There is the statewide discussion that begins with defending Non-Public A state champion Mount St. Dominic, which also remains the favorite to repeat as Essex County Tournament champs and win another Super Essex Conference-American Division crown in 2026.
Then there is Cedar Grove, a 3-time defending Group 1 state champion and winners of the 2024 ECT before falling to the Mount in last year’s county tourney final, which must now reload to a very large degree after graduating most of its superb nucleus of that trio of Group 1 state titans but always seems to come up with a talented, new crop of players to start another eventual run.
There is also Columbia, which returns one of the premier pitchers in the state in Boston University-bound senior Claire Shupe (0.57 ERA, 231 K’s in 159 IP) plus six members of an everyday lineup that has been to the North 1, Group 4 state sectional final the past three seasons, including winning the N1G4 title with an upset of Livingston in 2023 when Shupe and fellow 4-year varsity starters Eva Clevenger (catcher) and Lexi Kaplan (outfield) were freshmen.
The Cougars, who were 20-7 last spring (7-3 in the SEC-American Division), have fallen to the Mount in the past three ECT semifinals, including a nailbiter of a Final 4 contest last May when Columbia led 5-4 in the seventh inning before the Lady Lions tied the contest on a home run by Paez and then scored three runs in the eighth inning to win 8-5.
Veteran coach Cliff Smith begins his 12th season at the helm of the softball squad from the Maplewood-South Orange-based school and this is perhaps his program’s best chance yet to finally get over the hump of being a very good team that has generally run into obstacles in the ECT semis or state sectional final.
“I believe this is the most talented team I’ve had here,” said the 36-year-old Smith, who has been the Cougars’ head coach since 2015 when he was just 24. “We have a good mix of upperclassmen who have been through it all before, including three 4-year starters along with some super-talented freshmen.
“Our veteran players have been through their lumps along the way while getting to the peak, and hopefully now we can complete the mission in our goals to win titles in both the counties and states this season, although we always know that the competition will be fierce along the way.”
The strength of the Cougars begins in the circle with the ultra-talented Shupe, who keeps getting better and better. She did not allow a run for her first 41 innings pitched in 2025, and endured the workload of 159 innings in 2025 while facing some very good teams along the way.
This spring’s workload will be reduced somewhat with the addition of freshman Allison Kelly, who might make for a redux of sorts with the 2023 Columbia team which rode two pitchers on its way to its first state sectional title since 1979.
“Allison, like Maddy Rowel on our 2023 team, is not overpowering but her spin and location make her a very good pitcher and a great complement to Claire, who I think may have been a little more worn out than we would like by the end of last season with the heavy workload she had for us,” said Smith. "Having that second pitcher will help our pitchers stay fresh for the long haul of a busy spring season.”
Meanwhile, Shupe continues to hone her craft which will make her a pitcher to watch in the future as well when she joins the Boston University program next fall.
