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Jessica Bracamonte enters her fourth season leading the Rockets.
Photo by: Bree Bee
Preseason Q&A with Head Coach Jessica Bracamonte
2/4/2026 12:50:00 PM | Softball
Rockets’ leader enters her fourth season with 18 returners on the squad
Head Coach Jessica Bracamonte enters her fourth season at the helm of Toledo Softball. The Rockets return 18 players from last year's team, including the 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year Samantha Bolding, and welcome seven newcomers to the squad. After narrowly missing out on last season's MAC Tournament, Bracamonte and the Rockets look to return to Akron for the conference championship.
What stands out to you about this team coming out of the fall season and spring practices?
Bracamonte: This team's energy is just different. This group is 100% bought in and invested in what it is going to take to get where we need to go. The standards that each player has for themselves and for each other are higher this year, and you can feel that. The way that they are working through adversity and bouncing back after a bad drill or a bad practice and not letting it carry over, is something I haven't seen this consistently from any group since I've been here. The leadership on this team, infectious energy that the group shares and the confidence they have is what stands out the most.
You return 18 players from the 2025 season, including the 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year Samantha Bolding, and a really strong sophomore class. What are you expecting to see from your returners?
Bracamonte: The sophomore class is back with more confidence than they had last year. Our non-conference slate last season was rough for us as a team, top to bottom, and I think that had a lot to do with not knowing how to manage failure. Part of our lineup was so young and it just trickled down through the rest of the team, and we didn't really know how to get out of that. I feel really good that those young players are not first-year players any longer. They have a year under their belts and know what it takes to work back from adversity and respond to it.Â
Right now, our seniors are the biggest difference makers. The way that they have managed their leadership roles and been able to get everyone on board and moving in the same direction has been awesome to see. Between class schedules, Eli (Enriquez) has been around the team the most and has been doing a great job at being so consistent. With her on-the-field experience and senior leadership, Eli has the ability to be the most impactful returner on the field.
You brought in six freshmen and one transfer to the team. What are most looking for from this group?
Bracamonte: Competitiveness. Each of them played elite travel ball. Katie (McDonald) has been through this before; she won a conference championship in 2024 with Cleveland State. All of our freshmen have played on really competitive travel ball teams. The level of competitiveness and coachability that this group possesses is incredible. When we give them instructions, they make adjustments really quickly and I think that speaks to their overall athleticism. I am really excited about where this group is at right now but I'm also looking forward to seeing where they can go with the tools they have.
The non-conference portion of the schedule includes six teams that competed in the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament as well as eight Power 4 conference opponents. Can you discuss your philosophy in setting up the non-conference schedule?
Bracamonte: I wanted to challenge our group this year. It was intentional to have a tough non-conference schedule. We have many young players in our lineup and putting them out there against the best will only make us better and help prepare us for MAC play. We are really excited for the opportunities to compete against these teams and to grow and learn from our success and failures.
Are there any specific challenges your team is going to face this season?
Bracamonte: Having to put all of our skills together against a different team. We scrimmage and practice against each other, but we know what we have. So, I think the challenge is going to be trusting all of our hard work when the unexpected happens. When teams do something that we aren't expecting or we are facing players we know nothing about, we have to continue being who we are.
You added Staci Chambers to your staff as a pitching coach during the offseason. How has she impacted the team?
Bracamonte: Staci has been incredible in every way. Her ability to connect and relate to the players as a very recent high-level pitcher has been amazing. She came into the position having a lot of the players' respect already just because of where she's played as a collegiate athlete. She's worked really hard to earn that in a deeper way with those relationships and connections she has fostered throughout her time here. Staci does a great job speaking their language, which I think is important when you are working with young people and connecting with them. She has a great attitude and is a workhorse. She got here and wanted to jump right in, helping in any way that she could, doing everything thrown her way with a positive, infectious attitude. She comes into the office every morning with a smile, great energy and ready to work, which is exactly what our staff and program needs.
What is something that fans don't know about your team?
Bracamonte: How hard they both push and love one another. I think you'll be able to see that in the way that we play and how they interact with each other on the field. They have a very strong bond and take care of one another on and off the field. But they finally understand what it means and looks like to hold each other to the standard out of love, not in place of it. They call each other up because they believe in and care about one another and this program, and they want to succeed. Their ability to operate in that space has and will be the difference maker for us this year.
What are you most looking forward to this season?
Bracamonte: So many things. It's hard to narrow it down but I would say the ways we are going to grow from the challenges we are going to face. Tackling challenges is where you learn what you are made of and that is where you are able to come up with plans to get better. So, I am just really looking forward to seeing how we grow from that because it is not a matter of if we are going to face challenges, it's a matter of when and what those challenges are going to be. I can't wait to see how this team responds and comes out better on the other side. Â
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What stands out to you about this team coming out of the fall season and spring practices?
