As head coach Bonnie Tholl stepped into her final press conference of the 2025 Michigan softball season after its NCAA Regional loss to Central Florida, she brought two athletes with her.
On Tholl’s left, close to the exit door, was senior right-hander Lauren Derkowski, the Wolverines’ staunch leader. On Tholl’s right sat sophomore right fielder Ella Stephenson, a member of the talented young core of Michigan’s batting order. Tholl was flanked by her past and her future.
Derkowski had just finished her last battle in the circle as a Wolverine, a game that saw Michigan fall short of victory against the Knights as its ace gave up just three runs as both a starter and a reliever. She had gotten the Wolverines this far, for the second year in a row, and she had done her best to move them along.
But now that Derkowski is gone, Michigan is in need of a new catalyst next season — it’s in need of who was on Tholl’s right. After the Big Ten Tournament saw a more cohesive Wolverine attack coming up big when it truly mattered and adding fuel to Derkowski’s burning fire, the path became clear. If Michigan wants continued success — if not more — after its ace exits stage left, the young offensive core will have to take Derkowski’s spot in the limelight.
It’s no secret that Derkowski was the driving force as the Wolverines pulled off their Big Ten Championship triumph last weekend. Her scoreless outings against No. 1 seed Oregon and No. 2 seed UCLA were massive feats within themselves, and her emboldening determination in the circle was palpable all weekend. After a season of ups and downs, it was vintage Derkowski.
Now that that run — and Derkowski’s time at Michigan — is over, all attention turns to who’s next in command. In the circle, it’s undoubtedly sophomore right-hander Erin Hoehn, Derkowksi’s other half this season who has made immense strides toward becoming a primary presence when pitching.
But when it comes to driving the entire team forward, Hoehn cannot fill Derkowski’s shoes alone. Together, the pair rarely allowed enough runs to let a game slip out of control. But now Hoehn is left with an inexperienced bullpen and hopes of a veteran pickup in the transfer portal. The circle is no longer the same rallying point it was with Derkowski.
If Michigan is to find success next season without Derkowski as the driving force, it needs to turn to what is guaranteed. And nothing is more certain than the returning offense. Eight of the Wolverines’ nine members of the batting order will likely return in 2026, a group that showed strong growth from a season prior and flashed their cohesion as the season neared its end. The groundwork has been laid for this offense to be a catalyst, all they have to do is find a way to optimize it.
Nowhere on this team are there stronger signs of vitality than the four steadfast batters spearheading the attack from the top of the order — junior second baseman Indiana Langford, sophomore center fielder Jenissa Conway, freshman designated player Lauren Putz and Stephenson. And this core emerges as an early answer to fill Derkowski’s shoes.
All four of these batters hit over .330 from the top of the order while also tallying a combined 449 bases. The group became capable of launching quick offensive attacks within their cell of the order, attacks that reenergized the offense and changed momentum within games. But that spark often fell short of igniting a fire this year, and if Michigan wants to draw more from the energy at the top, it needs to improve as a unit.
Despite the consistency at the top, the Wolverines’ offense struggled to turn a fair share of those aforementioned bases into runs when it mattered. It was as if the top and bottom of the order were split by a chasm. The low-scoring, one-run losses to Georgia, Duke, Michigan State, the Ducks, Ohio State and the Bruins all exposed the left-on-base problem that barred Michigan all season from many statement wins against ranked opponents.
“When it comes to situational hitting, we need to be better,” Tholl said March 28.
But as the season wound down, something unexpected happened, something that coincided with the emergence of vintage Derkowski. There was a shift in dynamics among the batter order. In the Big Ten Tournament, production was cohesive from the top and bottom of the order — rallies and momentum shifts began in the bottom half and were closed out by the top. It looked like a different team.
The nine hole saw more production than it had all season with junior shortstop Avery Fantucci subbing in for senior shortstop Ella McVey. Junior third baseman Maddie Erickson looked like her old self again as she tallied multiple RBI batting seventh against Oregon, and redshirt sophomore catcher Lilly Vallimont tallied two hits of her own. Vallimont, who had limped along offensively all year, crushed a game-winning three-run home run against Purdue in the semifinals.
While the offense still no doubt ran through the top, it no longer looked like a ravine was splitting through the middle of the lineup. A bridge had been constructed, and the energy was flowing.
“That’s the one thing we were missing all season long, is stringing big hits together,” Tholl said May 11 after securing the Big Ten Championship the night before. “This weekend, even though it occurred in only one inning in certain games, we were able to put back-to-back hits together, and it made the difference in the outcome.”
When looking to bring a group together in the year to come, you look at what has already shown it’s capable. Throughout the season, that’s what the top of the order did. And for a whole week against some of the most premier teams in college softball on the Big Ten’s biggest stage, that’s what the offense did as an entire unit. If that kind of whole production can be harnessed over the offseason and turned into a constant by spring, then the Wolverines will have a strong foundation to lean on.
Stephenson sat patiently for the first 10 minutes of Saturday’s press conference as the first few questions were directed at Derkowski. Even off the field, she was used to letting the veteran take the lead. Finally, a question was thrown her way about takeaways from this year’s run going into next season.
“After watching Derk these past two years in the circle just being a workhorse and just being a big leader to look up to, these past two years have been full of a lot of growth,” Stephenson said. “The sky’s the limit. … We just got to keep our nose down, keep working hard and keep getting after it.”
She used her time to first address Derkowski’s impact, but then looked forward. It was a good answer to the question, and a good sign for Tholl as well. Because if Tholl is to find levels of success that match or surpass what she found with her unmovable ace these past two years, it’s going to be through a new heartbeat in the young, diligent offense.
