With fall ball right around the corner, it's time to check in on some of the off-season moves and which players will be repping new threads this year.
Heavy hitters, dynamic defenders and slugging catchers characterized the top transfers in the 2025 offseason.
Check out below some of the biggest names that found new homes ahead of the 2026 softball season.
Jena Young (Iowa to Alabama)
The two-time All-Big Ten first-team infielder, Jena Young, arrives in Tuscaloosa with two years of eligibility remaining. Young started all 99 games across her two seasons as a Hawkeye, carrying a .444 batting average in conference play, which ranked her fifth in the Big Ten in 2025. The second baseman recorded 99 putouts and registered a .359 batting average in 56 hits with five triples, 10 doubles and 27 RBIs last season.
Go and get it @YoungJena!#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/TZMXOfSf7z
— Iowa Softball (@iowasoftball) March 23, 2025
She will likely fill in a gap for Alabama in its loss of the veteran graduate Kali Heivilin at second.
Young will be joined by another dynamic Tide transfer in Brooke Wells from Houston. The dual-threat pitcher and first baseman led the Cougars in nine categories, including her .341 batting average, 10 home runs and 47 RBIs while making nine appearances in the circle and recording 311 putouts.
Dakota Kennedy (Arizona to Arkansas)
The Razorbacks landed one of the biggest names in the portal in Dakota Kennedy.
The Sacramento, CA, native garnered NFCA All-American honors in the 2024 and 2025 seasons as a Wildcat with a career .399 batting average. Kennedy made a statement last season, slashing .444/.539/.670 numbers with a 1.228 OPS in 60 hits with 10 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 25 RBIs.
Arkansas gains a massive arm in left field from Kennedy, with a career .996 fielding percentage in 248 putouts from left field that earned her the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2024. The 2025 season marked her second consecutive year with a perfect fielding percentage.
A complete player and two-time NFCA All-American
— Arkansas Softball (@RazorbackSB) June 25, 2025
Welcome to Arkansas, Dakota Kennedy! 🐗 pic.twitter.com/XjQrDfuf2R
Grace Jenkins (UConn to Arizona)
Jenkins, a true utility player, arrives in Scottsdale after earning Big East Player of the Year honors in 2025.
She hit .424 in her player-of-the-year campaign, which also included breaking single-season records in six categories for the Huskies: 19 doubles, 21 home runs, 68 RBIs, 39 walks and 154 total bases. She also broke program records for career doubles (51) and RBIs (138) while maintaining a .484 on-base percentage in three seasons at UConn.
Behind the plate, the lefty boasts a .993 career fielding percentage in 721 chances. Arizona already has two veteran catchers on its roster entering the 2026 season, but in true utility fashion, she has experience in center as well.
Jenkins has one year of eligibility remaining as she joins the Wildcats.
CHECK OUT: The WCWS most outstanding players since 1982
Amari Harper (Texas A&M to Oregon)
Oregon landed a "Jane of all Trades" in Amari Harper.
The All-SEC second team honoree helped lead the Aggies to their No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA tournament in a career year, posting 11 doubles, eight home runs and 51 RBIs while rotating 22 games in right, 12 at first and nine at second over 51 starts.
The lefty slugger is known to be clutch in the game's biggest moments, hitting for power and slashing .421/.536/.698 last season.
Harper will have one year of eligibility with the Ducks.
Addisen Fisher (UCLA to Georgia)
Sophomore Addisen Fisher joins the Dawgs with quite the resume after just one season playing collegiate ball.
The All-Big Ten freshmen team honoree boasted a 2.59 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 113.2 innings and a 16-2 record in 32 appearances. The rookie opened her collegiate career with a shiny 16-0 record, tying Amanda Freed (1999) for the best start by a freshman in program history.
The righty already has two complete game shutouts under her belt from the 2025 season, one featuring a no-hitter against Howard and the other against No. 5 Oregon. Her nasty drop-ball and command in the circle is what sets her apart.
Hailing from Bend, OR, Fisher's name landed on the NFCA Freshman of the Year top 10 list as well as D1Softball's freshmen All-American team. Georgia has three years of eligibility to use out of this massive off-season pickup.
Top 10 recognition for @AddisenFisher! 👏🐠
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) May 9, 2025
#GoBruins | 📝: https://t.co/NNUwtxq5yc pic.twitter.com/kOBdAktcTg
The Dawgs' strategic moves in the offseason filled in gaps, including four other major additions like All-Big 12 infielder Bailey Lindemuth and Coastal Carolina standout Keirstin Roose.
Emilee Boyer (West Texas A&M to Ole Miss)
Ole Miss' historic run in the 2025 NCAA tournament to clinch the program's first-ever Women's College World Series appearance had the country watching. And the NFCA Division II National Player of the Year took note.
