Leading off . . .
•       The Washburn Ichabod softball team will officially begin a new era as head coach Brenda Holaday takes over the reigns of the Ichabod softball program becoming the 13th coach to lead the Washburn softball program starting on July 18, 2016.
•       The Ichabods will open the season with a trip to Magnolia, Ark., where they will have six games starting on Feb. 3 including two with Tarleton State, two with Texas A&M-Commerce and single games against Southern Arkansas and Newman.
•       The Ichabods were tabbed 11th in the MIAA preseason coaches poll which was released like week by the conference office.
•       Washburn will take on Tarleton State to start the season on Feb. 3 followed by a game with host school Southern Arkansas, who is ranked No. 5 in the nation in the initial NFCA top 25 coaches poll.
•       On Saturday Washburn will battle Texas A&M-Commerce at noon before facing Tarleton State at 2:30 p.m.
•       Sunday will see the Ichabods face Texas A&M-Commerce at 11 a.m. before wrapping up the three-day event with Newman at 1:30 p.m. in a game which was added earlier this week.
 
Where to follow . . .
•       Live stats will be provided all weekend long by the host school, Southern Arkansas. Live links will be available through the wusports.com website. Games against Southern Arkansas and Sunday's game with Texas A&M-Commerce is scheduled to have a live video feed as well.
 
This week's opponents . . .
Tarleton
•       The TexAnns finished the 2016 season with a 29-26 record going 12-20 in the Lonestar Conference.
•       Mark Cumpian is in his first season as the TexAnns' head coach after serving as the team's assistant coach since 2011.
•       Tarleton was picked sixth in the LSC preseason coaches poll.
•       Washburn and Tarleton have not met since Feb. 24, 2012 when the Ichabods lost 13-12 in nine innings.
•       Tarleton leads the all-time series 4-3 with Washburn's last win over the TexAnns coming on Feb. 28, 2004 going 0-3 since then.
 
Southern Arkansas
•       The Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders, National Semi-Finalists a season ago, are ranked fifth nationally after posting a school record 53 wins with a 12-3 postseason record, while making the program's first trip to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2016.
•       The Lady Muleriders were the preseason favorites in the Great American Conference preseason coaches poll.
•       Southern Arkansas, which posted a 33-8 record in Great American Conference play a season ago, while capturing the program's second GAC Tournament Championship, will look to replace the services of eleven lettermen, while returning nine letter winners and welcoming in 13 newcomers.
•       Washburn trails the all-time series with Southern Arkansas 2-1 and the two teams have not met since a 5-4 win by SAU on Feb. 26, 2006.
•       Washburn won the first meeting between the schools on Feb. 22, 2002 in a 6-1 win.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce
•       Texas A&M-Commerce finished the 2016 season with a 37-19 record reaching the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament after going 18-14 in Lonestar Conference play.
•       The Lions were picked second in the LSC preseason coaches poll receiving three first-place votes.
•       The Ichabods and Lions have only met once and not since Feb. 14, 2015 when the Ichabods won 2-1.
 
Newman
•       Newman is coming off an 18-35 season in 2016 and finished 7-17 in the Heartland Conference.
•       Coming off what was one of its best seasons in its NCAA era, the Newman softball team was picked sixth in the Heartland Conference preseason poll.
•       Washburn leads the all-time series 9-1 over the Jets after splitting a doubleheader on March 22 last season.
 
Season Preview . . .
The Washburn Ichabod softball team returns to the field for the first time during the 2017 season on Feb. 3 at the Southern Arkansas Invitational. In doing so, the Ichabods will be under the leadership of a new head coach and will have 10 newcomers who with a pair of all-MIAA performers returning, look to send the Ichabods back to the MIAA Tournament in new head coach Brenda Holaday's first season in the Washburn dugout.
Holaday, who won three state championships at Washburn Rural recording 351 wins with 14 league titles and 16 state tournament appearances, will see some familiar faces as the Ichabods take the field this season. Four former Washburn Rural standouts dot the roster this season and many others she coached against in 19 seasons leading the Junior Blues' program.
"It's been busy, a lot to do (in getting ready for the season and transitioning from high school coaching)," Holaday said.  "We are working with a little better players than we did in high school, but on the field that's where we feel most comfortable. We've put in a lot of hours but it's all been good and been a learning experience and hopefully we've got the team about where they need to be to start the season."
 
