What's the outlook for Livingston County's 2024 softball teams?

Can Hartland repeat as state Division 1 softball champion?

Can Howell remain a top-10-caliber team despite some heavy graduation losses?

Will a coaching change at Brighton help the Bulldogs close the gap on their Livingston County rivals?

Is this the year Fowlerville and Pinckney finally make a run now that two of those teams’ all-time greats are seniors?

These questions and more concerning Livingston County softball will be answered in the next two-plus months.

The season will begin next week once players return from spring break. In the meantime, here’s a look at what to expect from the county’s five teams:

Brighton

► Top returners: Melanie Buzo, CF, Sr.; Samantha Janssen, 2B, Soph.; Emma Johnson, P, Sr.; Maggie McKaig, SS, Sr.; Belle Sixbery, P, Sr.; Montana Tulley, P, Jr.

► Outlook: The only coaching change in Livingston County is at Brighton, where Alicia Mobley takes over a team coming off a 6-23 season. The Bulldogs will have a junior varsity team after not having one last year. The team is led by Buzo, a .325 hitter last season who will play NCAA Division II softball at Lake Erie College. Janssen hit .317 and McKaig .311 last season, giving the Bulldogs three of their top four hitters from 2023. Sixberry, Johnson and Tulley will share time in the circle. Freshmen Gracyn Houck and Anna Minnick are expected to play key roles.

Fowlerville

► Top returners: Tori Briggs, P-SS, Sr.; Kiely Davis, C-3B, Soph.; Tommi Kleinschmidt, CF, Jr.; Molly Lamar, OF-SS, Jr.; McKenna Maybee, 2B-OF, Soph.

► Outlook: Fowlerville gets one more season with Briggs, who will go down as the top player in school history. She will share time in the circle with junior Meadow Browne, who was limited by injury last season. Lamar (.333) at lead-off and Davis (.377) in the No. 2 spot should set the table for Briggs to drive in runs. Teams can’t overlook Kleinschmidt, who hit .429 with 32 RBIs last year. The Gladiators, who were 16-12 last year, have strengthened their schedule to be ready for a tough district that includes DeWitt and Williamston.

► Coach Brad Ryan: “We’re looking to see what we can do against some of that better competition and hoping it’s one more step to competing at that high level for years to come. I look at our schedule and there are only a couple games we’re not gonna get tested.”

Hartland

► Top returners: Reese Dunny, OF, Soph.; Olivia Forrest, P, Soph.; Sadie Malik, C, Jr.; Kate McIntyre, 1B, Sr.; Jaylen Nokovich, SS, Sr.; Skylar Spisz, OF, Jr.

► Outlook: Hartland returns five of its nine starters from the state championship game, four of whom hit .308 or higher. Malik, McIntyre, Nokovich and Spisz are third-year starters, with Nokovich getting some starts as a J.V. call-up late in her freshman year. The major issue will be replacing all-state pitcher Kylie Swierkos, who was dominant during the title run. Forrest, who pitched 62 1/3 innings and started 11 games as a freshman, will take over as the ace. Hartland’s other pitcher is freshman Kaitlyn Brennan.

► Coach Taylor Wagner: “It’s been good to see them approach this season with confidence, but an understanding that what they did was very difficult. They earned it, but this is a new year, new team. They have that experience and are gonna use that to help them compete and do as well as they can to make another run. They’re not putting a lot of pressure on themselves. They’re excited to be seen as kind of an underdog, even with how confident and talented they are.”

RELATED: Who are the top 5 softball players in Livingston County entering 2024?

Howell

► Top returners: Lara Anderson, C, Soph.; Emma Banfield, OF, Sr.; Olivia Bunkoske, 1B-3B, Sr.; Jada Challiss, 1B-OF, Sr.; Amelia Ott, U, Jr.

► Outlook: Howell suffered a huge blow in the offseason when junior all-county shortstop Addison Caldwell, a .500 hitter last year, suffered a season-ending knee injury. She is one of four players who hit .408 or higher last year who aren’t back, the others having graduated. Challiss (.341, 5 homers, 33 RBIs) is the top returning hitter. Nine of Howell’s 11 returning players hit at least .300 last year in full- or part-time roles. Freshman Allison Ulanowski will get a chance to be the pitching ace. Sophomore Brooke Keller and senior Ava Lavery combined for 12 starts as backup pitchers to Delaney Gillett last year.

► Coach Scott Pasini: “We’re going to be a pretty good hitting team, a good defensive team. Hopefully, our pitching takes us pretty deep. I always tell them we want to peak in June; that’s our goal.”

Pinckney

► Top returners: MacKenzie Burns, LF-3B, Jr.; Mallory Dickey, 2B, Sr.; Violet McWhinnie, 1B, Sr.; Natally Pease, SS-P, Soph.; Abby Rauser, P, Sr.; CeCe Thorington, CF, Sr.

► Outlook: With three four-year starters, including perhaps the top player in school history in Thorington, this is the season Pinckney has been building towards. Dickie and McWhinnie are also fourth-year starters. The Pirates have gone 57-19-2 the last two years, but have lost SEC White and district titles to Chelsea. Pinckney returns five players who hit at least .356 in full-time roles last season. The key to the Pirates’ success will be pitching, which allowed a 3.56 ERA last year. Rauser and Pease combined to pitch all but 12 innings for the Pirates last year. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard transfer Paulina O’Donahue is expected to have an impact.

► Coach Eric Arnold: “All these seniors have put in so much work since they were 10 years old. This is definitely our year to make a run for it. We’ve got the team to do it. We’ve got the offense to do it. The kids can hit. We’ve got solid defense all the way around.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Previewing 2024 Livingston County softball teams