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EDWARDSBURG — The 2025 Western Michigan University softball team will have a southwest Michigan flavor next spring.

Not only with the Broncos have Buchanan’ Hailee Kara listed on the roster, Western Michigan will also have Edwardsburg’s Caitlin Tighe playing for it.

Tighe, a senior for the Eddies, has signed her national letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career in Kalamazoo. Tighe plans on majoring in accounting with a minor in finance.

Tighe, who helped Edwardsburg to a co-Wolverine Conference championship in 2023, hit .390 with 17 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and drove in 44 runs to earn All-Wolverine Conference, and Division 2 All-District and All-Regional honors. She was honorable mention All-State.

Tighe, who played shortstop for the Eddies, knew immediately Western Michigan was the stop for her.

“When they say ‘you’ll know when you know?’ they weren’t lying,” she said. “I fell in love with the staff and the overall environment of Western, including the size, the students, and the campus. The opportunity to enroll early and play this spring provided a new challenge to me academically and athletically that I wanted to take on as well.”

Tighe, the daughter of Todd and Sarah Tighe, was being recruited by assistant Marlee Wilson, who then replaced former Dowagiac standout Kathy Leitke as the Broncos’ head coach.

“Western’s program really emphasizes team connection and bonding,” she said. “Coach Marlee Wilson continuously reached out even as an assistant coach, and still just as much now that she is the head coach. This showed me that the program is really in it for the players and truly care about you as a person.”

At the beginning of September, Tighe was contacted by numerous coaches about the potential of playing for them.

“I narrowed that list down to Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Purdue, Central Michigan, Toledo, Bradley and Pittsburgh,” she said. “Before making my decision I took official visits to Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Toledo and Central Michigan.”