Returners
The Ichabods return two all-MIAA selections from last season in senior infielder Samantha Carson and sophomore infielder Ashley Ruder. Carson, who will make the full-time move to shortstop this season after leading the team with 10 pitching wins last season and Ruder finished second on the team with a .333 batting average starting 39 games.
Also returning is senior outfielder Megan Stegman, who started all 46 games in the outfield and is someone Holaday expects big things from this season.
"Megan is a kid who has a lot of experience at Washburn and she's been asked to do a lot of things and we continue to ask her to do that," Holaday said. "She's has good speed and good athleticism and she has some power and can play several different positions. She loves what she does and that's what vibrates throughout the team and she's a leader. Samantha is a leader as well and she's done a lot of things in this program and will play shortstop for us. Both of them love Washburn and love softball and their teammates and that is what has helped us build the culture here in a short time."
Coming back after missing all of the 2016 season with an injury will by Taylor Kemp who will pitch and play first base this season.
Ashley Wills is also back after starting 21 games picking up eight wins in the circle.
Also returning to the squad and will compete for playing time will be Lacie and Lexie Myers.
Newcomers
The Ichabods will have 10 new players in the lineup but two have been through the MIAA schedule before as junior Jordan Erickson returns as does sophomore Savannah Moore who both sat out the 2016 season.
Erickson was an honorable mention all-MIAA pick in 2015 after batting .299 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI and Moore batted .299 with 19 hits in 15 RBI playing in 30 games in 2015.
"Savannah sat out a season and is now back. She was a high school All-American like Kelsee (Henry) and part of a state championship team. She will provide a lot a leadership on the field and she's a great communicator and has a real competitive spirit we are hoping the rest of the team picks up on," Holaday said. "She doesn't want to lose in anything and that's what we're trying to build with the rest of the team."
Also new to the team are two more Washburn Rural grads who were successful winning state championships in high school.
"If you can surround yourself with kids who have had success and are used to winning it certainly can help raise expectations," Holaday said.
Kelsee Henry has been tabbed the No. 1 starter in the circle for the Ichabods and has success at both the prep and the collegiate level. At Johnson County, she was a second team all-Jayhawk Conference selection going 15-4 with 147 strikeouts in 137 innings pitched with a 1.28 earned run average tossing seven shutouts.
"She's a kid that has been in battles," Holaday said.  "She's won state championships and she is a gamer who wants to be out there when the game is on the line. She's a great worker and has been a good leader for the younger pitchers to follow."
In the outfield, junior transfer Maddie Anderson will also be counted on for leadership in the team.
"Being from Topeka High, she's someone we have competed against before and she has a couple of years under her belt at Cowley County. She's a fierce competitor and wants nothing more than to be part of the success that some of her teammates have experienced," Holaday said.
Another Topeka native joining the squad is senior outfielder Erica Harper, who will also be used primarily as a designated hitter. Harper was a junior college All-American at Barton County after hitting .457 with 90 hits and 26 home runs with 94 RBI.
Stepping into the catcher's spot is sophomore Dakota Sanders, who was named the Jayhawk Conference Freshman of the Year last season as well as all-league honors after batting .299 with 43 hits with 45 runs scored and 33 RBI.
 
2017 Season
The Ichabods will start the season with a 20-game road trip covering three different classics and invitationals. Included in that opening set of games are contests against  three who were ranked in the final poll of 2016.
The Ichabods will then open MIAA play at Central Oklahoma, a team who won 40 games last season.
"It's a great conference. I have had the opportunity to go watch the MIAA for years as a spectator and as a fan because of former athletes that I have had an opportunity to coach and there's some great teams in the league," Holaday said. "We start out at Central Oklahoma who looks like they may be favored to win the MIAA and we will have our work cut out for us. We've tried to select tournaments at the beginning of the month in February which will prepare us for the MIAA playing the very best teams in the nation the first couple weekends out. It's a grind and I think more than anything we have to teach our kids how to handle failure and respond to it and bounce back. Softball is a sport where you have to learn to be able to handle failure and the kids have to learn resiliency is as important as anything we're trying to teach."
Washburn will then open the home slate with MIAA doubleheaders on March 10 against Missouri Southern and March 11 against Pittsburg State before playing six regional games at Missouri Western in its annual regional crossover.
The Ichabods will then play 10 of their next 12 at home wrapping up the home slate on April 8 against Fort Hays State before ending the regular season with eight straight away games.
The MIAA Tournament is scheduled for April 27-29 at the USA Softball Hall of Fame stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Ichabods are looking to return to the MIAA Tourney appearance since missing out in 2015.
 
Head coach Brenda Holaday
•       is 0-0 in her first season as the Ichabod head softball coach.
•       coached the previous 19 seasons at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka compiling a 351-93 record.
•       led the Junior Blues to three 6A state championships as well as winning 14 league championships earning 16 6A state tournament berths, five second-place state finishes and three third-place state finishes.
•        was been named the Centennial League Coach of the Year and City Coach of the Year nine different times earning the Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year in 2011 and the 6A Kansas Coach of the year two times in 2008 and 2011 and was named the overall Kansas Coach of the Year in 2011.
•       while at Washburn Rural, she coached more than 40 players who have gone on to play college softball including three at the NCAA Division I level including for Ichabod head softball coach Lisa Carey, the winningest coach by wins in program history.
 
Washburn Ichabod softball history . . .
•        The Ichabods are 1113-836-1 in their 48th year of softball.
•        The Ichabods have made three NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2006, 2008).
•        Washburn won the 2002 regular season MIAA title.
 
Up Next . . .
•        The Ichabods will return to the road with a trip to Canyon, Texas to take part in the West Texas A&M Invitational. Washburn will open play on Feb. 10 against Fort Lewis College and Cameron followed by West Texas A&M and Chadron State on Saturday and wrap up the event with the host Lady Buffs in a single game on Sunday.  West Texas A&M is ranked No. 4 in the NFCA Preseason top 25 coaches poll.