Texas A&M softball's season came to an abrupt end, falling to Liberty in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Trisha Ford joined TexAgs Live to detail the Aggies' 2025 campaign and talk about the next steps in building a roster for next spring.
Key notes from Trisha Ford interview
- I feel like I am still processing it. We had such a wonderful season up until that last weekend. There’s something to be learned from that. I’ve talked with some mentors, some friends and tried to take a step back. The biggest thing is we wanted this for the 12th Man. It didn’t end the way we had it marked in our heads. I was telling you when I walked in, I was on the phone with a recruit. We’re deep in the portal and trying to keep our roster set. Life moves on.
- I think Dot Richardson had them prepared, and they never gave up. We just couldn’t execute at the level we needed when it mattered. We fought cat and dog, but unfortunately, that’s how life goes.
- I think I’m still trying to get through it. Usually, in the month of July, I can step back and process everything. Coach Jeff Harger and I sat down and talked about some areas I'd like to see us do better and different things we can approach differently. I have a lot of faith, and God only gives you what you can handle. That’s our mission right now.
- We’ve had a couple of visitors already, but we will start back up next week after the dead period. We have a lot of people returning like Mya Perez, Amari Harper and Kennedy Powell. We talk about the emergence of Sydney Lessentine and Kate Munnerlyn.
- The future is very bright here. We need to get some more arms. They are going to be expensive, so if anybody wants to come and support our NIL? Give me a call. We have some really good pieces that people would want to be a part of.
- Losing Koko Wooley, Mac Barbara, Emiley Kennedy, Allie Enright, Kramer Eschete and Ojo Johnson... I think there is so much leadership who graduated, but they did a good job passing that down and through our program. I have a lot of faith that the girls will step up and carry the torch.
- Kelsey Mathis emerged late in the season. I was telling one of my mentors, “She’s a player that makes you want to coach.” She came to us in the fall super immature. She was full of tears, just questioning if she was good enough, looking at the talent around her. She went to work, and when we had the end-of-year meeting with her, she was like a whole new woman who does the hard stuff and loves it as well.
- Perez is a great story. I’ve talked a lot about her, but this is who we knew she was. She just had to figure out, “Oh yeah, this is who I am.” She’s on a mission. She understands what this looks like. She’s a fun one.
- With KK Dement, it took her about a year. I talked with her last night. Her dad would take her out on the asphalt and hit grounders at her. She told me she finally graduated to the dirt.
- I’ve known incoming freshman Maddie Sauni since she was 10. She has a great family. We are looking for some power for her. Piper White is a utility kid and can play anywhere, as well as add some speed for us. Annsley Groce is coming in. She's a local kid who will provide some depth on the base path.
- There are some pieces I'd like to bring in, but I’m really excited about our freshman class. I put Lessentine into some difficult situations, so I’m excited to see her next year. Munnerlyn? Same thing. She works her tail off. She gets it. We didn’t have Sidne Peters for six weeks this year. There’s some stuff she will work hard on, and the great thing is that she will be here this summer. The leadership from the seniors who have left behind is the expectation to stay this summer and train.
- This summer is just recruiting in all facets. We are hitting the road this weekend, then we have visits, and then hitting the road again. Hopefully, after that, we will solidify the roster. I think we finish recruiting in the middle of August, and then school starts, so back at it.
