The 2026 Georgia high school softball season officially began on August 1 and will culminate with the playoffs running from October 28-31 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga.

We’re excited to welcome Steve Hickey back to help us track the prep fastpitch journey in the Peach State for the seven public divisions (1A through 7A) and the one private division.

This is the first of what will be a baker’s dozen of articles throughout the season to provide highlights and spotlights for journey in Georgia to crown its champions.

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Georgia boasts the third deepest field of high school softball players in the country. 

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) has approximately 423 teams and almost 13,000 players competing in-state.

Compared to the rest of the country, the Peach State may not have the largest pool of players but ask any college coach: it is one of the most robust, deep and talent-laden states when it comes to elite players. 

There is a question in the currency of this sport, whether to participate in high school athletic competition or continue in a travel program. 

As this applies to Georgia, the prep level is where legends are made. 

A simple review of the AUSL has several players that were stars in Georgia high school softball including Skylar Wallace (Etowah High), Charla Echols (Newnan High), Sydney McKinney (Norcross High), and Jayde Kearney (Columbus High).

They all hail from their GHSA beginnings.

Georgia is one of five states that compete in the fall for its fastpitch sport (it also has a slow pitch category that competes in the spring, and these numbers exclude that participation, and may or may not have overlap with its players). 

The state also supports an Independent Sports Association (“GIAA”) that plays in the fall and also holds its championship in Columbus the week preceding the GHSA. 

There are games that crossover between these designations but do not count towards their respective power ratings.

Here’s our look at this year and what our expectations and predictions are in softball…

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An Overall Look at Georgia High School Sports

The GHSA is the organizing body of volunteer schools that holds its championships for each sport.  Its overall budget for the 2026-2027 school year is approximately $8,376,000 and its revenues come from the gate fees of its championship events, related advertising and media rights of these events. 

Make no mistake, though… it is all about football, football, and more football. 

Basketball obviously is significant and softball is an emerging success story but doesn’t have a seat at the table of power just yet so everything the GHSA does is about football, and then the other sports must figure it out.

Softball is often the first experiment out of the starters block each year, and we will figure it out together.

Over the past several years, its rules committees have spent a lot of time and resources on eligibility, equitable and competitive school classifications and specific sport organization for its championships.

Recent rulings that the GHSA has made to impact softball included a denied motion for inclusion of 8^th graders to participate in varsity sports, and clarification of the student transfer process among member schools. 

Georgia remains one of the few states in the country to continue to deny 8^th graders and younger to participate in varsity sports.  Effectively, participation is so robust that it does not need to bleed these younger players into the system in order to field a team. 

This rule does impact smaller schools from time to time, and these schools are forced to only field Junior Varsity teams in those years.

In terms of classifications, GHSA will revise last year’s format of eight classifications (hang on, you’ll see why) with one each through 6A with the 1A classification broken into two (1A – Division 1 and 1A – Division 2).

The breakout for the Private School classification for playoffs will be 1A – Division 1 through 3A. 

The state will revise all classifications from 1A through 7A and continue the Private School breakout for playoffs.  As in prior years, GHSA will continue to use the Power Ranking system to determine seeds going into the playoffs to determine home-field hosting for the first two rounds.

Georgia is allowed to commence its season on August 1^st, and will conclude through a playoff format in Columbus, Georgia during the week of Halloween in October. 

The state has wisely repurposed the Olympic facility from 1996 at South Commons to host the eight championship brackets.  These eight teams from each classification can punch their ticket and compete in the double elimination bracket making it, truly, one of the finest tournaments held across the country. 

And with Georgia being “off-cycle” for college season and other states, the sport of softball commands a near monopoly for college programs to attend and scout.

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An Early Beginning and a Preview

Like college softball, there is an enormous barrier to entry to success in Columbus. 

It has equal parts resources, players, coaches, expectations, families, and location in the state.  Outlier communities to Atlanta and a vein of excellence down the western third of the state are strong indicators of teams being able to punch their ticket. 

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and, as a result, a quick refresher of last year’s great teams is the best predictor for who will be going to Columbus this year. 

Looking back over the past six years (fortunately, COVID did not interrupt the 2020 season or 2021 season, another reason why Georgia is elite) proves that about half of each year’s eight teams are repeat performers from the prior years. 

In certain classifications, six teams keep ringing the Columbus bell… and, if you know, you know. And just as importantly, if you don’t know, you don’t know how.

Over the course of this season, we will interview Hall of Fame coaches, the GHSA Executive Director for Softball, coaches of bubble teams, and some “influencers”—as the kids say—over this grand sport.

Behind every great quarterback and baseball player, there is a little girl quietly watching and organizing whiffle ball and stick ball games at their older brothers’ camps and tournaments. 

