2025 was a year of firsts for Macalester softball.
For the first time, the Scots won 27 games: the program record. For the first time, the Scots hosted a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoff game. For the first time, the Scots won a MIAC playoff game, as the Bethel Royals begged for mercy after five innings and 10 Scot runs. For the first time, the Scots advanced to the MIAC semifinals. And despite falling to nationally ranked St. Mary’s College (eventual conference champions and national semifinalists) in those semifinals, there was palpable optimism headed into the offseason. The team knows Macalester softball is on the rise. They saw their first MIAC playoff appearance in 2024, and secured another record setting season in 2025.
But success comes at a price; expectations are higher than ever. Head coach Jody Gabriel and her squad have their eyes set on an NCAA tournament bid in 2026, and the team has the talent and confidence necessary. New tournament rules reduced the number of automatic qualifiers and created more at-large bid spots, and with the Scots’ strong out-of-conference schedule, there’s a real chance for the Scots to punch their ticket to Salem even without claiming the MIAC title.
The Scots graduated three seniors: Sophie Futchko ’25, Madeleine Kemper ’25 and Renee Nicholson ’25, who led the program to uncharted territory. They leave big shoes to fill. All three were starting last year. Two, Futchko and Nicholson, were All MIAC; Nicholson was named to the All-Region team. The two All-MIAC stars led the team in batting average: Nicholson first at an eye-popping .398 and Futchko second, recording a .368 average and a team leading 1.050 OPS. Futchko had 77 total bases in 2025, 21 more than the next closest hitter.
It will be tricky to replace the production of Futchko and Nicholson in the batting order, but coach Gabriel came prepared.
2025 was a year of firsts, but 2026 will be a year without them.
After starting five first-years in 2024 and four first-years in 2025, this year there are no fresh faces in the starting lineup. “We’ve all played together, we all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” catcher Dylan Tapia ’28 said. “We’re just a more mature team than we were last year.”
“Through the first three weeks of practice, we look the best we’ve ever looked. Jody [Gabriel] says it, all the girls say it. We look put together,” third baseman Ally Wolf ’28 said. “Our chemistry is off the charts. Everybody fits in their role, and they take on the role the team needs.” The tandem of experience and depth will create a lineup that threatens one through nine.
The Scots also retained both their fantastic starting pitchers: Tess Bojorquez ’27 and Martha Miller ’27. The Scots excellent dual threat rotation, with fireballing first-year Ainsley Sullivan ’29 available in relief, should be enough to soften the blow from losing the two standout bats.
Bojorquez was the steady hand for Gabriel in 2025, pitching north of 90 innings with a remarkable 2.54 ERA. Add that to a .328 batting average at the plate and a team leading 35 RBIs? You have got yourself an All-MIAC, All-District contributor primed for her best season yet. “The way we see it right now, the only way to go is up,” Bojorquez said in an email to The Mac Weekly. “This team is gritty enough to compete at a high level.”
Miller stumbled early last year, but came into her own down the stretch and produced the marquee performance of the 2025 season, pitching a perfect game against St. Scholastica. It was complete dominance. “It felt like everything was coming together,” said Miller in an email to The Mac Weekly. “By the end of the season, I was able to perform at the level I was capable of.”
Even if the Scots can’t hit at the same pace as last season, their pocket aces will steal them games along a 42 game season.
2024 and 2025 saw history at the Macalester Softball Complex. It’s going to be a long road back to 27 wins and a NCAA tournament berth: the Scots kicked off 2026 last weekend in the Dundas Dome against two University of Wisconsin schools, and MIAC playoffs begin the second week of May. It’s a slog of a season, but the Scots are more mature than ever before and have arguably the deepest team in their history.
Expectations are sky high for Gabriel and Macalester softball. After a season opening W in Dundas, it will take about 28 more victories for dreams to become reality. Look for them to contend for a spot in the big dance come the end of April.