Emilee Boyer is a true dual-threat player. In her three years before Ole Miss, Boyer boasted 54 career home runs and 197 RBIs. On the mound, she holds a 69-10 record with a 2.39 ERA in 454.2 innings pitched.
Her 2025 NFCA Division II National Player of the Year campaign included a .467 average with 22 home runs and 90 RBIs in 64 games.
She joins the Rebels with one season of eligibility remaining.
Jasmyn Burns (Ohio State to Texas Tech)
Texas Tech's pickup in superstar NiJaree Canady in 2024 landed them in the spotlight and into the finals of the 2025 Women's College World Series. Once again, the Red Raiders made MOVES in the offseason, welcoming in four of the top-10 players in the portal (ranked by On3) to secure the No. 1-ranked transfer class in 2025, according to Softball America.
Texas Tech is just stacked with talent headed into 2026 after a heartbreaking end to their season in the WCWS finals. Jasymn Burns is a name that will no doubt help the Red Raiders revamp and reload.
The NFCA First Team All-American catcher registered a .455 batting average with 25 home runs and 72 RBIs just last season. Insane numbers!
👉 Click or tap to see the all-time DI softball home run leaders here.
Burns' 25 bombs not only shattered a Buckeye program record but also the single-season Big Ten record, understandably earning her All-Big Ten first team honors.
This was the moment Jasmyn Burns broke the @OhioStateSB single-season RBI record 👀
— Big Ten Softball (@B1Gsoftball) April 20, 2025
Oh yeah... and it was a GRAND SLAM against rival Michigan 🔥#B1GSoftball pic.twitter.com/uDnu7ZPTnB
Head coach Gerry Glasco focused on adding depth in his third season at the helm of the program.
Burns joins Texas Tech with some of the biggest names in the portal, loaded with tools: Tennessee's All-SEC slugger Taylor Pannell, Florida's Mia Williams and her 19 home runs in 2025 and UCLA's 2024 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Kaitlyn Terry and her career 12 shutouts on the mound. They just couldn't go unnamed.
Sophia Knight & Makenzie Butt (Boise State to Tennessee)
Tennessee landed some power in the portal in Boise State's Sophia Knight and Mackenzie Butt.
The All-Mountain West first-team honoree in back-to-back seasons owns some BIG numbers: Knight's a career .455 hitter with 16 doubles, seven triples, and 114 runs scored in 188 hits with 45 stolen bases over two seasons. Last year, she became the first player in the NCAA to achieve 100 hits in one season since 2002.
She was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2024 and is joined by her teammate, Mackenzie Butt in the move from Boise to Knoxville. Following in Knight's footsteps in more ways than one, Butt also garnered Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors in 2025 after knocking 22 home runs and 77 RBIs.
Butt stands as the seventh freshman in NCAA history with at least 20 home runs and 75 RBIs, setting Mustang program records in those categories. She ranked fourth overall in the NCAA in RBIs per game last season while owning a perfect fielding percentage in 384 chances at first.
Tallen Edwards (Oklahoma State to Texas A&M)
After leading Oklahoma State in back-to-back Women's College World Series appearances in 2023 and 2024, Tallen Edwards is taking her talent to College Station with her teammate Micaela Wark.
The Aggies land a dynamic utility player in Edwards, earning the Cowgirls program's first-ever Rawlings Gold Glove award in 2025. She ended the season with a .973 fielding percentage at third, earning her a spot on the Big-12 All-Defensive Team. She'll have some competition at third, however, with veteran Kennedy Powell returning in the Aggie lineup.
The Frisco native returns home for her senior year with Texas A&M.
Sydney Berzon (LSU to Oklahoma)
Two Sooners with key arms in the circle graduated after the 2025 season in Sam Landry and Isabella Smith.
How'd they fix it?
They picked up a veteran right hander with key SEC experience and one of the top-ranked prospects in the offseason. Sydney Berzon joins the Sooners as a two-time NFCA All-American boasting a career 2.02 ERA with 52 wins and 416 strikeouts.
The decorated hurler finished her 2025 junior season with an 18-8 record, a 2.46 ERA and 104 strikeouts across 30 appearances. This past season marked the first time Berzon's ERA reached above the 2.0 threshold, posting 1.78 (204 IP) and 1.91 (143 IP) marks in her freshmen and sophomore year campaigns, respectfully.
Her experience as a Tiger against the nation's top competition in the SEC will prove to be a major gain for Oklahoma in her one season of eligibility left.
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Madison Walker (Missouri to Florida)
Junior Madison Walker brings power and SEC experience to the Florida Gators, a team hoping to return to the Women's College World Series for a third consecutive year.
Walker blasted 18 home runs last year, landing her at third in the SEC in that mark.
She's versatile, rotating between third, first and DH for the Tigers in 98 games across two seasons, proving herself as a weapon on the diamond and at the plate. She'll have two years of eligibility with the Gators.
