Many people see success in various ways.
For some, success is being nothing short of elite or one of, if not the, greatest at a certain task.
For others, success is simply being happy and content with one’s family and faith.
And for others still, success could lie between a combination of the two.
For much of her life, Maddie Entler played softball because she loved the sport. The Notre Dame graduate became quite good at it, to the point where she was the leadoff hitter and a central figure on what will forever be the Titans’ very first state championship softball team, as well as its first-ever girls sponsored team to win a state title in any sport.
Entler’s ability resulted in an opportunity to play softball at NCAA Division II Charleston (W. Va.), where she contributed to a program that won 47 games and was the Mountain East Conference Tournament Runner-Up as well as the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Runner-Up. She played in 42 games and started 31 contests with highly respectable stats throughout her freshman campaign.
Ultimately, however, Entler made the decision not to pursue softball further following her freshman season, a decision that isn’t uncommon by students who are, at the end of the day, using sports as a vehicle for a greater purpose in life, such as obtaining a degree in a field typically outside of sports.
But while Entler may have walked away from the sport competitively — one that she has played since she was six and one where she’s excelled at competitively, Entler still accomplished a feat that only seven percent of aspiring high school kids ever do by playing in college.
Perhaps more importantly than that, however, is the ethos that Entler gained through her journey.
And that, by itself, makes Entler a success.
“Playing softball throughout my childhood taught me so many valuable lessons, including discipline, time management and resilience that have helped me in countless ways on my journey throughout adulthood,” Entler said. “Most of all, it helped me build unbreakable friendships with people I would’ve never known without it.”
Entler, who played travel ball beginning at nine years of age, competed at a high level as many aspiring softball players do in the sport.
While always showcasing a level of humility that stood out from the outset, Entler knew that there was a real possibility of playing the sport of softball in college during her freshman season of high school.
She was quite good at playing it. So too, were her high school teammates.
During Entler’s first three seasons of softball at Notre Dame, the Titans finished with a combined record of 66-12 and trips to the OHSAA Division IV Regional Finals in each of her first three seasons in a Notre Dame uniform.
Included in that timespan was an absolute blitzing of its district opposition during each of those three seasons, as the Lady Titans outscored their district foes by a score of 111-3 in district competition en route to OHSAA District Championships in each of her first three seasons with Notre Dame at the high school level.
Entler also helped lead the Lady Titans to 10-0 mercy rule victories over Danville and Mechanicsburg as well as a 7-3 triumph over Newark Catholic over those three seasons in regional semifinal play.
“Notre Dame easily holds many of my best memories,” Entler said. “Playing there allowed me to play freely. Conversations always flowed easily at practices and at games. I always find myself looking back and being grateful that I had an experience like that. (Notre Dame head coach Shad) Ford had a very strong belief in me and my teammates. This made it easy for us to play stress-free. I was very blessed to have a coach who cared so much for each and every one of his players.”
In each season, Notre Dame had state championship caliber talent — but waiting for them on the other side was a stout Strasburg-Franklin team that was in the middle of one of its greatest runs in program history, ultimately winning three state championships in a row in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to join the 1987 through 1989 groups in doing so.
Falling 13-2 to the 2022 squad in the OHSAA Division IV, Region 15 Championship Game, Notre Dame cut those losing margins to just 8-4 in 2023 and 6-3 in 2024.
Now a senior, Entler made sure that the script for 2025 would be written differently.
Notre Dame ultimately started the 2025 season out like gangbusters, winning each of its first 14 games and winning all but one of its SOC I contests by mercy rule. The Lady Titans’ only losses all season came to nationally ranked and OHSAA Division IV State Champion Springfield Kenton Ridge — in the new seven-class system — Greenup County in a scant 4-3 setback against Providence commit Josey Kegley, and Hillsboro (3-1), the latter of which Notre Dame beat 4-2 earlier in the season.
Notre Dame ultimately won 13 contests by way of mercy rule in 2025, and scored impressive victories over Valley (19-0), Vinton County (23-2), Circleville (12-2), Wellston (6-3), Lebanon (4-3), Logan Elm (2-0), Jackson (3-1), Boyd County, Ky. (10-6), Ashland, Ky. (15-1), Winfield, W. Va. (5-3) and Raceland, Ky. twice (5-4 and 6-2) as part of a regular season where the Lady Titans went 21-3 overall. Ashland, whom Notre Dame mercy ruled, went 30-7 and won the 2025 16th Region Championship en route to its own state tournament appearance in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) ranks.
