Here are five storylines to watch during the 2026 softball season in The Herald-News coverage area.

Can Lockport and/or Providence return to state?

Providence finished second in Class 3A last season, while Lockport came home with a fourth-place trophy in Class 4A.

The Celtics saw just two players from last year’s roster graduate. Among those coming back are Western Michigan recruit Angelina Cole, an Illinois Coaches Association All-State first-team selection after hitting .504 with nine home runs, 16 doubles, seven triples and 56 RBIs. Pitcher Macie Robbins, who was named ICA second-team last season after going 23-5 with a 1.55 ERA and 233 strikeouts as a freshman, also returns, as do Bella Olszta (ICA third team), Mia Sanfratello, Ava Misch, and Ashleigh Hill. That’s a lot of experience for a team that knows what it takes to get to the biggest stage.

Lockport saw ace pitcher Kelcie McGraw, as well as RJ Slavicek, Marie Baranowski, Marcy Curry, Mikayla Cvitanovich and Lilliana Janeczko graduate from last year’s team, which brought home the Porters’ first softball state trophy since winning the title in 2004.

Although they lost a wealth of production, coach Marissa Chovanec’s teams are always well-prepared, fundamentally sound and hard to beat. Don’t expect anything less this season.

Who will rule Lincoln-Way District 210?

The past few seasons have belonged to Lincoln-Way Central. However, the Knights saw two-time Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year Bella Dimitrijevic graduate and take her considerable talents to Florida State. This season should still be a good one in District 210. All three teams are ranked in the ICA preseason Class 4A top 12. Lincoln-Way East is third, Lincoln-Way West is fifth, and Lincoln-Way Central is 12th.

With Dimitrijevic and her dominance having departed, it opens things up in the Lincoln-Way softball competition. Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way West have multiple returning starters who have committed to Division I schools: Cassidy Jagielski (Notre Dame), Maddie Henry (Penn State) and Mackenzie Bacha (Louisville) for East; and Reese Rourke (North Carolina State), Reese Cusack (Seton Hall) and Molly Finn (Valparaiso) for West. Ellie McLaughlin of Lincoln-Way Central has committed to Valparaiso, while the Knights also return Mia Degliomini.

The big question, as it seems to be nearly every year in softball, is whose pitching will be able to contain the other teams’ big hitters?

Who will be Herald-News Player of the Year?

As mentioned before, Lincoln-Way Central’s Bella Dimitrijevic was Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year twice and was Herald-News Player of the Year the past two seasons. Before that, Lemont’s Sage Mardjetko pulled off the same feat two years in a row.

Dimitrijevic and Mardjetko have set the bar high, but there is no shortage of players in the area to claim the crown.

A pair of North Carolina State recruits - Lincoln-Way West’s Reese Rourke and Wilmington’s Molly Southall - are players to keep an eye on, while Lincoln-Way East has Division I recruits Cassidy Jagielski (Notre Dame), Mackenzie Bacha (Louisville) and Maddie Henry (Penn State). Joliet Catholic’s Addy Rizzatto, a Lipscomb commit, is a four-year starter for the Angels, while Morris’ Hailie Olson was ICA Class 3A All-State second-team after hitting .515 with 48 runs scored last season.

In a talent-rich area such as this, the battle for Player of the Year should be fun.

Who takes the Southwest Prairie Conference?

Defending Class 4A state champion Oswego resides in the Southwest Prairie. The rest of the league will be aiming to dethrone the Panthers.

Minooka has established itself as one of the perennial contenders for the conference title, and the Indians should be in the mix again. Plainfield East won the SPC East Division last year, while the other teams in District 202 - Plainfield Central, Plainfield North and Plainfield South - all showed improvement last season and have plenty of returning talent.

What about the smaller schools?

Look out for Seneca and Wilmington in Class 2A. In the ICA preseason polls, Seneca is ranked third, while Wilmington is 10th and Peotone 19th. The Irish return the bulk of their lineup after finishing 34-2 last season, losing 1-0 to Beecher in the sectional championship. They have won 37 straight Tri-County Conference games.

Wilmington, meanwhile, will feature North Carolina State-bound Molly Southall as well as returning starters Nina Egizio, Taylor Stefancic, Sami Liaromaitis, Keeley Walsh and Lexi Strohm.