GREENVILLE – The premier Greenville Lady Wave Softball program under the direction of Hall of Fame coach Jerrod Newland undoubtedly has one of the finest high school coaching staffs in the State of Ohio and across the nation.
The Lady Wave 2026 coaching staff is made up of nine high school coaches, including two Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame coaches who have combined for 1,016 wins and still counting. The varsity staff boasts two High School All-Americans, three multi-year First Team All-Ohio players, and longtime veteran high school coaches.
LWSB head coach Jerrod Newland was inducted into the Class of 2018 Ohio High School Hall of Fame and currently stands at 613 career wins at the helm of the Lady Wave Softball program. With the Wednesday, May 13 win over the OHSAA No. 3 state-ranked D-I Centerville Lady Elks, Coach Newland now has an unprecedented 22 straight varsity seasons of 25 or more wins, an incredible feat with only 27 regular-season games.
The 2026 edition of the Lady Wave has defeated the 2025 Division-I state finalist, Lebanon, 8-0 and Centerville 8-1, as well as state-ranked Badin, Covington, and the Troy Lady Trojans twice by a combined 49-3 score. Greenville, for the umpteenth time, won the MVL Championship with a perfect 18-0 record.
“They are all amazing, they all do their thing,” said Coach Jerrod Newland. “We have college softball practice out here every day. The other day I caught us on three fields with two bullpens going all at once, which is crazy, but they are all top-notch, and they all volunteer their time to be a part of this circus, and all super professional – they just love it, and I love them.”
“The worst part of the year is when the season ends because I don’t get to experience the daily things of the journey of their lives and the things,” said Jerrod Newland. “We see each other five to six days a week, and we become very good, we are very sarcastic, as you know, and very humorous – we just love each other, we like each other’s families and people, and just great kids and great coaches. We’re fun to be around, and it’s sad when it ends, that’s why I keep you until June.”
After a recent conference game, the opposing coach was overheard saying, “I wish I knew Coach Newland’s potion for such good teams each year.”
“Surround yourself with good people and good families and good kids that work hard,” said Jerrod Newland. “Around this program, it’s like-minded kids that have a goal to play college softball, so every day we compete with each other to better ourselves, and the cream rises to the top.”
“It’s not for everybody, but the kids that want to work and compete and surround themselves with like-minded individuals that will get pushed daily by the staff, and they will excel to play at the next level,” he added. “Right now we have three or four kids that are going to be playing on TV one day, and it is great because that just generates eyes on us and eyes on the kids and the program, and as the mayor says, Greenville is a great place to come and play softball.”
The Greenville Girls Softball Association (GGSA) and The Academy play a big role in the success of the Lady Wave Softball program.
“I just can’t thank GGSA and The Academy for making softball accessible for our youth year-round, which contributes to our success, “Coach Newland stated.
Assistant Coach Greg Newland, the father of Jerrod, was inducted into the OHSFSCA Hall of Fame in 2008 and won 400 varsity games coaching at Springfield before stepping down from head coaching duties at the Clark County school. Greg brings a wealth of experience to the Lady Wave program.
“I wear a lot of hats,” said Greg Newland. “I have done this for many, many years, well over half my life, and it is nice to see these young coaches with new ideas and some different views on things. I kind of stand back now and am a little bit of a consultant. I kind of let these young ladies and the young guys do what they need to do. It is refreshing not to have to do everything that I always did. I always had to do everything with one assistant, and here we have nine coaches. It is a treat to be a part of it, and hope I am around a few more years.”
Lady Wave varsity assistant coach Justine Shilt, a 10-year veteran of the LWSB staff, coaches first base for the varsity program. Shilt played for the Lady Wave 2007 state championship team and went on to make her mark in NCAA Division I softball at Wright State University, where she held the university’s home run and RBI records until recently. Shilt was a two-time All-Ohio player in 2006 and 2007 and an All-American.
As the No. 2 in command with the Lady Wave, Shilt’s main focus is on hitting while helping in all areas of the game.
“The biggest thing I focus on with the team is the hitting aspect of everything,” said Shilt. “I’ll pop in there whenever they need me defensively with infield, outfield, whatever they need but my main focus is the hitting.”
Shilt was known as a leadoff slap hitter for the Lady Wave before going on to Wright State, where she excelled with power at the plate.
“That is something Coach Newland doesn’t like to talk about too much because in high school I was just a leadoff slapper and then got to college and all I did was swing away for power,” Shilt said with a chuckle. “I’m sure he brings that up here and there a little bit, just saying he wished he would let me swing a bat here and there in high school, so hitting was definitely a big thing for me.”
Shilt shared that all nine coaches are a large part of practice, each working individually with about four players, bringing a big advantage to the program.
“We have an amazing staff, and the best part of it is each person brings something different to the table,” said Shilt. “We can pinpoint little things just to work on our mechanics, whether it’s defense, offense, pitching, catching, or anything remotely. We have different people who have a big success rate in that section. It’s nice that we can break up because not a lot of teams have the coaching staff that we have, obviously, so the fact that we can go one-on-one, one coach goes with four middle infielders, one coach goes with pitchers and catchers. The more that we get done in and the more that we can focus on kids individually just makes us better as a team in the long run – and I love it.”
