Tournament Website | All-Tournament Team

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – After receiving an at-large berth into the 2024 NJCAA Division 2 Softball World Series a year ago, the Johnson County Community College softball team didn’t leave anything to chance in 2025 as the Cavaliers walked off Kansas City Kansas Community College with a 4-3 win to claim the 2025 NJCAA Division 2 Plains District Softball Championship and automatic berth to the World Series.

Entering the Plains District Tournament as the number three seed with a 30-15 overall record, JCCC made the most of hosting the tournament on their home turf by picking up run-rule victories over six-seed Fort Scott (9-1 in six innings) and seven-seed Allen (9-1 in five innings) to advance to the Tournament winner’s bracket final against cross-metro rival Kansas City Kansas. Taking on the fourth-seeded Blue Devils who had won their first two games of the tournament with an 8-0, five-inning no-hitter thrown by Alyssa Droge against Labette and a 3-1 win over Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference regular season Champion and tournament top-seed Cowley, Johnson County overcame a 2-0 deficit by scoring nine of the final 11 runs in the contest to win 9-4. In the victory, the Cavaliers tagged Droge for a season-high nine earned runs as the sophomore had given up just one run on two hits in the first two games of the tournament before running into a potent Cavalier lineup that hit over .400 as a team over the course of their four games played.

Awaiting the winner of an elimination game between KCKCC and number two-seed Neosho County, JCCC learned their opponent on Friday afternoon as the Blue Devils bounced back with a 5-3 win to eliminate the Panthers and set up a rematch with Johnson County on Saturday morning. Needing just one win in what would be potentially two games on Championship Saturday, Johnson County got off to a slow start by being retired in order the first time through the lineup before making adjustments against Droge who had thrown 27.1 innings over the course of four days entering Saturday’s game. Facing a 2-0 deficit heading to the fourth, a Jaylee Jefferson one-out double sparked the Cavalier offense as Reagan Neitzel followed with a base hit single to set up a Maddie Murray sacrifice fly to cut the KCKCC lead in half heading to the fifth.

A scoreless fifth inning for both teams moved things to the sixth where Johnson County once again saw Murray come through at the plate as the freshman blasted a game-tying solo home run with one out in the inning which was followed by walks issued to Aspen Burgardt and Haley Bryant to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Following an infield fly, Katie Kolarik put JCCC up for the first time in the game with an RBI single back up the middle as Johnson County went from trailing to now being just three outs away from a District Title. Kansas City Kansas Community College did not go away quietly, however, scoring the game-tying run on two hits following a leadoff walk that was issued by JCCC’s Jalin Lavers before stranding three runners including a go-ahead runner at third to keep the game knotted at 3-3. In the bottom of the seventh, Jefferson struck a one-out double to get into scoring position for Neitzel as the freshman once again provided a hot bat with a base hit down the left field line to bring home the game-winning run to send the Cavalier dugout into a frenzy.

The automatic berth into the 2025 NJCAA Division 2 Softball World Series is the 22nd time that the Cavalier softball program will play in the National Tournament and sixth trip to the NJCAA Division 2 Softball World Series under current head coach Aubree Brattin-Volkens.

Four Cavalier players were named to the All-Tournament team including Tournament MVP Aspen Burgardt who hit .600 at the plate during the tournament with four doubles, one home run, and six RBI while coach Brattin-Volkens was named Coach of the Tournament. Also named to the All-Tournament team from JCCC were Katie Kolarik, Jaylee Jefferson, and Maddie Murray.

Johnson County will now await their official seeding in the 2025 NJCAA Division 2 Softball World Series that will take place May 19-24 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL. Last season, the Cavaliers entered the World Series as the number 10 seed in the 20-team tournament and picked up a 3-2 win over Phoenix College to open their run in Spartanburg, South Carolina as JCCC went on to pick up a 7-3 win over Central Alabama before dropping a 2-1  decision to Kirkwood in the tournament quarterfinals and 5-1 rain-delayed defeat to Murray State College to finish the season with a 46-12 overall record.