Ohio State’s 2025 softball season may have ended in the opening regionals of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, but what the Buckeyes accomplished this year shows that they should be a threat in this sport for the foreseeable future.
Like in so many college sports, the trajectory of a program is usually set, first and foremost, by the success of the head coach. And it has only been one year, but it looks like the Buckeyes have finally found a head coach who can make them elite.
Kirin Kumar was named as Ohio State’s head coach last June, after the program seemed to have stagnated under 13-year head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly. The Buckeyes had reached four consecutive NCAA regional rounds earlier in Kovach Schoenly’s tenure, but never a super regional and only one regional in the last five years.
The reason to be optimistic about the future under Kumar isn’t just that the program went from being towards the bottom of the Big Ten to reaching the NCAAs in one year. No, it’s how the Buckeyes did it that show they’re here to stay.
Building an offensive juggernaut
Ohio State led the nation in just about every major offensive category in 2025. 147 home runs, 495 total runs, and a slugging percentage over .700 are just the start. This team wsa devastating on offense all season long, only being shut out twice.
While that’s noteworthy on its own, what makes it even more outstanding are the players who did it. This is the same team that hit only 65 home runs last year.
Kumar didn’t come in and bring in massive sluggers through the transfer portal. This isn’t the difference between her recruits and the roster holdovers. No. What Coach Kumar did was take a group of solid Division I softball players who had mediocre offensive numbers a year ago and turned them into an absolute powerhouse.
If Kumar can teach these Buckeyes to hit this exceptionally, there’s no reason to think it would stop anytime soon. And once she can promote these successes on the recruiting trail, things just build on themselves. This program, under Kumar, should be an offensive juggernaut for the long term.
Winning National Championships?
If year one of the Kumar reign completely revamped the offense, what else do the Buckeyes need to truly join the nation’s elites? The defense was solid, but can always improve. And the pitching was very good, but not quite up there with the elites of the sport.
Most of the roster will return next year, including all of the pitchers. I wouldn’t expect them to become elite overnight. Then again, that’s exactly what Kumar did with the offense. If Kumar can do the same with the pitching–or find one right recruit or transfer–there’s no reason that this team can’t be close to National Championship caliber as early as next year.
Even if that’s a bit too early for the program under her, expect it to come soon. If she continues with this team like in year one, the sky is the limit.
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
