BRYAN — The year was 2024. Bryan’s softball team had its best season in program history as the Golden Bears reached the state final for the first time ever.
While the Golden Bears finished runner-up to state champion Canfield, the program has never been on a higher stand in history, claiming the Northwest Ohio Athletic League crown outright and a regional title all for the first time during that season.
And a key factor in Bryan’s success that season and in recent years came from one of the main leaders on the mound in Thea Staten, where Staten said she never knew a time where she wasn’t on a softball field and always had a passion for the sport.
“My mom played college softball, and she coached a high school team when I was growing up so once I was born, I was there every single day,” Staten said. “I grew up around softball my whole life and I wasn’t really a pitcher, I liked third base a bit more.
“But then one time, I was frustrated because we were losing, and my grandpa told me, that if you’re a pitcher, then you’re in charge of the game and ever since then, that clicked and that’s why I love pitching because I can control the game.”
Staten’s profile couldn’t be more stacked with accomplishments and achievements which includes being a part of three district crown and two NWOAL title teams.
For the Golden Bears, she tallied a program-best 305 strikeouts in 2025 as a junior and had a record-setting ERA of .424. She blasted eight homers, recording 37 RBIs and totaled 83 bases — all school records — as a sophomore.
Her accolades even extend to 2023 where, as a freshman, she set a program-best 23 wins and a winning percentage of 92 (23-2) along with belting 11 doubles. She also racked up over 800 career strikeouts, 90 RBIs and 50 career wins.
“As a pitcher, I could control the game, I could make it fast, I could do what I want, but when you’re an infielder, you’re just kind of like sitting there waiting for the ball to get hit,” Staten said. “I’m involved with every pitch and I can control what’s going on.”
For the first three years she has been in high school, she has received the honor of being named to the All-Ohio first team and was tabbed the NWOAL player of the year as a junior and a sophomore along with being named an All-NWOAL first teamer her freshman year.
She also has decided to further her softball career into the college level, traveling out of state and signing to play at Division I North Carolina State University this fall and major in criminology.
But regardless of her accomplishments and achievements, Staten said she couldn’t have become the player she is today without the love and support from her parents, who helped her work on her passion for the sport.
“My parents had a huge role with this,” she said. “I’m fortunate enough that they have drove me all over the country and have spent so much in helping me become the player I am today. I play travel ball all over and I would go to two different pitching coaches, where I have one in Ypsilanti, Michigan and one in Bowling Green and they would drive me there twice a week on school nights before I could drive.”
On top of her travel ball outings, she also said she has a nutritionist and a personal trainer who help keep her fighting fit and further improve her abilities on the diamond as she said she throws every pitch but her favorite is the change-up.
“I have a nutritionist named Jeremy Phelps who works with the MLB and I have a personal trainer, coach Hicks, that does all my agility, recovery and all that,” Staten said. “Because its not just the pitching, its like how I’m taking care of myself which takes a lot of work, where after practices I go home and run, lift, pitch on my own. There’s a lot of stuff behind the scenes that people don’t see that happens.”
Hilary Staten, Thea’s softball coach and mother, has watched her daughter grow into the dominant leader on the mound.
“She looked up to the players I was coaching as a youngster and wanted to be them,” Hilary said. “She saw what they were doing, she saw the work they put in and she saw their dedication to the sport and she wanted to be that.
“And she was willing to put in the work. She has grown so much as a player, with everything from knowing her body to knowing what’s off about her pitches, how to fix it, self-criticism, how to talk herself through difficult situations, how to maintain composure and emotion at times where there’s high emotion, all of those things.”
Hilary Staten also said how while Thea spends a ton of her time working on her game, the payouts are worth it every time.
“While she sacrifices a lot of time and energy to train and improve her skills, the game gives back to her in meaningful ways,” Hilary Staten said. “On the field is where Thea truly thrives. It’s clear that the field is her safe haven — a place where she feels comfortable and confident. It’s also where she finds a true sense of fulfillment and happiness.”
Thea herself said she plays year-round softball to keep herself sharp and ready to play at any given time or date.
“With my younger travel ball days, I was out of Toledo, and then I started going out of Michigan, and then now my travel team is out of Illinois so in the summer and fall I play with them there,” Thea said. “ln the summer I go to California, Arizona, Colorado, Chicago and Missouri which are like the main tournaments.
“And then in the fall I go to like Tennessee, Georgia, California, Arizona and then I have practices in Chicago, so like the main seasons for travel ball with summer and fall because you can’t play spring ball and play high school ball in the same season. In the winter, we only have a few practices because the girls from the team are all over the country.”
With her final season in motion for the Golden Bears and establishing herself as a prolific athlete for the program, Thea hopes to inspire the youngsters to become pitchers while enjoying and loving the game as much as she does as well as working to reach their potential.
“I hope I inspire so many people to be pitchers because pitching is honestly so fun but it’s not for everyone,” Thea said. “Pitching is hard work and I don’t think a lot of people understand it so I give lessons to little girls and I teach them what I know so I can inspire people to love the game as much as I love it.”
Hilary Staten couldn’t be more proud of her daughter and believes that her decision to play at NC State was truly meant to be.
“I am so proud of her accomplishments and the determination she has shown in pursuing her softball goals and she has worked incredibly hard to turn her dreams into reality, and it’s been amazing to watch her journey,” she said. “I’m so excited to see Thea play Division I college softball—something she set her mind to at a very young age. I have no doubt that the NC State softball program will be the perfect fit—and absolutely worth the distance.”