FARMINGTON, Minn. -- As Farmington softball sets their goals for the 2026 season, hoping to repeat last year's accomplishments, Paul Harrington has the oldest team he's ever coached. Catcher Lila Johannsen and pitcher Kayla Schweich are senior captains, leading a group of nine classmates.

The Tigers graduated seven seniors from a team that won the conference and section titles in 2025 and took the consolation championship at the state tournament.

Johannsen says she and Schweich have a great connection, "We've grown up together. So, I know personally all of her strengths and her best pitches. I feel like working with someone you grew up with is really good. You have chemistry on and off the field."

Johannsen played some outfield and shortstop her freshman season and stepped behind the plate part way through her sophomore year due to an injury to the starter, "I've always been a catcher. But also, I'm a utility player."

Schweich made her varsity debut in eighth grade and has grown in her confidence, "I'm really effective with my screwball, especially. That minimizes the amount of pitches I throw to each batter because usually they swing and it's a little blooper behind second base. That's an easy one for me."

Just as easy as working with the same catcher for so many years, "It's really nice to have a bond outside of softball and within, on the field."

She went 8-2 in the pitching circle in 2025 according to the Star Tribune's Softball Hub with a .69 ERA and closed the season with a no-hitter in the state tournament's consolation championship.

Johannsen will catch and play outfield at the University of Wisconsin. Schweich will pitch at St. Cloud State University.

Harrington is happy to have them for one more year, "Kayla will always throw a great game. She never seems to have a bad game. Always around the strike zone. Can throw three, four different pitches. And on the backside, Lila, nothing gets by her. Hardly anything ever gets to the backstop. They're a great combination."

The Tigers bring back shortstop Kayley Schuenemann and second baseman Ellie Peterson, both juniors. Harrington says, "We have an overload of infielders. So, we're going to be converting some infielders to outfielders. We'll be fine. They're good, athletic kids."

And he believes the team will excel at the plate, "I think this is going to be one of the stronger hitting teams we've ever had. I'm looking forward to that. One through nine we will be very solid."

Schweich agrees, "This year we'll have a lot more power hitters. I feel like our team, offensively, hitting is going to be really good this year. It'll be fun to watch."

Johannsen hit .500 last season with 44 RBI. Schuenemann hit .400 and drove in 27. Peterson hit .295 with 24 RBI [Softball Hub stats].

FHS is the two-time defending South Suburban Conference champ. They made their eighth state tournament appearance last season, all since 2003.

Johannsen is proud to be a captain and wants the club to stay focused, "We have to believe in our ability and not overlook any teams. Because everyone will be good…Stay strong and believe in each other."

Schweich states, "We're really excited. We're really motivated. We have a really tough section, always have. It's tough to get to state."

"Come work hard every day," stresses Harrington. "Kids are motivated to go back-to-back to state, which only happened one other time here. They want to win the conference three years in a row."

Lakeville South is a top contender in the conference and section. Rosemount remains a circle-the-date opponent and strong South Suburban challenge. Rochester Century also grabs his attention in Section 1AAAA.

The season
Top-five rated FHS has burst from the starting gates to a 10-0 record with three shutouts. One of those came against top ten Rosemount 10-0 on April 14. The next day the Tigers edged Lakeville South, a top section competitor, 3-1. They swept Lakeville North, 7-1 on April 21 and 12-2 on April 29.

A rematch with Rosemount awaits on Wednesday, May 6 at FHS at 4:30 pm. The next day Farmington goes to South. The Tigers return to the Mankato Tournament on May 8-9 as the defending champs.
There could still be additions to the schedule.

The high school league added a wrinkle to the schedule that allows teams to play up to 24 games, up from 20, but are limited to 20 dates. Harrington states, "It's a good deal. (But) it's hard to squeeze in. Not many schools are doing it. We're throwing it out there, trying to get a couple more. It's something new. We'll see how it goes."

College ball
Johannsen has always dreamed of playing at a big school, "I always loved (Wisconsin). I always wanted to go there. It's always been one of my top choices. Once they reached out to me, it was a pretty easy decision."

Schweich looks forward to what her role could be at St. Cloud State as one of several first-year pitchers coming in, "I'll be able to compete for a starting position right away. That'll be nice.

"When I come in as a freshman, we'll have a really heavy senior class. That'll be good to have a lot of leaders to look up to. But then once they leave, I can take a big leadership role too."

Both announced their commitments during their junior year. Johannsen says they will get a good transition to the college game, "We still have one more season of club. We're going to be facing D-I pitchers, D-I players all year. It'll still be hard going to play D-I. But I feel it will set me up pretty good."