For the second-straight season, a first-year head coach will take the reigns of the Charleston High School softball program.

New head coach Macey McElravy is very familiar with the Charleston softball program. After all, she is the program’s career record holder in six different categories.

McElravy’s Charleston softball career saw success even before her first year of high school. As an eighth grader, she pitched back-to-back shutouts in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 2014 Illinois Elementary School Association Class AA State Tournament. It marked the first ever appearance by Charleston in the state tournament.

In those two games, McElravy pitched a combined 14 innings, 21 strikeouts and allowed three hits. That performance helped Charleston to its first ever championship game appearance.

The Little Trojans came up just short in the championship game, losing 8-4 to an undefeated Pleasant Plains team.

Following that run, McElravy played four years of high school softball for the Trojans before moving onto play college softball at Heartland Community College. She led the team among qualified hitters in batting average in 2020 and 2021, and led Heartland in home runs, RBIs and extra-base hits in 2021 as well.

McElravy returned to Charleston to play softball at EIU for two years to finish up her career and stayed with Eastern for the 2024 and 2025 seasons as the Director of Softball Operations.

During those two years, McElravy gave lessons to members of the community and coached at the middle school, but when the opportunity presented itself for McElravy to become the head coach of the high school softball program, she said it felt right for her to give back to a program that had given her so much over the course of her life.

“It’s a big passion project for me,” McElravy said.

Joining McElravy as one of her assistant coaches is her sister, Mya McElravy. The two played on multiple teams together growing up.

“We do everything together,” McElravy said. “She is kind of the yin to my yang.”

Mya McElravy is one year younger than her sister Macey and was on the coaching staff as an assistant last season.

“We’re both very dedicated to the Charleston program, so it’s awesome” Macey McElravy said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and I hope we get to coach together for a really long time.”

The Trojans return 22 players, according to McElravy, from a team that went 17-12 last season and lost in the regional finals. Among the returners is sophomore Lainie Keefer, who led the team with seven home runs, a slugging percentage of .958 and 17 doubles. She was second on the team last season with 33 RBIs, 48 hits and a .500 batting average.

“She’s just a powerhouse,” McElravy said. “She brings it on each side of the field, offensively and defensively.”

Keefer says her goal this season is to break McElravy’s home run record, and to grow as more of a leader.

Another returning piece for Charleston is senior Avery Beals, who mainly played third base and was the Trojans’ leadoff hitter last season. Beals led the team with a .537 batting average and 28 stolen bases and also scored the most runs and recorded the most hits on the team a year ago.

On the pitching side, the Trojans return both of their main pitchers from last season. Freshman Meg Ritchey will add depth to a staff that returns juniors Reece Good and Railyn Cox.

Cox’s 3.06 ERA last season was fourth best in the Apollo Conference.

“She had a fantastic year last year stat wise,” McElravy said. “But she is so competitive. She will do anything to win, and I love that about her.”

Cox said her personal goal this year is to stay positive and keep a level head during times when she loses control in the circle.

Despite the high number of returning players, Charleston has a group of underclassmen that, combined with the returning production, have created a family atmosphere according to both McElravy and Keefer.

“We don’t have little groups like some school’s you’ll see have,” Keefer said. “We all just get along. We’re all happy to be here and everyone is committed.”

The Trojans open the season at a tournament hosted by Casey-Westfield High School on March 21. Their first Apollo Conference doubleheader will be on the road against Effingham April 10.

Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].