankenship. “Our goal is to earn a spot in the regional playoffs. We have a good strength of schedule. We are still young, with five of nine starters being in 10th grade or below, and only one senior starter. We will need to play disciplined and execute at the plate. We will need to grow up fast and catch up to the speed of the game against great teams like Trenton and Branford. By doing so, we hope to be in the hunt at the end of the season.”

Branford has made four final four appearances in the past five years, including a 14-6 loss to Northview (Bratt) in the Rural state semifinals last season that denied the Buccaneers (21-7) a third straight state championship game appearance.

Despite graduating seven seniors, Branford is expected to make another run with five starters returning, plus a few key transfers such as former Columbia pitcher Harleigh Price (2.50 ERA, 36 walks, 123 strikeouts as a sophomore for the Tigers).

Mallory Blue (5-1, 2.29 ERA, 42Ks in 36.2 IP) is back in the circle. She also led the team in home runs, while Swain led the Bucs with a .468 batting average, along with seven doubles and three home runs.

“I’m really excited to see what the Buccaneers can do this season,” said Oscar Saavedra, who enters his 12th season as Branford’s head coach. “With the amount of talent we have in the circle, pitching should be the backbone of this team from day one. If the defense stays steady behind them, this pitching staff has the potential to carry Branford deep into the season. Looking forward to watching this group compete.”

Branford, which won the Rural-District 6 title, will play at Rural-District 7 champion Trenton at 7 p.m. on Monday. It will be the first of two meetings between the 2-time defending state champion Tigers and the state semifinalist Bucs, who will host Trenton on Tuesday, March 10.

Union County (Lake Butler) returns senior Leanne Dicks (.462, 27 RBI), junior Emma Handley (.464, 17 RBI, 23 stolen bases in 24 attempts; 8-5, 1 save, 67 Ks), and sophomore Courtney Manning (.522, 26 RBI), among a few others.

The Tigers (17-9) made the playoffs as an at-large but lost to Madison County, 4-2, in the regional semifinals.

“Expectations are like every year, to make the playoffs,” said 3rd-year Union County coach Brian Tomlinson. “We have a good mix of returning players and new faces that make up a talented group of young ladies. The challenge, along with playing in a very tough district/classification, is going to be coming together as one unit. If we can do that, we can accomplish our goals this year.”

Last year, Newberry (20-6) won the 2A-District 5 championship with a 4-3 win against Keystone Heights in the title game. It marked the program’s first district title since 1999.

The Panthers return seven starters led by seniors Olivia Tharp (.891 fielding percentage at 2B), Sarah Burns (6-3, 2.70 ERA, 69 K in 70 IP), and Korilyn Crudup, along with juniors Madison Rodgers (11-2, 2.26 ERA), Chloe Jones (.349, 22 H, 22 RBI), and Aubrey Mattson (.282, 20 H, 19 RS).

Tristan Layfield is back after leading the team with a .430 average, 40 hits and 24 RBI as a freshman. She will play in the infield and outfield this season.

“The season is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Michele Roundtree, who enters her second official year as head coach but her fourth season with the program. “At the start, we are looking for progress, learning, growth, chemistry and not focusing on wins and losses. By the end of April, however, we will have our sights set on competing and winning another district championship as well as pushing ourselves further into the playoff season than ever before.”

Keystone Heights (9-17) played a challenging schedule in 2025 and with several players returning there is plenty of optimism in 2026.

“Expectations will be set high as this team is the same team I had last year, so hopefully they will come in with a little more experience and grit,” said Jessica Marquart, who enters her ninth season with the Indians. “Challenges will be staying up when down and to fight through the pressure. We have to be strong on the mound and play good defense.”

Six starters return for Santa Fe, which cruised past Palatka, 10-0, in the Class 3A-District 5 championship game.

Maddie Crosby is back after leading the team with a .516 average in 75 plate appearances as a junior. She will be rejoined by juniors Maren Hornsby (.493, team-leading 37 hits), J.J. Mott (.377, 17 RS, 10 RBI), Anslea Kelsoe (.389, 28 H, 23 RBI), and Callie Bear (14 RS, 13 H, 10 RBI), plus sophomore Ryleigh (Chucky) Davis (6-1, 3.58 ERA).

“Every team player needs to buy in,” said Gene Findley, who enters a milestone with his 20th season as head coach of the Raiders. “The team needs to compete and challenge themselves as a player and ‘stay positive.’”

