All-state alum Hagle leads Panther softball

The new Creston softball coach is no stranger to the program.

Gracie Hagle finished her Panther career as an all-state shortstop in 2022, which was also Mike McCabe’s final season as head coach. Hagle played two years on the Grand View University softball team for coach Lou Yacinich, who is coaching his 12th Vikings team in the NAIA national tournament this spring in his 24 seasons at the helm. Former Panther Nevaeh Randall is Grand View’s starting third baseman, following Hagle to the Des Moines campus in the fall of 2023.

While completing her bachelor’s degree in social work, Hagle served as an assistant coach for two seasons under Dave Hartman, McCabe’s successor who announced his resignation after the 2025 season. Hartman is now head softball coach at Marshalltown Community College and a teacher at South Tama High School.

Scott Driskell, CHS activities director, said it became apparent there were no candidates with head coaching experience emerging as the search extended into the new year. He discussed the position with Hagle. She had originally planned on working full-time at Crossroads Mental Health Center, where she served her internships for Grand View’s bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

Now, the seventh head coach in the history of the program is excited about the opportunity at her alma mater.

“Being a head coach was not something I had considered,” Hagle said. “I was working part-time at Crossroads as a behavioral health intervention specialist besides my internship. It was going to become something full-time, but then when Crossroads closed in March and when Scott called me about coaching, I decided that was something I wanted to do. I don’t have any other (employment) plans for now. I’m excited about working with these girls.”

Creston opens the season at home against Clarke on May 18 with conference play starting May 26 in a home doubleheader against Harlan.

New assistants

Hagle will be assisted by former East Union and Southwestern Community College catcher Kaitlyn Mitchell, a former teammate on the offseason club team, Iowa Bandits, and CHS administrative assistant Chris Tibbals, also an assistant boys basketball coach.

Both Hagle and Mitchell are 23 years old, but Driskell said their considerable experience as players at the collegiate level and exposure to highly-respected coaches will be advantageous in their emerging careers as coaches.

“We were originally looking for someone with head coaching experience,” Driskell said. “But when it became apparent that we weren’t going to get someone who had been a head coach, I felt it was appropriate to have a conversation with Gracie. She knows what Creston softball is about, and she has connections to a number of good coaches she can use as resources. She is a great young lady, driven and wants to do well.”

Hagle made her coaching debut under Hartman and gained valuable experience for taking this next step.

“I think she will rise to the challenge,” Hartman said. “In the early going she deferred to me a lot, but when I wasn’t around and she worked with individual groups like the outfielders, she always did a great job. Gracie is a very bright young lady and she was a very good player. She’s a Panther and wants the program to do well.”

Hagle conferred multiple times with McCabe before and after accepting the job as head coach. McCabe spent 31 years in the program, including 20 seasons as head coach. Hagle was a five-year varsity player for him. As a senior she batted .422 with 39 runs scored in the leadoff position, and was one of the top defensive shortstops in Class 4A.

Support from mentor

“She epitomizes everything we have always thought about Creston softball being — tough, gritty, hard-working, committed, team-centered, all those kinds of things,” McCabe said. “She was kind of a quiet, unassuming player, but her leadership continued to improve as she gained more confidence. That continued as she helped as an assistant coach for a couple of years. She knows she has my support and I’m always just a phone call away. I’m excited for her.”

Last year’s Creston team was historically good, tying the program record for victories at 32-7, with a 20-0 championship run through the Hawkeye Ten Conference. The team set four program records, including 52 home runs.

However, six seniors graduated from the 2025 squad, including the all-state battery of catcher Ava Adamson and pitcher Taryn Fredrickson. Other senior starters were center fielder Jersey Foote (second team all-conference), third baseman Evy Marlin (second team all-conference), shortstop Mila Kuhns and right fielder Sasha Wurster.

Top returnees

Returning from the varsity are all-conference first team second baseman Avery Staver (.466 average, team-high 14 home runs), first baseman Jaycee Hanson (honorable mention all-conference, .403 average, seven home runs), speedy left fielder Cora Smith and junior pitcher Kennedy Strider, who was in the circle for nine starts with a 5-3 record in 2025.

Senior Sidney Staver, hampered by a hip injury but hopeful of playing this season, is among the other returnees along with junior Sidney McDonald and sophomores Jensan Tussey, Ricci Johnston and Rohwyn Randall. Five freshmen picked up junior varsity experience last summer.

“We had some JV players who were capable of being varsity, but we had a stacked team last year with a lot of seniors,” Hagle said. “I have confidence in them stepping up to help us this year. We will not be exactly like last year’s team. We will have some big, aggressive hitters back, but there are some younger players that have to start out with more fundamental things first. We only have five upperclassmen, so we have a lot of fundamental stuff to work on.”

Hagle said former Creston all-stater Madison (Frain) Peterson, who pitched for the University of South Dakota, has worked with pitchers in the offseason. Fredrickson, a freshman on the American Rivers Conference championship softball team at Simpson College, has also reached out to Hagle to offer her services as she is doing pitching lessons over the summer.

Hagle said many of the teams in the conference were senior-led last year and in the same boat as Creston in grooming new starters. She thinks Creston can contend along with the usual leaders such as Atlantic, Lewis Central and Clarinda.

“We’re not going to be bad by any means,” Hagle said. “We have kids who have played a lot of ball. I’m confident that they know how to play. They’ll be competitive. That’s just who they are.”