By Marissa Masano / The Jambar
With Youngstown State University’s fall sports in full swing, it’s the spring teams that are silently working behind the scenes. Among them, the YSU softball program prepares for a stronger showing in its upcoming season.
The Penguins finished their 2025 campaign with a 14-39 overall record and went 6-17 in Horizon League play. A bright spot in the season was junior Lydia Wilkerson, who earned All-Horizon League Second Team honors. In 2024, Wilkerson became just the sixth player in program history to record at least 65 hits while batting .380.
This offseason, the Penguins made several additions — both to their roster and coaching staff.
YSU hired Erin Pond as an assistant coach, following her four-year stint at Cleveland State University. Pond was part of the Vikings’ historic championship runs, contributing to their 2025 Horizon League Regular-Season Championship and 2024 Horizon League Championship, which earned the team a berth in the NCAA Regionals.
The coaching staff also welcomed back former Penguin Elyssa Imler, who returned to the program as a graduate assistant. Imler was named Horizon League Player of the Year and earned All-Horizon League First Team recognition in 2024.
With fall ball underway, the Penguins have finalized their roster for the 2026 season. Head Coach Brian Campbell added five transfers to strengthen the squad, including senior Emma Gilkerson, who spent the last three seasons at Cleveland State.
Gilkerson brings valuable postseason experience, having played key roles in CSU’s 2024 and 2025 championship seasons.
“To bring someone in that’s familiar with the Horizon League, that’s a big positive,” Campbell said. “Being able to need that, experience-wise, is nice — to be able to lean back on knowing what the conference is about.”
Campbell added that Gilkerson isn’t the only new face with valuable experience.
“I’ve got four other transfers that have done pretty good too in the conferences they come from,” Campbell said. “Just to add that experience is beneficial for the whole program.”
The incoming transfers include senior Gabbie Evans, junior Selah Moyer, redshirt junior Tai Turner and sophomore Isabella O’Brien.
The Penguins have a four-game fall schedule, which began with a doubleheader against Cuyahoga Community College on Sept. 12.
The team is scheduled to travel to Mercyhurst University on Sept. 20, followed by matchups at home against Slippery Rock University on Sept. 26 and Walsh University on Oct. 3.
Campbell said he values the fall season as an opportunity to build fundamentals before the competitive pressure of spring begins.
“As far as team-wise, it’s a learning experience there in the fall,” Campbell said. “And I know that’s the best part about us playing in the spring — we have that chance to teach.”
He emphasized that the in-game experience gained during fall ball is something that practice alone can’t replicate.
“Just being able to play eight nonconference games against other institutions is nice to kind of see the different pitchers,” Campbell said. “You can only go so many times against your own pitchers, and you need to face somebody else to be able to get used to making adjustments.”
