After ending last season in the NCAA Regional final for the first time in program history, Villanova softball is looking to do it again.
Head coach Bridget Orchard’s Wildcats go into their 2025 campaign as the No. 1 pick in the Big East preseason poll, for the second consecutive year. Villanova lived up to conference expectations last season, claiming the 2024 Big East Championship before the historic NCAA Tournament run.
“A lot of our conversations, team meetings have been about trying to do what we did last year, but even better,” junior pitcher Kat Gallant said. “Everyone knows that there’s an expectation to compete and just to perform with excellence this season.”
The Wildcats will open the season with a trip to College Station, TX to compete in the Aggie Classic from Feb. 6 to Feb. 9. Villanova won’t waste any time avoiding tough competition, as the weekend will end with matchups against No. 19 Baylor and No. 7 Texas A&M on Sunday.
“For us to see live pitching from some of the best teams in the country, that’s what we want,” Orchard said. “[The trip to Texas] will be a good test to expose our weaknesses right from the get-go. It’ll be fun to play against somebody other than ourselves to check what we need to come back and work on.”
This year’s Wildcats have one certain leader: redshirt senior first baseman Brooklyn Ostrowski.
As the team’s only fifth-year player and a team captain, Ostrowski is tasked with getting freshman acclimated to the program and maintaining standards across the team. She is one of the team’s most versatile players, playing multiple positions on the field and hitting 11 home runs last season.
“This team has depth, this team has grit, and you can put anyone at any position,” Ostrowski said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re facing, and I think we really had that approach at [NCAA] Regionals. We were kind of like, ‘Let’s just have fun, let’s ball out together and see where it goes.’ I want us to have that same approach going into preseason because, truly, we have nothing to lose. I’m hoping that these girls go into the season with high confidence.”
Pitching was a strong suit for the Wildcats last season. Gallant and senior Kelsey White, who recorded eight wins last season, while allowing a 0.285 batting average, are some of the top returners for the Wildcats in the circle. Grace Fagan enters her second season as Villanova’s pitching coach.
“[Fagan] played at Mississippi State, so she has insight into the minds of the SEC players that we’re playing against,” Gallant said. “She’s good at giving us strategy when we go up against them, and highlighting our strengths and weaknesses to give us confidence in those big games.”
One key senior on last year’s roster was pitcher Caroline Pellicano, who finished her college career as the Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player. She also became Villanova’s all-time leader in saves with 17. Pellicano’s dependability as a closer will be a difficult role for the team to replace this season.
“The dynamic might be a little different because last year we had Caroline Pellicano, and to be honest, I don’t think her shoes can be filled by anybody,” Gallant said. “She was just really good at what she did. I know it’s going to be a full-staff effort, and we don’t have anybody in a dedicated role yet.”
The Wildcats are taking on five new freshmen, including three pitchers: Sophia Mount, Lexi Kobryn and Maddy Burns. Jaclyn Morra also joins Villanova as an infielder.
Freshman Ava Mahnken and junior Bella Wren, a transfer from Bryant & Stratton, are both important additions to fill in the vacancy at catcher left by 2024 graduates Ally Jones and Emily Orr.
In the fall, the Wildcats prioritized preparing the freshman class for the rigors of college softball, while gearing up mentally for the challenging non-conference schedule.
“We’re a super close team,” Ostrowski said. “Our run last year only made us stronger, and we’re craving for that run again. Our freshman class has done an amazing job adjusting to our program, adjusting to our culture. I want to win again, and I don’t care what I do individually, as long as I can get this team to the championship.”
Villanova will spend the beginning of the season with trips south to take on an array of national opponents. After Texas, the Wildcats will travel to Boca Raton, FL for the Joan Joyce Classic on Feb. 14 to Feb. 16. Next, they head to Clemson, SC from Feb. 21 to Feb. 23. The non-conference tournaments wrap up with the Hokie Invite in Salem, VA from Feb. 28 to March 2.
Big East competition at Villanova Softball Complex opens with a series against UConn on March 7 to March 9.
“We’ve been fortunate to create a really good culture each year that passes down to the next class, it’s a tribute to what we did last year,” Orchard said. “It’s a new season, a new year, so we’re not going to focus on what we did last year. We’re focusing on this year.”
