After a resurgent season a year ago that saw the Eagles finish with a winning record for the first time since the 2015-16 season, Joplin is under new head coach Brenden Schneider and returns all but two starters in hopes of taking its success one step further in 2022.
“I think the girls are really excited,” Schneider said. “They have set themselves a high bar. They want to succeed. Their goal that we talked
about in the team meeting is to win more games than we did last year and to win a district game because we haven’t won a district game since 2015 either. That tells me that they feel confident that we have the ability to win a lot of games if we play hard, and it shows me they’re willing to put in the work.”
Schneider takes over the program after serving the last five years as the assistant/pitching coach for the Joplin baseball team. Schneider, who was an assistant softball coach at Joplin for four years prior to last season, also spent three years as an assistant baseball/softball coach at Kickapoo (20015-17) and was an assistant baseball coach at Bolivar (2013-14).
“I am really excited,” Schneider said. “It has been a fun transition because a lot of the girls already know me because I have coached a lot of them before. So, I really couldn’t have asked for a better group in my first year.
“We return so much experience because so many of these sophomores played as freshmen last year. These kids are hardworking, have a lot of fun and bring the energy every day. I am really excited because everybody has the same goal—win more games than we did last year. They are all on the same page, and that doesn’t happen very often.”
Depth will be one of the biggest assets for the Eagles this season with 11 players returning who either started regularly or saw extensive time on the diamond in varsity games. What makes the situation even better is only two of the returners are seniors.
“I think our depth and experience is huge,” Schneider said. “Especially in a season that happens so fast and you play so many games, that can lead to kids breaking down. I think it gives us some security to know we have the flexibility that if someone does get hurt, we have other kids who can step up into those roles. … I think it’s invaluable.”
Joplin’s returners by class are seniors Jill McDaniel (P) and Izzy Yust (SS), juniors Ashley Phillips (OF), Kirsten McMillen (C), Bailey Ledford (3B) and Taryn Casey (OF) and sophomores Jadyn Pankow (1B), Riley Kelly (C), Libby Munn (UTL), Maria Loum (2B) and Abby Lowrey (OF).
With a young roster already, Joplin will also see an influx of talent coming in at the freshman level with players such as P/OF/1B Ava Wolf, P/OF Caelyn Bobski and INF Alissa Owens expected to contribute at the varsity level to some degree.
“Bobski and Wolf are some freshmen pitchers we are working pretty hard to develop,” Schneider said. “Ava is a pretty versatile player, too. She is left handed and can play first base and in the outfield, too. And Alissa does a good job for us doing a lot of the little things right.”
Aside from depth, the team defense figures to be a strength this season. With nearly the entire starting defense back, along with McDaniel back starting in the circle for the third straight season, the Eagles will be riding strong defensive play to stay competitive in an always-tough Central Ozark Conference.
“Jill pitched 145 innings last year and had an ERA of 3.40,” Schneider said. “That is significant for someone starting 18 games and appearing in 25. With Jill throwing strikes consistently and our defense, I think we will be in a position to win a lot of games.”
What will be the biggest area of growth for Joplin this season? It will come in between the ears. With so many players on the roster who are at the varsity level for their first or second season, continuing to grow their confidence is a must.
“I think our softball IQ needs to continue to improve,” Schneider said. “We have a lot of experience but only two seniors and two juniors who have played significant varsity time. For us, making sure that we understand where to go with the ball or what the situation is will be huge for us. If we can improve on that, it gives us a leg up because it makes our defense, which is already good, even better.”
Of course, just because the Eagles had a bounce-back season a year ago doesn’t mean they can come into the season expecting to repeat that success. In his first year, Coach Schneider is making sure he sees the hunger and fight Joplin displayed last season.
“It’s really important for us to keep it in the back of our heads that even when things aren’t going well, we have the ability to turn things around quickly,” Schneider said. “In order to keep progressing from last year, we have to keep working hard and can’t take any game for granted. We have to win the games we are supposed to win and put ourselves in a position to be right there against good teams at the end of those games. … Our conference is tough and other teams are aware that we have a little bit of talent now and won’t take it easy on us. That is a good thing. We want to play our best and compete against (other team’s) best.”
Neosho’s returning starters are junior Carson Newell, who was the team’s No. 2 runner last year, and senior Gabe Mabrey, who was in last season’s top five. Newell placed 37th at last year’s conference meet, with Mabrey 62nd. 
At last year’s state meet, Frieling finished 17th in the 100-yard backstroke. 
Webb City’s returning letterwinners are senior forward/midfielder Alex Flores, senior goalie Connor Black, junior forward Joseph Wermuth, junior forward/midfielder Josh White, junior midfielder Luis Gallardo, junior defenders Jadon Brisco, Trevor Peterson and Brayden Brockmiller, sophomore forward/midfielder Kaulden Hood and sophomore goalkeeper Kade Weston.
