2025 Softball Season Preview
2/20/2025
The Brown softball team is set to begin its 2025 season with a five-game tournament at Winthrop on Friday. The Bears will return to the field under the leadership of first-year head coach Mary Holt-Kelsch. Holt-Kelsch comes to Brown having spent the last three seasons at Rhode Island College. In her final season at RIC, Holt-Kelsch led the Anchorwomen to a 31-win season, capped with the program’s first appearance in the Little East Championship in nine seasons.
Brown was tabbed sixth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, but the Bears have belief that they will be able to punch their ticket to the Ivy League Tournament.
Brown boasts a roster of 21 players, including four seniors, five juniors, five sophomores and seven incoming freshmen.
PITCHING
The pitching staff will once again be led by senior Alexis Guevara. Guevara led Brown with 142.1 innings pitched and 98 strikeouts. She finished the year with a 2.46 ERA, throwing 18 complete games and one shutout.
Macy Borowski (4.05 ERA, 91.2 innings pitched) is the only other pitcher on the Bears roster with innings under her belt.
Annie Finch looks to return after missing all of last season with an injury. In her first year with the Bears, Finch threw 42.0 innings in 13 appearances, striking out 20 batters.
Newcomers Edie Cobb and Abbie Bettencourt could also find time in the circle for the Bears.
INFIELD
Three players who saw the majority of innings in the infield for Brown return this season but the Bears could see youth earn time on the diamond as well.
Jasmine Hsiao was named Honorable Mention All-Ivy for the second-straight season after leading Brown with a .352 batting average, 12 doubles, three triples, 27 runs scored, 21 walks and 16 stolen bases, the third-most stolen bases in a season in Brown program history. Hsiao hit .313 with a .484 on base percentage and .905 OPS in Ivy League play and posted a team-high 16-game reached base streak during the season and ended the game with nine-straight games reaching base. Hsiao could also see time in the outfield, a spot she played during her first season as a Bear.
Cameron Zytkewicz Ray was a mainstay at second base for the Bears last season and hit .243 with 26 hits, six doubles and one home run. Last season, Zytkewicz Ray committed just two errors in 40 games for a .984 fielding percentage.
Vanessa Alexander enters her final season as a Bear having been the starting shortstop for most of her career. Alexander hit .208 with 21 hits and scored 18 runs a year ago. She was also named Ivy League Player of the Week last year.
If Hsiao spends time in the outfield, Elli Thompson, Bettencourt, Jaime Ketter and Maggie Foxx have all spent time in the preseason working at first base.
The Bears will have to fill the void at third base but have plenty of options with Laurel Moody, Alyssa Villarde, Amanda Deng and Valerie Kwa taking reps at the hot corner.
OUTFIELD
Brown returns two of its three starting outfielders from last season in senior Leah Carey and junior Lily Berlinger.
Carey was named All-Ivy Honorable Mention last season hitting .364 during Ivy League play, the second-best mark on the team. For the season, Carey finished the year with 20 hits, 10 runs scored and five RBI.
Berlinger, who was named Honorable Mention All-Ivy as a freshman, put up equally impressive numbers as a sophomore. She was second on the team with a .329 batting average, finishing with 28 hits, three doubles, 17 runs scored and 13 RBI. For the year, Berlinger posted a .441 on base percentage and drew 17 walks.
Kaicee Klus and Cobb could be options for the third outfield spot as well as Hsiao.
CATCHERS
Brown has three catchers on its roster, needing to replace last years backstop Moe Kastens. Moody has spent time in her career behind the plate and Lilly Burns also caught some games her first year on College Hill last season. Maggie Foxx is the third catcher on staff for the Bears.
SCHEDULE
Brown’s 2025 schedule features 43 games, with 18 home games at the Brown Softball Stadium. Click here for the full schedule.
