The Woodlake softball team is the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register’s Tulare County high school girls’ sports team of the year for the 2025-26 school year.
2026 record: 31-4
Head coach: Ramon Lara
Impact players: Ella Lara, Marriah Ellis, Mareli Zamora, Aaliyah Renteria, Mia Gastelum, Alexis Rodriguez, Lourdes Cervantes, Mia Aldana, Giselle Valencia
2026 season highlights
It was another historic season for Woodlake softball.
The Tigers became the first Tulare County softball program to win back-to-back CIF State Regional Championships, capturing their second straight CIF State Division IV SoCal title on June 6.
Led by the father-and-daughter duo of head coach Ramon Lara and senior Ella Lara, Woodlake concluded its 2026 campaign on a 21-game win streak.
The Tigers also claimed their third straight Central Section championship in May, winning the Division V crown at Fresno State’s Margie Wright Diamond. The Tigers won the Central Section Division IV title in 2025 and the Division V plaque in 2024.
Woodlake continued its dominance in East Sequoia League play, too, turning in another perfect 8-0 record in 2026 — the third consecutive year the Tigers ran the table in league competition.
Woodlake’s 31 victories this season were the most in the Central Section in 2026. 128 teams play softball in this section.
What players and coaches said about Woodlake softball
2027 Woodlake softball outlook
Woodlake graduated six starters from this season’s championship team, including stars Ella Lara and starting pitcher Marriah Ellis, but the high standards that coach Lara and his staff have set should bode well for a program that has amassed a combined 133-17-1 record since 2022.
That winning culture is deeply entrenched and will likely be led by top returners Mia Gastelum and senior Alexis Rodriguez next season. Both turned in outstanding performances in 2026, registering over 40 hits apiece in Woodlake’s historic run to back-to-back state regional crowns.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County Girls Sports Team of the Year — Woodlake softball
Reporting by Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta | USA TODAY Network