For those little girls, who have mastered “see ball, get ball,” it is their time for one more run to Columbus, one more time to fire up the bus and crank the soundtrack to “The Greatest Showman!”

So here we go, our look at each division and our predictions for each…

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7A

One thing is for sure: Caroline Stanton ain’t going to walk through that door no more. 

After leading Buford to three of the past four state titles, and collecting the 2025-2026 National Gatorade Player of the Year, this unicorn has taken her talents to Gainesville, Florida to play for Tim Walton’s Florida Gators. 

Buford’s main competition over these past four years—which created must-watch TV—was East Coweta High. 

This rivalry of North and South was christened into the “Civil War”, but even East Coweta will look different this year as Franklin DeLoach will have to replace his generational pitcher, Jada Savage, as she has graduated and gone to Ole Miss to terrorize the SEC.

6A

Coach Jennifer Maloney led Creekview to its third title last season, and she is just getting started. 

As noted earlier, Georgia has a slow pitch sport in the spring and Creekview picked up the elusive double crown by winning the slow pitch championship. 

Got hot bats, will travel. 

Crestview has a very heavy schedule this fall, clearly adopting a hot forge sharpening iron approach with several out-of-region matchups against last year’s champions in their respective classifications with Wesleyan, Buford, and Eastside High on the schedule. 

And for good measure, the Grizzlies are throwing in East Coweta for kicks and giggles.  Wow.

5A

Eastside emerged from a rugged 2025 campaign and broke the composite ceiling to claim the championship.

They traded heavyweight blows with Harris County, which claimed the 2024 championship, and this rivalry may replace the Buford vs. East Coweta High one as the premier grudge match in the state. 

Eastside and Harris played twice in Columbus and Eastside prevailed in the elimination game in a 10 inning ITB that was decided by a suicide squeeze play.  You will have to hold on to the rematch as there won’t be a regular season meeting of these two powers.

4A

The Heritage Generals from Catoosa near Ringgold, (not to be confused with Heritage High in Conyers) claimed the championship last year. 

Head Coach Reagan Armour was recognized as Coach of the Year, and her mettle will be tested as she must reload from the graduation of 3 stud seniors. 

That class hung three state titles from the rafters and will be hard to replace… but that is the fun of the journey, isn’t it?

3A

Sonoraville produced a gawdy 33-5 record last year and defeated Morgan County to claim the previously titled “2A” championship. 

The Lady Phoenix graduated its ace in Ansley Hall as she joins Middle Tennessee State and will be looking to reload against a very competitive field.  

Of the 8 classifications, effectively this is the only one that has not had a repeat winner for its champion since Heard County in 2020 and 2021. 

2A

Bremen sits along the fabled Western softball ridge of Georgia and claimed the championship last year. 

The Devils will have to reload their talented 2025 graduating class and hold off annual contenders like Gordon Lee.

We profiled Gordon Lee last year with its legendary Coach Dana Mulls, and any year that doesn’t end with a trophy on Saturday in Columbus is considered a down year.

1A

Lanier County won the 1A – Division 2 championship last year in what was the smallest division of GHSA sports and I admittedly underserved Lanier County. 

And I got more than a couple of letters from parents, players, and coaches demanding softball reparations. 

I am sorry for this oversight due to fatigue, but I spent the off-season working on my “QUERTY skills” (look it up) and building the necessary stamina, and I am ready to cover this classification this fall. 

Be ready, because sometimes the acerbic wit of a freelance softball writer isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be.  Be careful about what you wish for.

Private

It’s hard to overlook the dynasty at Wesleyan, and the five state championships over the past six seasons. 

Savannah Peppers’ tenure so far has been to guide a veteran crew led by Jessica Epps, Shayla Bahr, and Avery Tucker; however, those players have all graduated and will be playing college ball this spring. 

How will a younger nucleus take over, is the question that will be answered this fall? 

Hebron Christian pushed Wesleyan last season, led by elite pitcher Kate Kennedy, and may be ready to dethrone the Wolves.  Other notables are Donnie Byrom’s Prince Avenue club, Mt Paran, and Mount Vernon. 

The Private classification allows teams to play in their natural classification for the regular season, playing locally as schedules allow, and then force rank them using the Power Ranking system, as devised by “Hail Mary Project” author Andy Wier. 

The Power Ranking system will be a fun one for my wife to explain to me and let me write about it to this audience.  Please forgive me in advance if I mangle this, and my final prognostications. 

I may need to speak Eridian to understand it.

So that is Week 1. 

Does your team have what it takes to go to Columbus?  Do you already have reservations? 

If so, feel free to reach out to me at hickeysd1@yahoo.com and I will be happy to include an update and do a player or coach profile. 

— Steve Hickey/Line Drive Contributor