Bracamonte: This team's energy is just different. This group is 100% bought in and invested in what it is going to take to get where we need to go. The standards that each player has for themselves and for each other are higher this year, and you can feel that. The way that they are working through adversity and bouncing back after a bad drill or a bad practice and not letting it carry over, is something I haven't seen this consistently from any group since I've been here. The leadership on this team, infectious energy that the group shares and the confidence they have is what stands out the most.
You return 18 players from the 2025 season, including the 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year Samantha Bolding, and a really strong sophomore class. What are you expecting to see from your returners?
Bracamonte: The sophomore class is back with more confidence than they had last year. Our non-conference slate last season was rough for us as a team, top to bottom, and I think that had a lot to do with not knowing how to manage failure. Part of our lineup was so young and it just trickled down through the rest of the team, and we didn't really know how to get out of that. I feel really good that those young players are not first-year players any longer. They have a year under their belts and know what it takes to work back from adversity and respond to it.Â
Right now, our seniors are the biggest difference makers. The way that they have managed their leadership roles and been able to get everyone on board and moving in the same direction has been awesome to see. Between class schedules, Eli (Enriquez) has been around the team the most and has been doing a great job at being so consistent. With her on-the-field experience and senior leadership, Eli has the ability to be the most impactful returner on the field.
You brought in six freshmen and one transfer to the team. What are most looking for from this group?
Bracamonte: Competitiveness. Each of them played elite travel ball. Katie (McDonald) has been through this before; she won a conference championship in 2024 with Cleveland State. All of our freshmen have played on really competitive travel ball teams. The level of competitiveness and coachability that this group possesses is incredible. When we give them instructions, they make adjustments really quickly and I think that speaks to their overall athleticism. I am really excited about where this group is at right now but I'm also looking forward to seeing where they can go with the tools they have.
The non-conference portion of the schedule includes six teams that competed in the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament as well as eight Power 4 conference opponents. Can you discuss your philosophy in setting up the non-conference schedule?
Bracamonte: I wanted to challenge our group this year. It was intentional to have a tough non-conference schedule. We have many young players in our lineup and putting them out there against the best will only make us better and help prepare us for MAC play. We are really excited for the opportunities to compete against these teams and to grow and learn from our success and failures.
Are there any specific challenges your team is going to face this season?
Bracamonte: Having to put all of our skills together against a different team. We scrimmage and practice against each other, but we know what we have. So, I think the challenge is going to be trusting all of our hard work when the unexpected happens. When teams do something that we aren't expecting or we are facing players we know nothing about, we have to continue being who we are.
You added Staci Chambers to your staff as a pitching coach during the offseason. How has she impacted the team?
Bracamonte: Staci has been incredible in every way. Her ability to connect and relate to the players as a very recent high-level pitcher has been amazing. She came into the position having a lot of the players' respect already just because of where she's played as a collegiate athlete. She's worked really hard to earn that in a deeper way with those relationships and connections she has fostered throughout her time here. Staci does a great job speaking their language, which I think is important when you are working with young people and connecting with them. She has a great attitude and is a workhorse. She got here and wanted to jump right in, helping in any way that she could, doing everything thrown her way with a positive, infectious attitude. She comes into the office every morning with a smile, great energy and ready to work, which is exactly what our staff and program needs.
What is something that fans don't know about your team?
Bracamonte: How hard they both push and love one another. I think you'll be able to see that in the way that we play and how they interact with each other on the field. They have a very strong bond and take care of one another on and off the field. But they finally understand what it means and looks like to hold each other to the standard out of love, not in place of it. They call each other up because they believe in and care about one another and this program, and they want to succeed. Their ability to operate in that space has and will be the difference maker for us this year.
What are you most looking forward to this season?
Bracamonte: So many things. It's hard to narrow it down but I would say the ways we are going to grow from the challenges we are going to face. Tackling challenges is where you learn what you are made of and that is where you are able to come up with plans to get better. So, I am just really looking forward to seeing how we grow from that because it is not a matter of if we are going to face challenges, it's a matter of when and what those challenges are going to be. I can't wait to see how this team responds and comes out better on the other side. Â
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Toledo Softball - 2025 Season Highlights
Monday, May 05
Toledo Softball vs BGSU - Battle of I-75
Thursday, May 01
Jessica Bracamonte Press Conference
Thursday, July 07
Game 2 Highlights vs. Akron (May 15)
Saturday, May 15
