Ready to take the next step?

This is a season Morgan Dutton had pegged when she took over the Kingfisher High School softball program in 2023.

“We definitely have a very solid core group of upperclassmen now,” said Dutton, whose third season as the head coach starts Monday when KHS visits Class 6A’s Edmond Santa Fe.

“We’re going to rely very heavily on all of their experience, which is a huge benefit.”

Upperclassman experience isn’t something Dutton has had a lot of in her first two years.

However, this year’s core group of juniors and seniors have gained a lot of playing time during their freshman and sophomore campaigns.

There’s also a key group of 2025 sophomores who made major contributions last year as well.

It came together in 2024 for a 23-9 record that included a 6-6 mark in the district, which was good for fifth place.

Among those victories was a 4-2 triumph over Weatherford on Aug. 20.

That was one of just two losses on the year for the Lady Eagles, who went on to win the Class 4A state championship.

KHS also beat Elk City, another state tournament qualifier from the district.

Also part of the season were championships in the Pauls Valley Tournament and Highway 33 Classic (Kingfisher’s own tournament) and a runner-up finish to Alva in the Highway 81 Classic.

TheLadyJacketstraveled to top-ranked Blanchard for their regional.

KHS picked up two wins against Byng in the tournament and lost twice to the Lady Lions, including in the regional championship.

Something that adds to this year’s optimism is that six Lady Jackets earned 4A all-district honors last year and all six were underclassmen.

That includes 2025 juniors Liliana Garramone and Adlee Friesen as well as sophomore Lily Voth as first team picks.

Honorable mention went to Kinlee East, now a junior, as well as Kendall Farrar and Addison Johnson, both of whom will be sophomores.

Garramone was tabbed as an outfielder on the team and led KHS with a .412 batting average in her sophomore campaign.

She also led the team in on-base percentage and walks.

East was second on the team with her .396 average. She also led the team in hits, runs scored and doubles.

Voth was third in batting average as she hit .361 as a freshman. She was tied for the team lead in RBIs and was second in both hits and walks.

Friesen and Johnson both hit .357, which tied them for fourth. Friesen was also tied for second in hits and was second in runs scored.

While hitting .338, Farrar provided some pop with a team-leading three home runs and she was also tied for the team lead in RBIs.

Two seniors this year Jancee Matthews and Shelby Davis - are also multiyear starters who lock down key positions at center field and catcher, respectively.

Joining them in the middle of the defense is fellow senior Reese Roof, who primarily played second base last year, her first with the team.

Matthews had a .909 fielding percentage and Davis’ sat at .981, which was second-best on the team behind Friesen’s .995.

Davis caught 171 2/3 of the team’s 181 innings last year.

Roof had just three errors in 95 total chances last year and boasted a .968 fielding percentage.

“On top of everything they can do on the field, their leadership on and off the field is huge for us,” Dutton said.

In the circle, Kingfisher featured a two-headed monster last year.

Voth and East combined to throw all but two innings.

The good news is they both are back this season.

The bad news is it comes with a massive asterisk.

Voth had a major knee injury during last basketball season and her ability to return this softball season is still up in the air.

Along with her pop on offense, Voth led the team in innings pitched (93 2/3), starts (18) and earned-run average (2.24) last season.

“Losing Lily is definitely disappointing and I know it’s been hard for her to just have to sit and watch,” Dutton said. “She’s working her tail off to get back from her injury and we’re looking forward to having her back this season, if at all possible, but definitely next season.”

East has been a major contributor in the circle both of her previous seasons.

Last year she threw 85 2/3 innings in 14 starts and six relief appearances.

She contributed 67 strikeouts and finished with a 3.43 ERA.

When not pitching, East generally played shortstop and had a .948 fielding percentage at the two positions.

Despite losing Voth, Dutton is confident she can send other quality arms to the circle in 2025.

“We also gained two very strong arms this year, so we’ll be able to be threedeep in the circle,” Dutton said.

She’s referring to senior Kynlee Brunson, who transferred in last year and didn’t get to play and “is going to be someone who we rely on for her experience,” Dutton said.

There’s also freshman Kennedy Stewart.

“We expect her to get some reps this season as well,” Dutton added.

As for a set lineup around those pictures?

Dutton has options. “With this group of girls, it’s hard to say exactly where everybody is going to end up just because they are so athletic and able to play several different positions,” she said. “So this season a lot of girls are going to be bouncing around to different positions based off of who we play and different matchups.”

She does expect the lineup to be productive.

“The roster that we have top-to-bottom is full of talent, speed and power at the plate,” Dutton said. “We’re looking forward to seeing the girls put everything together that they’ve been working toward the last two years.

“They are already taking that experience that they were kind of thrown into as underclassmen and seeing growth and success from that this summer and preseason.”

That doesn’t mean the schedule - most notably the district - is going to be any easier.

District 4A-1 consists of Weatherford, Elk City, Bethany, Woodward, Clinton, Bishop McGuinness and the Lady Jackets.

Although KHS split with Weatherford and Elk City last year, the team was swept by both Bethany and Woodward.

The closest of those four games was four runs.

Those same four teams will be major matchups for us again this year, Dutton said.

“But the district is just as stacked again. My secondary goal for the team is to be in the top two spots in our district and, ultimately, district champ is what we’re shooting for.

“We want to put ourselves in the best position possible to host a regional and get into a super regional.”

That’s her secondary goal.

The primary goal? It’s lofty.

“Last year we had a very successful season looking at the win total,” Dutton said. “But our main goal this year is to not just win a regional game, but get to that super regional and into the state championship. That’s the ultimate goal.”

The quest for that goal starts Monday.

“It should be a fun season to come out and watch some Lady Jacket softball,” she said.