GHS (17-8), which lost at eventual state champion Winter Springs in the Class 5A-Region 1 Final, will be led by Texas A&M commit Leanna Bourdage (4-0, 1.42 ERA, 57 K in 24.2 IP), who had surgery over the summer and is expected to have a bigger year.

Bourdage, who threw over 150 pitches in Tuesday’s 10-inning loss to Buchholz, is one of six returning starters.

Seniors Lana Renicks (.295, 23 H, 11 RBI, 10 RS), Emma Barton (16 H, 13 RS), Adriana Koralewski (14 H, 14 RS), Lili Overstreet (7 RBI, 6 RS), and catcher Roxy Walsh (.984 fielding percentage) are back for the Hurricanes, who defeated top seed Deltona, 2-0, in last year’s 5A-District 5 championship game.

“Staying healthy will be the key to success this year as we had some key injuries in 2025, especially in the playoffs,” said Chris Chronister, who enters his 10th season as head coach of the Hurricanes. “It is a veteran team with mostly upper classmen although some are playing new positions. Leanna Bourdage will need to continue to dominate in the circle and our offense will need to be productive led by Leanna, sophomore Taylor Rogers and returning starters Lana Renicks, Lili Overstreet, Adriana Koralewski and Emma Barton. Looking forward to another exciting year of softball.”

Buchholz (12-13 in 2025), which got to the 6A-District 3 title game as a No. 4 seed, lost six seniors and a lot of experience, but they gained seven talented freshman that are eager to compete, according to Will Hooper, who enters his fifth season as head coach of the Bobcats.

“The past two years we have relied mostly on one pitcher (Jurnee Reed) and we finally have depth and flexibility on the mound with the addition of freshmen Madison Hooper, Grace Lariz-McDaniel and Avery Fullam,” Hooper said. “We may be very young, but we expect this team to continue to grow and compete each game.”

Junior Jordyn Cooper (.362, 29 H, 34 RS, 7 triples, 28 SB, 63 assists defensively) is one of four returning starters.

The Bobcats (2-0) are off to a great start after beating rival Gainesville, 5-4 in 10 innings, on Tuesday, and 6A First Coast in Jacksonville, 9-3, on Thursday.

“The 10-inning game against Gainesville was the longest game I’ve ever coached,” Hooper said. “We knew it was going to be tough going against Leanna (1 hit, 0 ER, 6 walks and 14 strikeouts). For the first five innings, we couldn’t even put the bat on the ball, but as the game went on, we were able to get some bunts down and generate some runs off a few errors by their defense.”

Madison Hooper, who is Coach Hooper’s daughter, tossed 10 Innings against GHS and allowed only one earned run on eight hits with three walks (one intentional) and five strikeouts in the first meeting between the two rivals.

GHS will have a chance to even the series against the Bobcats (at Buchholz 3/31) and also against Trenton (home 3/26).

2026 Softball District Assignments

*2025 district champion

Class Rural – Region R3 – District D6

Bell

*Branford

Dixie County (Cross City)

Fort White

Taylor County (Perry)

Union County (Lake Butler)

Class Rural – Region R4 – District D7

Bronson

Chiefland

Hawthorne

*Trenton

Wildwood

Williston

Class 1A – Region R1 – District D4

Countryside Christian

*Peniel Baptist (Palatka)

Saint Francis Catholic Academy

St. Joseph (St. Augustine)

Class 2A – Region R1 – District D3

*Baldwin

Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville)

Bradford (Starke)

Trinity Christian (Jacksonville)

Class 2A – Region R2 – District D5

Interlachen

Keystone Heights

*Newberry

P.K. Yonge

Class 3A – Region R1 – District D2

Gadsden County (Havana)

Godby (Tallahassee)

Suwannee (Live Oak)

*Wakulla (Crawfordville)

Class 3A – Region R2 – District D5

Eastside

North Marion (Citra)

Palatka

*Santa Fe (Alachua)

Class 4A – Region R1 – District D3

*Baker County (Glen St. Mary)

Columbia (Lake City)

Ed White (Jacksonville)

Riverside (Jacksonville)

Class 5A – Region R2 – District D5

Belleview

Deltona

*Gainesville

Mainland (Daytona Beach)

Class 6A – Region R1 – District D3

Bartram Trail (St. Johns)

Buchholz

*Oakleaf (Orange Park)

Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine)