Top 10 Softball Stories of the Year: #1… The Transfer Portal Greatly Impacts College Rosters

We wrap up our list of the Top 10 Softball Stories of 2023 with the top story of the year. Tomorrow, we’ll recap the Top 10 one last time, as well as note others that were also considered for the list.

To compile this Top 10 list, we considered what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year and which news headlines or feature story or human interest spotlights pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball caught our attention.

Here are the previous articles we published over the last week-plus…

Previous Top 10 Softball Stories of 2023

• #10… Addisen Fisher, Why She’s No. 1 in the 2024 Class & A Future UCLA Bruin Star
• #9… Alexia Carrasquillo, Youngest Softball Commit Ever, Preaches “Knows Your Own Worth”
• #8… The Human Experiences (The Painful, Inspirational & Unusual)
• #7… Pro Softball, Post-College Opps For Players Primarily Through Two Professional Leagues
• #6… Club Coach James Lamar Battles Health Trials With Support of Family & Softball Community
• #5… Head Coach Mike Stith Continues His Winning Ways
• #4… Two-Time National Champion Jordy Bahl Goes Home to Nebraska
• #3… The Oklahoma Sooners Dynasty (Three Titles In A Row & Counting)
  
• #2… NIL Deals Continue in College, Enter High School & Travel Ball Spaces

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Top 10 Softball Stories of the Year: #1… The Transfer Portal Greatly Impacts College Rosters

It’s a whole new ballgame… at least when it comes to college team rosters.

The transfer portal is not a new topic—it was in the Top 10 Softball Stories of 2022—and it continues to be like free agency in pro sports where rosters are consistently being redone.

Back in the day, college teams would build their program with high school recruits and, sometimes, through junior college transfers.

Now, collegiate players can transfer with little difficulties and the numbers attest to it. In the Transfer Portal there are over 1,200 players who have switched schools over the last year and this includes some of the top players and softball programs in the game.

One of our Top 10 Softball Stories of 2023 was the transfer of Oklahoma All-American pitcher Jordy Bahl to Nebraska which led to the Cornhuskers having the No. 1 Ranked Transfer Portal Class this year (see story below).

Bahl joined other two standouts going to Nebraska with teams such as South Carolina and Ole Miss inking five transfers with others such as Oklahoma and Alabama signing four.

Finally, if you look only at the number of transfers (and of stories we did covering them), you will see the impact that transfers and the transfer portal have head.

— Brentt Eads

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Originally published Sept. 6, 2023

Nebraska Tops Extra Inning Softball Transfer Portal Impact Classes

Student-athletes across the country are returning to campus and will soon set their focus on softball in preparation for the 2024 season.

Freshmen will be learning the balance between academics and athletics, while returning players will be putting in the work that they hope will ultimately result in a championship season.

Another group of student-athletes also will be making their way to school and that is players who have arrived via the transfer portal. This group has the task of integrating themselves into a new environment with new teammates and coaches with the hope of making an immediate impact in their new surroundings.

Extra Inning Softball breaks down the transfer portal classes and ranks them according to the impact they could have in the 2024 season.

1. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Head coach Rhonda Revelle secured the gem of the transfer portal when former Oklahoma pitcher Jordy Bahl elected to return to her home state and finish her career with the Huskers. Bahl immediately makes Nebraska a serious postseason threat and the Cornhuskers could make their first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2013 behind the arm and bat of the two-time All-American selection. Revelle also added Peyton Cody (St. John’s) and Bella Bacon (Purdue) from the portal.

2. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks had already secured a top-five transfer portal class before Alana Vawter (Stanford, pictured below) elected to travel across the country to join the South Carolina program, but with her addition this becomes an elite group. Vawter gives South Carolina an ace in the circle who should have no trouble adjusting to life in the Southeastern Conference after playing for four seasons in the Pac-12. Head coach Beverly Smith also brings Kianna Jones (North Carolina), Denver Bryant (Auburn), Kiki Estrada (Arkansas) and Bre Warren (Texas A&M) to Columbia.

3. Arkansas Razorbacks

Razorback head coach Courtney Deifel continues to reap rewards from the transfer portal as she welcomes four players to Arkansas for the 2024 season. Bri Ellis (Auburn) and Nia Carter (Iowa) will add firepower to the Arkansas lineup, while Reis Beuerlein (Mississippi State) and Morgan Leinstock (Southern Mississippi) will be important additions in the circle. While Ellis has garnered much of the attention, do not sleep on how much of an impact Carter will have on this team.

4. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso may have just been a casual observer in the portal this offseason with the bulk of the 2023 national championship team returning in 2024. But when Jordy Bahl, Sophia Nugent and Jocelyn Erickson departed, she reacted by enticing All-American pitcher Kelly Maxwell (Oklahoma State) to swap sides in Bedlam as the cornerstone of her incoming class. Karlie Keeney (Liberty) and Paytn Monticelli (Wisconsin) join Maxwell as members of a loaded pitching staff, while Riley Ludlam (Furman) will provide the Sooners with another solid bat in an already dangerous lineup.

5. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss head coach Jamie Trachsel’s work in the transfer portal has yielded positive results previously and there was no change this year as she welcomes five players to Oxford. Big South Player of the Year Jaden Pone (Longwood) brings a big bat and plenty of speed to the Rebels lineup, while Courtney Day (Texas) played on a Texas team that advanced to the championship series of the WCWS in 2022 and a Super Regionals in 2023. Ryan Starr (Syracuse) and Delaney Rummell (Illinois) will help to solidify the Ole Miss infield and Brianna Lopez (Hawai’i) is an excellent addition in the circle.

