Western’s Bradshaw, McCarthy’s Ferrier are the Broward Softball Coaches of the Year
Western softball coach Johnny Bradshaw had seen the Wildcats reach the pinnacle before.
It took a few years of building, but this season, Bradshaw’s squad once again became a state champion.
Meanwhile at Archbishop McCarthy, coach Jeanne Ferrier’s teams had been a consistent playoff team but had not been able to break through to state.
That changed this season when one of the Mavericks’ deepest squads in years clinched its first trip to the final four.
For their efforts, Bradshaw and Ferrier are the Miami Herald’s Broward County Softball Coaches of the Year.
Bradshaw was an assistant coach under then-Western coach Jeffery Poole in 2018 the last time the Wildcats won a state championship.
Over the past three seasons, Bradshaw saw Western gradually take strides toward reaching that goal once again.
The Wildcats advanced to state in 2022, but were overmatched in the state semifinals that season. Last season, Western was eliminated in the Class 7A regional quarterfinals by eventual state champion Boca Raton Spanish River.
But this season, the Wildcats were not to be denied.
Western avenged that loss by beating Spanish River in the regional semifinals and moving on to beat Lake Worth Park Vista, Jupiter and Sanford Seminole to win the school’s second state title.
“It’s a special group,” Bradshaw said. “People don’t realize the hard work, day in and day out, that went into this. This takes a special group and they are a special group.”
Before this season, Archbishop McCarthy had never advanced past the regional semifinals.
Ferrier guided the Mavericks to a breakthrough season and their first trip to the Class 5A state semifinals.
McCarthy’s run ended in that round after a 5-2 loss to Gainesville in which several errors doomed the Mavericks. But thanks to the efforts of standouts Sienna Garcia, Chantale Guillou and others, McCarthy made school history. And with most of its roster returning, it could just be the start for the Mavericks.
“Sienna Garcia has really carried us this year,” Ferrier said. “She had to step up both at the plate and in the circle. She kept the ball down and threw well today. We started slow this season, but we thought we had the potential to get to state. I hope we can get back again next year.”