As was the case during its past district runs, the 2025 OHSAA Division VII Southeast District Tournament resulted in another fantastic showing for Notre Dame, who outscored its opposition 38-0 to win another district championship. Entler went 4-for-8 with a home run, two walks, an RBI and three runs scored during the district tournament.
While Strasburg-Franklin wasn’t a factor in the 2025 proceedings, both Conotton Valley and Symmes Valley were. The Rockets, in fact, were ranked as the No. 1 team in the final Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association (OHSFSCA) State Poll, while the Vikings were tied for second with Notre Dame in that same poll.
But neither team could handle Entler.
In both games, the humble but mighty right fielder ignited the Lady Titans’ offense, hitting .714 (5-for-7) with an RBI and two runs scored. Notre Dame scored two runs in the opening inning and got a complete game three-hitter from Ava Rush to knock off Conotton Valley by a 3-1 count in the OHSAA Division VII Regional Semifinals, then blew away Symmes Valley by scoring in every inning it came up to bat while getting a complete game five-hitter with 11 strikeouts from Rush to win the program’s first-ever OHSAA Division VII Regional Championship.
Heading to the center stage of Ohio High School Softball — Akron’s Firestone Stadium — for the first time in program history, Entler seized the opportunity while helping Notre Dame capitalize on the biggest stage.
In the very first at-bat of the state tournament, Entler singled to left field, and then proceeded to draw three walks en route to helping the Lady Titans turn the lineup over five times as Notre Dame cruised to a 9-2 victory over Covington, scoring each of the game’s final six runs in doing so.
The state final against No. 8-ranked Monroeville proved to be even more of a shellacking.
Just like the state semifinal, Entler reached via base hit in the contest’s first at-bat, tripling to right field to kick start an inning where the Lady Titans scored three runs before an out was recorded — and five overall in the opening inning. Notre Dame ultimately jumped out to a 6-0 lead through two innings of work and never looked back en route to its first-ever OHSAA Division VII State Championship with a 9-1 win over Monroeville.
Entler ultimately went 3-for-6 with a triple, three walks, two RBI and three runs scored from her leadoff position, helping Notre Dame as it reached the pinnacle of Ohio High School softball for the first time.
“Being on a team where winning was the standard taught me the amount of grit and effort it really takes to be successful,” Entler said. “I wish that everyone could feel how it felt to win a state championship. I’m so grateful to have ended my high school career like that because it made every hard moment worth it. Now, when I think about high school softball, I’m overwhelmed by amazing memories.”
Entler’s humble confidence, speed and ability to play either corner outfield position in high school led to an opportunity to play at NCAA Division II Charleston, who had just won 51 games and was coming off of a NCAA Division II World Series appearance in 2024.
In her freshman season, Entler fought her way into the starting lineup by late March after beginning the year earning the occasional at-bat. She finished her freshman season with 42 games played and 31 starts, which put Entler ninth and 11th on Charleston’s roster, respectively, in those categories.
Through a trying freshman year that saw Entler bounce in and out of the lineup despite hitting a respectable .280 with a home run and 17 RBI in her first season in the program, the encouragement of her fellow college teammates became a safe space.
“Honestly, I struggled a lot my freshman year trying to find that same confidence that I had during high school,” Entler said. “The one thing that helped me the most were my teammates. Even when I felt inferior or like I didn’t belong, they were there for me. This allowed me to finally gain some of that confidence back, and be able to contribute to the team’s success on the field.”
Entler ultimately chose to walk away from the sport, but did so on a high note having led Notre Dame to 28 wins and its first-ever state championship as a senior in high school, while contributing heavily to a 47-16 overall record for Charleston as a true freshman.
A biomedical science major presently with plans to enter physician’s assistant (PA) school and work at a dermatology practice, the message of using sports as a vehicle for life beyond the ballfield is one that has certainly been well received by Entler. Her advice is to keep the game one pursues as what it is meant to be.
“Never let softball become more than a sport,” Entler said. “Play loose, play free, and allow yourself to forget about everything else.”