ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Athletics at Turpin High School are held to a higher standard than many schools. This can be seen with the numerous footballs posted all over the broadcast booth at the Cardinals’ field with state championships and runner-ups for that program.

Turpin has achieved success in other programs over the years, but the school’s softball program is relatively new, with less than two decades on the diamond for the Lady Cardinals.

Thus far in its short history, Turpin softball has achieved little success, but this past season, the program took a significant leap forward with its first winning season and its first ever All-State player.

Jada McGowan came to Turpin her sophomore year and recently finished her senior season with the Lady Cardinals. She has played under the guidance of a couple of coaches, the most recent of whom, Tyler Karr, known as TK to his players, led the program to its first winning season in 2025. It was under Karr when McGowan said Turpin softball definitely took off.

With the Lady Cardinals’ success, McGowan said 2025 was one of her best seasons at the plate and in the field, where she played shortstop and third base. Her play caught the notice of those at the state level, and recently, she was named Turpin’s first All-State player in softball as well as an All-Region player.

McGowan said her love of softball runs in the family.

“My mom played softball when she was growing up,” she said. “It’s actually a big sport in my family on the girls side.”

As a child, McGowan said her mother put her in a random tryout in Kansas City, and she ended up loving the game.

“I played a year of travel ball, which was super fun,” she said. “We were actually really good. I didn’t play for a couple years until I moved back to Oklahoma. I got back with it and have stuck with it ever since.”

McGowan’s career in softball started in Kansas City, and from there, she played two years in Forgan, Okla., a town not far from Turpin, before she came to play for the Lady Cardinals.

“I moved to Forgan for a year or two and then came to Turpin,” she said.

McGowan said she was actually in class when she heard the news about her being named to the All-State team.

“My coach pulled me out, and he told me about the All-Region, and he told me it was possible I might get All-State,” she said. “There was a flyer posted, and my mom told me. I didn’t know how to feel about it because my senior year didn’t end how I wanted it to.”

McGowan said she put in a lot of hard work this year on the diamond, and she feels it paid off with both a winning season for Turpin and the All-State honor for her.

“I had a lot of coaches who helped me like my travel ball coach,” she said. “I had a hitting coach. He was a really big part of everything.”

Though she was naturally excited about the honor, McGowan said she initially did not understand the significance of being the first Lady Cardinal to get it.

“I was like this is just another award, but then I started thinking, wait this is kind of really big if you think about it,” she said.

Playing for Turpin, McGowan said, was super fun, and she believes the Lady Cardinals were stocked with softball talent this past season.

Overall, McGowan said it felt good being named All-State.

“It’s definitely something I think about a lot because I do miss high school softball a lot, but it feels really good to know all my hard work paid off,” she said.

Although she did not realize she was the first Lady Cardinal to be named All-State, McGowan said it did feel pretty good to be recognized for her talents.

“I’m glad I got to be in the program,” she said.

McGowan likewise feels Turpin softball is on the rise and may become more well known at the Panhandle school as it meets the already high standards of Cardinal athletics.

“They should be pretty good this year as well,” she said.

As for the Turpin community, McGowan said everyone in the small town has been quite supportive of her accomplishment.

“Everybody here is so nice,” she said. “All of them congratulated me. They were all super sweet about it.”

As for her future plans, McGowan plans to continue her softball career this year at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Okla. McGowan said the Lady Cardinals team is definitely on the rise, and even more success could be achieved soon on the diamond.

“I think Turpin can really be super great at softball in the next couple years,” she said. “They have tons of younger girls who have a lot of talent, and they can really bring Turpin to some state tournaments.”

Contributing to the success for the 2026 Lady Cardinals, McGowan said, are many returning seniors, as well as a few underclassmen and transfers from other schools.

“They should be really good, and we have some upcoming eighth graders who are really solid,” she said.