SAN MARCOS — With the season a few days away, Texas State softball coach Ricci Woodard said Monday there’s no limit to what her team can accomplish. It’s why when a Navy SEAL training program offered its services to the Bobcats’ athletic programs in September, she immediately signed her team up for it.
Texas State pitcher Madison Azua simultaneously groaned and laughed while recounting the near-torturous exercises the program put her and teammates through. She said it started with a run from the recreational center to the Bobcat Softball Stadium while carrying weighted jugs, but it didn’t end there.
“We’re bear crawling in the middle of the road, doing push-ups and screaming,” Azua said. “We had to do sit-ups in the river. We had to carry each other on each other’s backs. They were screaming at us, and they called us a ‘Good little sugar cookie.’ I was so pissed.”
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The Bobcats were supposed to do a 500-meter swim in the pool, Azua said, but were spared when the pumps failed. However, despite the grueling workout, the left-handed pitcher looks back at the experience fondly.
No one got a free pass that day. Texas State suffered together. But the shared experience strengthened the team’s bonds. From now on, they will always have one thing in common: They survived SEAL training.
Texas State softball pitcher Madison Azua winds up for a pitch.
Texas State University
“For like a week after straight that we were doing this, it’s all everybody was talking about … everything that we went through,” Azua said. “I think it definitely helped us gel.”
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Texas State fell short of its usual standards in 2025. Despite winning the Sun Belt regular-season title, James Madison upset Texas State in the first round of the conference tournament. The Bobcats, who had missed the NCAA Tournament once since 2021, were suddenly reflecting on wasted potential.
Woodard said Texas State hadn’t been ready for the pressure of the Sun Belt Tournament. The 2026 roster is largely similar to last year, with key veterans Azua, infielder Aiyana Coleman and outfielder Keely Williams coming off strong seasons. The difference is the maturity of Woodard’s players, something that’s given the Bobcats a totally different feel.
“It’s just been fun to watch this team grow over the past year, and just the way they’ve gone about things differently,” Woodard said.
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That’s not to say there won’t be any new faces. Woodard’s philosophy is to put the best players on the field, which includes any freshman who impresses her. She mentioned pitcher Kaili Witherell as one who is standing out.
“I feel like she’s in the best spot we could possibly have a freshman in right now,” Woodard said. “She’s done a really good job of working on her mental game. She’s hitting her spots well; she wants to work at it. She’s like a sponge.”
Texas State commands respect as a perennial NCAA Tournament participant, and the upcoming move to the Pac-12 only enlarges the target taped to its back. However, what could easily be perceived as pressure is instead reframed as an opportunity to leave the Sun Belt with a bang, Azua said.
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Woodard said pressure doesn’t have to be real. It’s something players create in their minds. At the end of the day, the goal for Texas State is to play its own brand of softball, no matter what’s happening on the other side of the field.
“We’re coming for everybody else,” Azua said.