A year ago, Glacier catcher Emma Smith was a second-team all-Northwest A pick for the Polson Lady Pirates, who were runners up to Frenchtown at the state tournament.  

A couple months after that, she decided to take it up a level. 

“The environment in Polson wasn’t very giving to what I needed as a player,” was how Smith put it. At any rate, while playing on the U18 Emeralds alongside Glacier’s Olivia Gibbons and Karley Allen, the thought occurred that the Wolfpack might be a good fit.

 “I talked to my parents and we started all the paperwork,” she said. “My parents were really on board. My mom moved up here and dad stayed; he owns a business in Polson.” 

Now she’s in another state tournament: The State AA, which begins today at Fort Missoula.  

Gary Evans, first-year head coach of the defending State AA champion Wolfpack, has had a lot on his plate since being named Abby Snipes’ successor: practice schedules, etc. One of his many concerns was who was going to be the backstop in 2026. 

“We’d come off having one of the better catchers in the state, in my opinion, in Cazz Rankosky,” Evans said. “You think, ‘How the heck do we replace that?’ But Emma has come in and done nicely. And we have a good pitching staff. That’s not always easy.” 

The Wolfpack are 17-3 and own a 10-game winning streak; they also won their first seven games, with a mini-skid against Belgrade, Billings West and Missoula Sentinel. 

“After that we’ve just kind of been on a high and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon,” Smith said. 

All three aforementioned teams are at the State AA tournament along with Glacier. The Wolfpack’s first game is today at 2 p.m. against Great Falls C.M. Russell, a team they beat 8-3 on May 12. 

In a lineup of seven players with a .300 average or better, Smith (.348) is hitting fifth for the Pack. She may not have displayed the thump of Olivia Warriner and Ava Grady – they've combined for 11 home runs – but she’s driven in 18 runs.  

Smith’s softball career won’t end this weekend: She’s signed to play at Williston (N.D.) State, along with Columbia Falls’ Kylie Gjesdal-Davis and CMR’s Mylie Adams. They’re going to room together. The Tetons play a fair distance from the Flathead Valley, but Smith made a 50-mile move just fine. What’s another 564? 

“It's worked out well,” Evans said. “We have a young team and there’s a majority in that young team that’s accepting of all ball players. But the leaders like Karley Allen and Olivia Warriner, just to name a couple, are good at letting people blend in. 

“If you show up and work hard and have the same goals, want to win, it’s great.” 

“It was definitely hard at first,” Smith said. “Those were the only two girls I knew. But as soon as the season started I of course clicked with all the girls. It’s been a great way to make new friends.”