6. Louisiana Rajin’ Cajuns

After compiling a 50-16 record and advancing to the Super Regionals last season, Louisiana head coach Gerry Glasco hardly stood still. He dove into the transfer portal and secured four pieces that will greatly aid in the Rajin’ Cajuns quest to win their fifth consecutive Sun Belt title. A pair of Florida transfers headline the group as pitcher Lexie Delbrey and catcher Sam Roe join the fold, while two-way player Denali Loecker (Iowa) and infielder Brooke Ellestad (St. Thomas) round out the quartet.

7. Alabama Crimson Tide

Crimson Tide head coach Patrick Murphy knew he had some work to do with the graduation of Montana Fouts and Ally Shipman and the departure of Aubrey Barnhart who entered the transfer portal. And get to work he did as he brought in a class that features pitchers Kayla Beaver (Central Arkansas) and Alea Johnson (LSU) as well as Riley Valentine (Texas A&M) and Kinely Pate (Samford) to bolster the lineup.

8. Stanford Cardinal

I can hear it already. How can adding one player justify being ranked? If that player is Taryn Kern (Indiana, pictured below) I can make the case that her impact upon the Cardinal program will be significant. In four games at the Women’s College World Series last year Stanford allowed just six runs yet went 2-2 because they only scored five runs. After earning Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year honors last season, Kern will be making her way to The Farm and bringing her 23 homers, 68 RBIs and a .404 batting average with her.

9. North Carolina Tar Heels

First-year head coach Megan Smith Lyon wasted little time in bolstering her new team in Chapel Hill and she didn’t have far to look for her additions. Catcher Autumn Owen and outfielder Alex Coleman joined Smith Lyon making the transition from Marshall to North Carolina. Owen earned All-American honors last season after hitting .444 with 19 home runs and 71 RBIs, while Coleman hit .427 and ranked fifth nationally with 79 hits. Smith Lyon then dipped into the SEC to bring Georgia pitcher Britton Rogers to UNC.

10. Oklahoma State Cowgirls

While this class may not jump out at you, we have learned through the years that Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski has a record of bringing the right players to Stillwater. Players that impact his program and have helped OSU reach the WCWS four consecutive times. The player that does jump out at you is two-time Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Caroline Hudson (Liberty, pictured below). The catcher led the ASUN with 15 homers and 51 RBIs last year and helped lead Liberty to an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Infielder Macy Graf (Mississippi State) and utility player Jil Poullard (McNeese) also will be wearing Cowgirl orange this season.

Also in the discussion: Tennessee Volunteers, Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Texas A&M Aggies, Florida Gators, Houston Cougars, Washington Huskies

Here are some of the many other articles featuring transfers and/or transfer news:

• Kaila Pollard Announces Transfer to Oregon (Roger McAfee, Dec. 2023)
• Nebraska Tops Extra Inning Softball Transfer Portal Impact Classes (Roger McAfee, Sept. 2023)
• College Transfer News: P/IF Miranda Stoddard Makes Move to Arizona from Kentucky (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• A Look at the Oklahoma Sooners Complete Roster With Signings, Returnees & Four New Transfers for 2024 (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• Missouri Tigers Announce Signing of Infielder Adi Koller From Texas (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• College News: Texas Longhorns Adds Coach & Player, A Transfer From Notre Dame (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• Transfer News: The Houston Cougars—Preparing to Enter Big 12—Load Up With 9 Incoming Players (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• Transfer News: UCLA Announces the Signings of Pitcher Jada Cecil (UC San Diego) and Outfield Jadelyn Allchin (Washington) (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• Georgia Bulldogs Add Three Incoming Transfers to 2024 Roster (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• Breaking News: College Source Says All-American Pitcher Kelly Maxwell Headed to Oklahoma (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• Transfer News: All-American Alana Vawter & Canadian National Team Member Kiana Jones Join South Carolina Gamecocks (Brentt Eads, Aug. 2023)
• Paytn Monticelli Transferring to Oklahoma (Justin Mcleod, July 2023)
• Alexis Laudenslager Transferring to Notre Dame (Justin Mcleod, July 2023)
• South Carolina Adds Trio of SEC Transfers (Justin Mcleod, July 2023)
• Jocelyn Erickson Transferring to Florida (Justin Mcleod, July 2023)
• Karlie Keeney Transferring to Oklahoma (Justin Mcleod, July 2023)
• Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Erickson Enters Transfer Portal (Justin Mcleod, June 2023)
• All-American Kelly Maxwell Expected to Enter Transfer Portal (Justin Mcleod, June 2023)
• Inside Pitch: Kassidy Krupit – Who Played at Baylor & South Carolina Before Finishing at Charlotte – Talks Transfer Portal (Brentt Eads, June 2023)
• Transfer News: Oklahoma State Picks Up Incoming Sophomore Macy Graf from Mississippi State (Brentt Eads, June 2023)
• Indiana All-American Taryn Kern Enters Transfer Portal (Justin Mcleod, June 2023)
• Auburn Slugger Bri Ellis Enters Transfer Portal (Justin Mcleod, May 2023)
• More Than 200 College Softball Players Enter Transfer Portal on Monday (Justin Mcleod, May 2023)
• Michigan State Pitcher Ashley Miller Enters Transfer Portal (Justin Mcleod, May 2023)
• One Player’s Perspective on the Transfer Portal and Changing College Softball Programs (Justin Mcleod, Jan. 2023)
• Inside the Transfer Portal: 2022 By the Numbers (Justin Mcleod, Jan. 2023)

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