Second-year assistant coach Ally Russell Bowers works mainly with the Lady Wave pitchers. Ally was a three-time All-Ohio pitcher in 2013, 2014, and 2015 and a two-time All-American pitcher. Ally went on to pitch for the NCAA Division I Wright State Lady Raiders and continues to teach pitching lessons to aspiring pitchers.
“I get to work with Ella Oswalt and Lizzie Shaffer, and then obviously we have Elle and Callie who have been able to be with us a little more as freshmen in the bullpen,” said Bowers. “We get to work with Ella and Lizzie, and it is so much fun. They bring so much joy to my day, and they love pitching, which is so great. I love pitching so much, it’s just so much fun to talk about the game, how we are throwing batters, how we are throwing pitches, what we want to throw in this count, and what our goal is here. They both understand the game at such a high level, it’s so much fun to come and get to talk about it because they love softball so much.”
Ally Bowers Russell brings respect to the game, having pitched at the elite Division I college level.
“They are so great,” Bowers said of the LWSB pitchers. “We have a level of comfort that we get to talk on a level that we all understand each other, so it is respectful, of course, but they are also great people, so a level of comfort so that we get to break things down and really work on things, which is fun.”
First-year assistant LWSB coach Morgan Gilbert finished her Division-I college softball career in 2025, starting in 48 games her final season at shortstop for the IU Indy Lady Jags and hitting .335 with a team-high 40 runs, 22 RBI, seven doubles, and three triples. Gilbert led the Horizon League in stolen bases with 25 while recording 98 putouts, 93 assists, and seven double plays. Gilbert was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-League First Team honors while also being named to the CSC Academic All-District Team and the IU Indy Spring Academic Advisor’s List.
Gilbert was a four-year starter at shortstop for the Lady Wave and a two-time All-Ohio player in 2018 and 2019, with her senior year canceled due to COVID-19, costing her a chance at a third All-Ohio honor and possible All-American recognition. Gilbert was known for the tiny broom she kept in her uniform hip pocket and used to clean off second base before each inning.
“It is really humbling to be able to come back and to be a part of this coaching staff with all the experience we have,” said Gilbert. “It’s been a fun experience, and I am just trying to absorb all that I can because there is a lot of knowledge around me right now.”
Gilbert took time to compare her Division-I college coaching staff to the Division-III Lady Wave Softball coaching staff.
“We had two coaches at my D-I college, and it’s a lot of work for just two people, and I think about it all the time,” said Gilbert. “When you look at our practice, we get so much accomplished, and it is because one, they all know what they’re doing, and I’m trying to learn a lot from everyone around me, but all the coaches know what they are doing. We can get so much done because there are so many different things going on at once.”
Coach Gilbert is a mainstay at the varsity level games, but also stepped in as the LWSB JV coach for the 2026 season, guiding a successful junior varsity squad.
“I had a lot of fun,” said Gilbert. “We had a new group of girls most every game, which was also fun, but it brought a different dynamic every time. I’m thankful those girls still went out and played hard because even though they weren’t with the varsity team, they knew it was still the Lady Wave program and they represented it well. I was very thankful for the season we had with JV.”
Denny Ruble, an 18-year veteran of the coaching staff, was the Lady Wave pitching coach for many years and now helps as needed, though on game days, he can still be seen warming up the pitchers in the bullpen. Ruble also loads his white van for each road game, hauling all the team’s equipment, and the van’s license plate reads LWSB.
“I am the assistant pitching coach now since we have Ally,” said Ruble. “She’s going to be taking this over, so it’s time for me to just help her out.”
“I work with catchers and pitchers, so Ally and I in practice will do that,” Ruble continued. “We have Tom over there working with the defense and first base, and we have Morgan Gilbert working with the middle infielders. It’s just amazing how we can break down and get a lot of work done.”
“I manage to get all the equipment, that’s kind of my job,” said Ruble.
Tom Cromwell has been with the program for six years and works mainly with fielding and the defensive side of the game.
“I work with the first basemen, outfielders, just everything in general, hitting, and I keep the scorebook during the game,” Cromwell said. “It’s a blast. There can be no weak link in Lady Wave Softball. They have good people around them, and when you surround yourself with good people, good things happen, and the results are awesome.”
Ryan Brubaker now serves in his 14th year with the Lady Wave Softball program, filling many positions on the staff, starting with the junior high program before moving up to the high school team.
“I pretty much do a little bit of everything, field work, warming pitchers up, helping with batting, throwing, a little bit of everything,” said Brubaker. “I started 14 years ago with my senior now, who was in T-Ball. I started with the high school program seven years ago. I’ve watched some D-I college programs, and we run our girls through the same things.”
Rounding out the Lady Wave staff is Steve Schmidt, a jack of all trades.
“On the road, I load all the bags for the girls, load the ice, just make sure they are ready, but during practice, I still get involved with them,” said Schmidt. “I soft toss with them with whiffles, I also run the Gator around and pick up all the balls on the infield and outfield, load the buckets up, go round two, loading if not round three.”
Schmidt can be seen before games and between doubleheaders, dragging and raking the infield for play.
“I take pride in the diamonds,” said Schmidt. “We play a lot of games out here, and they’re in great shape. With all the water we have in the spring, the diamonds are still in great playing condition.”
