The Georgetown University softball team will open its season with a three-game series at the University of Delaware on Feb. 13 to 14, marking the Hoyas’ first full year under Head Coach Karla Ross. The Hoyas will host Drexel University for their home opener Feb. 28, followed by another game on March 1, and open Big East play at Providence College from March 6 to 8.
Last season, the team recorded 11 wins during a year defined by transition. In January 2025, Karla Ross stepped into the vacant head coach role, only a week before the season began, leaving little time to shape her team.
Ross said she primarily focused on evaluating and getting to know her team in her first year.
“As hard as it is to hear, yes, I wanted to win, but it wasn’t about the wins and losses,” Ross told the Hoya. “It was ‘how does this person receive feedback?’ ‘How does this person do in certain situations?’ I was getting to know my team as people and as athletes.”
Ross played collegiate softball at the University of Wisconsin and went straight into coaching after graduation. After volunteering at The George Washington University, she moved into the junior college ranks in Florida, where she founded the softball program at Florida Southwestern State College in 2016.
Now, Ross said returning to the Washington, D.C. area was a “full circle moment” for the Ashburn, Va. native.
“I learned who I was, what I wanted to be, and how I wanted to coach,” Ross said. “Every year, you’re learning something about yourself.”
Ross attributes much of her coaching methods to her parents, who were both educators; her father was a high school principal, and her mother was a first-grade teacher for 40 years, saying coaching is about belief.
“At the end of the day, with coaching, you’ve got to get them to buy in,” Ross said. “If your players don’t buy in and believe in your vision, then the program will never grow. And I believe the girls are starting to buy into the vision.”
Amelia Lech, the team’s new assistant coach, joined the program in January after playing at the University of Maryland and Auburn University.
“She played at the highest level, SEC ball, and brings passion, drive, energy and willingness to work,” Ross said. “The girls have been really receptive to her.”
To get players to buy in, Ross said she remains direct, focusing on Sabermetrics.
“I tell them, ‘stats don’t lie.’ That’s a big thing in our sport,” Ross said.
Last year, she instituted a strict schedule of practice: five to six days a week and weightlifting three times a week. Ross said she and Lech lift weights with the team during team lifts to model the standard they expect.
“I tell my girls: If you take one person with you to hit, or get one person to buy in with you, it’s going to create that trickle effect,” Ross said, “It’s important to have a goldfish memory, taking things one pitch, one at-bat, one inning at a time.”
“I’ve been coaching for 14 years, and have only coached one other team that has the chemistry and culture of this program now,” Ross added.
Ross said culture can push a team past one with greater raw talent, and she has emphasized bonding between Hoyas across class years.
“You can be the most talented team, but if you don’t have chemistry and culture, you’re always going to fall short,” Ross said. “And I truly believe that’s what’s going to get us over this hump: We have a great upperclass group, and we have first-years that are following in their footsteps.”
First-year pitcher Catherine Larson said the team’s culture stood out immediately when she first joined.
“As a first-year, my teammates were amazing, welcoming me in,” Larson told The Hoya. “They reached out during the summer, even before we came here. They offered to answer any questions and help us make our schedules, and once we got here, there were so many planned team bonding activities and efforts made towards that team culture.”
Larson began playing softball at age seven and concentrated on pitching in high school, leading her team to their sixth state championship before heading to Georgetown as a premedical student. Larson highlighted the variety of experience and guidance on the team.
“You can meet some people your age who are in the same situation as you, maybe a little bit nervous, but also people who are older and more mature, who have been through what you’re worried about, and can help lead you through it,” Larson said.
Senior outfielder Claire Turner, from Palo Alto, Calif., echoed the strength of the team’s culture, saying she trusts her teammates wholeheartedly going into her final season of eligibility.
“Not just one person can win the whole game by themselves,” Turner told The Hoya. “We know that even if you get out, the girl behind you is there to support you, and your teammates will have your back no matter what.”
Turner said she intends to create an uplifting and welcoming culture for recruits.
“We want people to love the team,” Turner said. “Even when the recruits come in, we want them to know that they’re coming into a family and that this is going to be their home for the next four years.”
Junior utility player and campus captain Abby Kozo said she’s looking forward to taking on a leadership role and doing everything she can to help the team win, especially after a long wait to start this spring.
“The hardest part about the spring and being in season is the anticipation and lead-up,” Kozo told The Hoya.
Throughout January, the team practiced through snowy and below-freezing conditions, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to compete. Kozo said she found that experience key to being prepared before the season.
“It is the most rewarding experience when it does pay off, and you think, ‘that makes so much sense, why we did all that conditioning, or all those reps’ — to be able to win the game,” Kozo said.
Larson said the general low expectations around the team are motivating the Hoyas.
“We’re ranked pretty low in preseason rankings, but that just means there’s so much room for us to grow as a team and as a community,” Larson said. “I’m really excited, because, honestly, there’s nowhere to go but up.”
Kozo and Ross said they shared the same fire.
Both Kozo and Ross said, “We’re hungry to play.”
