With the exit of Medina and the introduction of Riverside, things will be a little different in the Greater Cleveland Conference in 2026. The one thing that will remain the same is that Brunswick will be the team to beat. The Blue Devils are strong favorites as junior Ellie and sophomore Emma Gonzalez-Ribble continue their development and rely on senior Rylee Roth and sophomore Brianna Behrend to fill in the team score. Brunswick is strong at the top and their depth will indicate how far they are able to go in the postseason. Their top competitor may be league newbie Painesville Riverside. The Beavers are still a very new girls golf program and now will be in a new conference for the 2026 season. Riverside has a trio of seniors who have established themselves as great ambassadors for the program in Sydney Barker, Kaylee Naymik, and Kaylee Kirk. Add in sophomore Morliana Victor and Riverside should run out a quality lineup. Strongsville is a team looking to return to prominence. Senior Kanishka Badri will be the moving force in the Mustangs’ lineup and their results will depend on how much the supporting cast improves. Under new head coach, Mark Chicone, the Mentor Cardinals are ready to take another step toward moving up in the conference. Shaker Heights will round out the conference and also look to be improved from their 2025 campaign.

Impact Players

Kanishka Badri (SR) Strongsville
Sydney Barker (SR) Riverside
Bri Behrend (SO) Brunswick
Joy Daher (SR) Strongsville
Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble (JR) Brunswick
Emma Gonzalez-Ribble (SO) Brunswick
Clara Kaim (SR) Mentor
Kaylee Kirk (SR) Riverside
Kaylee Naymik (SR) Riverside
Addie Prude (SR) Shaker Heights
Rylee Roth (SR) Brunswick
Morliana Victor (SO) Riverside
Lily Walker (SR) Mentor

Freshmen to Watch

Cali Chopra (Shaker Heights)
Alaiah Howard (Shaker Heights)
Sophia Purves (Riverside)
Kendall Saywell (Riverside)
Addison Wish (Brunswick)

Brunswick Blue Devils

Head Coach- Chad Thompson
Last Year’s Results- 3rd at The Elms Sectional, 8th at Tanglewood District, 1st in all 4 GCC Tournaments, Ellie Gonzalez Ribble 8th at State
Coach’s Comments- Brunswick is looking to build off of the best season our school has ever had moving into 2026. Our girls won their first conference championship last season and are excited about having the opportunity to try to repeat as conference champions. Past that, we feel like our team has a great chance to make it to state as a group for the first time. That is our number one goal heading into 2026. Players to watch are Rylee Roth and Ellie and Emma Gonzalez-Ribble.

Mentor Cardinals

Head Coach- Mark Chicone
Last Year’s Results- 14th at Old Avalon Sectional, 4th in the GCC, Lily Walker- All Conference
Coach’s Comments- The girls have been and will play a lot of golf this summer. We want to be a much improved golf team and program this coming season.

Riverside Beavers

Head Coach- Logan Frank
Last Year’s Results- 8th at Old Avalon Sectional, Conference Champions (13-1 Record), 1st Place out of 9 teams at the Beaver Invitational
Coach’s Comments- The biggest change for our program this season is moving into a new conference. We’ll be transitioning from playing mostly 9-hole matches to competing in 18-hole tournaments, which will challenge our players. We’re excited to embrace that challenge and see how our team grows throughout the season. Having seven returning players gives us a strong foundation, and we’re looking forward to competing both as a team and as individuals. We believe this season will be a great opportunity to continue developing and measuring ourselves against strong competition.

Shaker Heights Raiders

Head Coach- Joe Welsch
Last Year’s Results- DNS at Fox Den Sectional, 3-6 in matches
Coach’s Comments- We have grown from 4 players in our program to 14 in 5 years! We are committed to learning the game while continuing to improve the golf program at Shaker Heights.

Strongsville Mustangs

Head Coach- Kevin Weir
Last Year’s Results- 9th at Big Met Sectional, Kanishka Badri qualified for districts