Softball program signs five
11/14/2025 10:59:00 AM | Softball
The Montana softball program, under second-year coach Stef Ewing, signed five prep standouts to scholarship contracts this week. Those players will be freshmen for the Grizzlies next fall.
The signings come a year after Ewing, then just a few months into the job, began remaking the program by signing a dozen players, the team's current freshmen, then adding a pair of transfer pitchers in the offseason.
With this year's signing class, she had the benefit of more time.
"The 12 we had coming in this year, they made us more athletic and gave us the pieces. After we brought in two transfer pitchers, it was, okay, now what do we need?" said Ewing.
"We need more depth in the circle. Boom, we got it. We need more depth behind the plate and more power. Boom, we got it. I've been able to watch some of these kids for two years. There is a lot of excitement with them."
Signing scholarship contracts were a pair of pitchers, left-hander Makenzie Henthorn (Longview, Wash./Mark Morris HS) and right-hander Makenna Burton (Lakeside, Calif./El Capitan HS), plus their future battery-mate in Loganne Bobbi Cambra (Ewa Beach, Hawaii/ Kamehameha Schools Kapalama).
Also signing were infielder Riley Baumann (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah HS) and outfielder Maisy Schindler (Sherwood, Ore./Sherwood HS).
"We've got some great players coming in who are really excited to put Griz Softball where Griz Softball wants to be. That's the conversation we had with these kids. Do you want to change a program? Because that's what we're going to do," said Ewing.
"They love the community, they love Missoula, they love the support that Griz Athletics has. I told them, you'll be remembered here for a long time if you're the players who change the program. It starts with getting the right players, people who buy in and complete. These kids compete. They go after it."
Ewing's primary focus with the class was pitching.
"How do you jump-start a program? Pitching, pitching, pitching. It's the name of the game in softball, so I was scouring the earth for young pitching as soon as I got this job," Ewing said. "For me, it starts in the circle."
Henthorn is coming off a huge junior season, when she was voted the 2A Greater St. Helens League MVP and led Mark Morris to a third-place finish at the Washington state tournament.
"She's a left-hander who's got some great movement, a good up-ball," said Ewing. "The ball really tails because she's throwing lefty. It's funky in a good way, meaning it's hard to pick up as a hitter and she throws hard. Check, check, check. All of that plays."
Burton was the Grossmont Hills League Pitcher of the Year as a junior last spring. She has been trained by Dana Sorensen, a three-time all-American at Stanford, who now runs Sorensen Elite Softball Pitching in Southern California.
"She played in an organization I was familiar with," said Ewing, who previously coached at Cal State San Marcos. "She is a pitcher who is going to induce a lot of groundball outs for us and has been really successful."
Cambra is a power-hitting catcher from Hawaii, Montana's second player from the state. Junior Kaiana Kong, also from Ewa Beach, was one of the Grizzlies' offseason transfers, after previously pitching at Western Washington.
"Hawaiians are very family-oriented. They want to make sure they have a really good support system," said Ewing. "When Bobbi came on her visit, they loved the environment and felt comfortable right away.
"She told her mom, 'If flights are crazy over Thanksgiving, I can just go to Coach Stef's house.' When a child says that to a parent and feels that comfortable, they know this is really a family atmosphere."
Baumann is a three-time, first-team All-KingCo first baseman who helped lead Issaquah High to the Washington state tournament for the first time since 1998 this past season.
She plays for Ai Bandits, a travel-ball team that has a history of sending its players to the Grizzlies.
Schindler helped Sherwood High go 29-3 last spring and win the Pacific Conference. She was named the Player of the Game as Sherwood defeated North Medford in the 6A title game for the school's first-ever softball state championship.
She was voted first-team All-Pacific Conference as a junior, second-team Oregon All-State.
"Riley brings a power bat at the corner position and is super athletic. Maisy is a very dynamic, very fast outfielder. It's going to be like having Anna (Cockhill) in the outfield, she's that fast. It's like she's shot out of a cannon.
