Maryland softball struggled to match up with the rest of the Big Ten in its first year under coach Lauren Karn.
After finishing the 2023 season .500 in the Big Ten, the Terps went 8-15 in 2024. They won just two of their conference series and ended their season mercy-ruled by Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
But with a year under her belt and the first game of the 2025 season on Thursday, Karn feels her team is prepared to be more competitive and face the Big Ten’s adversity.
“Last year we weren’t allowed to implement a lot of in-game practice and situational challenges the way that I think we would like to,” Karn said. “This year … it actually feels like a real year one.”
Maryland is returning many of its offensive standouts, including first baseman Sydney Lewis. The Texas native played in all 54 games her sophomore season as a designated player, led the team in runs batted in with 41 and earned All-Big Ten second team honors.
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“In a hitting perspective, I want to find a way to score as many runs as I can,” Lewis said. “We find so many different ways to score runs because, at the end of the day, scoring runs wins games.”
Graduate student Mazie MacFarlane looks to once again be a force behind the plate. After transferring to the Terps from Utah State, the All-Big Ten second team honoree had her best career season, posting a .338 batting average, the second-highest for the Terps. The outfielder attributed part of that success to a changed mindset at the plate.
“I think I stopped putting so much stress on myself,” MacFarlane said. “Being older and knowing myself and knowing my swing has helped me a lot.”
The Terps lost arguably their most valuable player in pitcher Courtney Wyche. The 2024 graduate dominated the circle for the Terps, leading the Big Ten with 243 strikeouts in her final season.
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The Terps relied less on Wyche in the second half of the season, rotating in now-sophomore Julia Shearer and juniors Bri Godfrey and Keira Bucher. But without a set ace this season, Karn said the staff has been focused on finding “small, different ways” for each player to contribute.
Freshman Aubrey Wurst could also factor into the rotation. The South Florida native’s 0.15 ERA her senior season ranked No. 11 nationally.
Along with five freshmen, Maryland added one transfer over the offseason in sophomore utility player Mariah Penta. Penta appeared in 34 contests and tallied 15 RBIs at Auburn last year.
Karn knows her team might have some gaps, but is still confident that the team can still reach their goal of winning their Big Ten series each weekend.
“You don’t need to have everything to succeed at a high level,” Karn said. “As long as you can be creative and be flexible, you can do it.”
