The ‘Lady Cats are one of two Texas teams looking to win a fourth straight state title for the first time ever in 2026.

The summer and triple digit temperatures might seem far off, but the quest for a state championship in late May began Friday for many teams across the Coastal Bend with the start of high school softball practices.

For Calallen, it’s the beginning of the journey towards a four-peat as the three-time defending state champs were out on the diamond. The Lady ‘Cats joined Coahoma last season as the only teams in Texas history to win three titles in a row. 

Many state title teams across the various sports lose key pieces to graduation, but the thing with Calallen is a lot of their top players are just now seniors, including one of the best pitchers in the state, Jordyn Thibodeaux. Head Coach Teresa Lentz says as dominant as Thibodeaux and the other seniors have been in their careers, she feels they’re going to be even better after watching them this offseason.

“I don’t think anything’s gonna stop them,” Lentz said. “I’ve never seen them work so hard. I’ve never seen them be so strong. It’s scary.”

“We’re really excited. We’ve been working hard ever since that first day of school in offseason,” Thibodeaux said.  “We’re trying to go get that four-peat.”

Another of the key seniors is last season’s championship game MVP Braelyn Bailey. Bailey is now one of the upperclassmen that she used to look up to during the early championship runs.

“I think it’s us staying humble that helps a lot to keep the fire,” Bailey said. “We might win. We might not, but we’re doing it together.”

Calallen begins its run at a four-peat on the road February 10th at Victoria East before coming home for the their own tournament.

The Lady ‘Cats will face state rival Liberty on the morning of Saturday the 14th, making it a Valentine’s Day showdown.