Eastern Greene Looking to Improve with New Coach

The 2026-27 Lady Thunderbirds season is set to start soon and it’s time to look back into last season to see what may come of this upcoming season.

Last season, Eastern went 7-14 in a season that was tough. The Lady T-birds had a stretch where they lost 6 straight starting in December, then went into a stretch of winning 4 of 5 against Shoals, Dugger, Mitchell, and Shakamak. 

This season, Nathan Martindale takes over in his first head coaching role. Martindale inherits a senior heavy ball club with Maddie Sylvester, Kaelyn Johnson, Grace Declared, Shelby Ferkingstad, and Laura Goodman. Additional pieces to this roster that are upper class man include Morgan Caswell, Eva Sciscoe, and Bre Hash.

Eastern opens with road matchups at Owen Valley and Brown County and then hosts South Knox for their home opener. 

Owen Valley the last 2 years have blown out the Thunderbirds and return their leader, Audrey Sparks. 

Brown County was a win last season for Eastern as they won by 11.The Eagles ended their season 3-22 last year.

South Knox will play their first game against Eastern. Last season, South Knox defeated Eastern Greene by 60, but lost in tournament play to North Knox in the Sectional Semifinal by 24, ending their season at 18-4. Several pieces for the Spartans return from last year’s team. Also, most of this team was a part of the state title team for the Spartans in 2025.

It will be a tough start for Eastern, but expect close to 500 basketball this season out of the Lady Thunderbirds. Their season will start on Tuesday at Owen Valley.