USA Softball has announced the coaching staff selected to guide the U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team (WNT) at the 2026 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Women’s Pan American Championship.
Slated for November 21-28 in San Salvador, El Salvador, Kyla Holas will once again lead the U-18 WNT as head coach, joined by assistant coaches Alisa Goler (Texas State) and Tim Walton (Florida).
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Here are the bios of each of the trio of accomplished coaches who will lead this team next month:
Kyla Holas
A part of the Junior Women’s National Team program since 2019, Kyla Holas will return as head coach of the U-18 WNT in 2026. Holas previously led the U-18 squad to a gold medal finish at the 2025 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Finals, marking her third World Championship title as head coach, while also securing a record-setting fifth consecutive World Championship for the program. Under her leadership, the U-18 WNT has not lost a single game since 2021 and currently holds a 48-game winning streak at the World Championship level.
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Alisa Goler
Currently an assistant coach at Texas State University, Alisa Goler will return to the U-18 WNT coaching staff after spending the 2025 season with both the U-15 and U-18 squads. During the 2025 season, Goler helped lead the U-18 WNT to a gold medal at the U-18 World Cup Finals and the U-15 WNT to a bronze medal at the U-15 World Cup. Goler also spent the 2024 season with the U-18 WNT and served as an assistant coach for the WNT at the 2024 Japan All-Star Series. Outside of USA Softball, Goler has spent the past two seasons coaching in the AUSL, serving as head coach of the AUSL Blaze in 2025 and an assistant coach with the Texas Volts in 2026. She also served as head coach of the Western Illinois softball program from 2020-2026 and previously held assistant coaching positions at Penn State, Syracuse and Roosevelt University.
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Tim Walton
Tim Walton rejoins the U-18 WNT coaching staff following previous seasons with the Women’s National Team and Junior Women’s National Team. Most recently, Walton served as an assistant coach with the WNT at the WBSC Women’s World Cup, helping the team earn a silver medal. He also helped lead the WNT to gold medals at the 2022 Women’s World Championship and 2023 Pan American Games. Prior to his tenure with the WNT, Walton served as an assistant coach with the JWNT in 2015 and 2019. At the collegiate level, Walton enters his 22nd season at the helm of the Florida Gators softball program, where he has compiled a 1,082-267 (.802) record in 21 seasons. Overall, Walton owns a 1,205-331 (.785) record in 24 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
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Most recently, the U-18 WNT competed in the WBSC World Cup Finals where they earned the top spot on the podium with a perfect 6-0 record.
Six athletes from the 2025 Gold Medal squad are set to return to the international stage at the 2026 Pan Am Championship:
- Anabela Abdullah
- Aspen Boulware
- Brielle Gardiner
- Lilly “Goose” Goodwin
- Julianna “Goose” Hutchens
- Brooklyn Paratore
Here is the roster for the 2026 U-18 Women’s National Team:
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For more information on the U.S. Women’s National Team program, visit USASoftball.com.