"All these players thought this was a great place when they visited, and we want to bring people here who think this place is as special as we think it is."
The signings come a year after Ewing, then just a few months into the job, began remaking the program by signing a dozen players, the team's current freshmen, then adding a pair of transfer pitchers in the offseason.
With this year's signing class, she had the benefit of more time.
"The 12 we had coming in this year, they made us more athletic and gave us the pieces. After we brought in two transfer pitchers, it was, okay, now what do we need?" said Ewing.
"We need more depth in the circle. Boom, we got it. We need more depth behind the plate and more power. Boom, we got it. I've been able to watch some of these kids for two years. There is a lot of excitement with them."
Signing scholarship contracts were a pair of pitchers, left-hander Makenzie Henthorn (Longview, Wash./Mark Morris HS) and right-hander Makenna Burton (Lakeside, Calif./El Capitan HS), plus their future battery-mate in Loganne Bobbi Cambra (Ewa Beach, Hawaii/ Kamehameha Schools Kapalama).
Also signing were infielder Riley Baumann (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah HS) and outfielder Maisy Schindler (Sherwood, Ore./Sherwood HS).
"We've got some great players coming in who are really excited to put Griz Softball where Griz Softball wants to be. That's the conversation we had with these kids. Do you want to change a program? Because that's what we're going to do," said Ewing.
"They love the community, they love Missoula, they love the support that Griz Athletics has. I told them, you'll be remembered here for a long time if you're the players who change the program. It starts with getting the right players, people who buy in and complete. These kids compete. They go after it."
Ewing's primary focus with the class was pitching.
"How do you jump-start a program? Pitching, pitching, pitching. It's the name of the game in softball, so I was scouring the earth for young pitching as soon as I got this job," Ewing said. "For me, it starts in the circle."
Henthorn is coming off a huge junior season, when she was voted the 2A Greater St. Helens League MVP and led Mark Morris to a third-place finish at the Washington state tournament.
"She's a left-hander who's got some great movement, a good up-ball," said Ewing. "The ball really tails because she's throwing lefty. It's funky in a good way, meaning it's hard to pick up as a hitter and she throws hard. Check, check, check. All of that plays."
Burton was the Grossmont Hills League Pitcher of the Year as a junior last spring. She has been trained by Dana Sorensen, a three-time all-American at Stanford, who now runs Sorensen Elite Softball Pitching in Southern California.
"She played in an organization I was familiar with," said Ewing, who previously coached at Cal State San Marcos. "She is a pitcher who is going to induce a lot of groundball outs for us and has been really successful."
Cambra is a power-hitting catcher from Hawaii, Montana's second player from the state. Junior Kaiana Kong, also from Ewa Beach, was one of the Grizzlies' offseason transfers, after previously pitching at Western Washington.
"Hawaiians are very family-oriented. They want to make sure they have a really good support system," said Ewing. "When Bobbi came on her visit, they loved the environment and felt comfortable right away.
"She told her mom, 'If flights are crazy over Thanksgiving, I can just go to Coach Stef's house.' When a child says that to a parent and feels that comfortable, they know this is really a family atmosphere."
Baumann is a three-time, first-team All-KingCo first baseman who helped lead Issaquah High to the Washington state tournament for the first time since 1998 this past season.
She plays for Ai Bandits, a travel-ball team that has a history of sending its players to the Grizzlies.
Schindler helped Sherwood High go 29-3 last spring and win the Pacific Conference. She was named the Player of the Game as Sherwood defeated North Medford in the 6A title game for the school's first-ever softball state championship.
She was voted first-team All-Pacific Conference as a junior, second-team Oregon All-State.
"Riley brings a power bat at the corner position and is super athletic. Maisy is a very dynamic, very fast outfielder. It's going to be like having Anna (Cockhill) in the outfield, she's that fast. It's like she's shot out of a cannon.
"All these players thought this was a great place when they visited, and we want to bring people here who think this place is as special as we think it is."
Players Mentioned
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