Arizona softball lost a few players after Caitlin Lowe’s first season, which is fairly typical for a new coach. Since then, it has been fairly stable as far as transfers when compared to other teams around the country. That won’t be the case this year, and it will keep pitching coach Christian Conrad on his toes.
The transfer portal opened Monday, and three Arizona pitchers have entered their names. Aissa Silva, Brooke Mannon, and Sydney Somerndike are all exploring options elsewhere. While the “embrace your role” philosophy was touted by the coaching staff and some of the pitchers, the roles for some of Arizona’s eight pitchers were very small. That apparently didn’t sit well with everyone.
Arizona pitchers Aissa Silva, Brooke Mannon, and Sydney Somerndike all entered the transfer portal on Tuesday.
A Wildcat bullpen that boasted 8 total arms to start 2025 also graduated three seniors and now has just two returners: Ryan Maddox (43.2 IP) and Sarah Wright (4.1 IP).
— Justin McLeod (@justfactsmaam) May 20, 2025
Silva grew up as a Wildcat fan, patterning herself on former Arizona greats Danielle O’Toole and Taylor McQuillin. She enrolled a season early when Arizona was in a pitching crunch. She had lived in the Sacramento area during her prep career but returned to Tucson to finish her last semester of high school and join the team for the 2023 season.
Thank you wildcat fans for making me always feel wanted as a wildcat! After much consideration I have decided to enter the transfer portal with my last year of eligibility. I am sad that this chapter has closed but am super excited for this new chapter and to find my home! pic.twitter.com/ILvMQzGX2O
— Aissa Silva (@Aissa2023) May 20, 2025
Silva made 23 appearances and had nine starts as a freshman, ending the season with a 4.80 ERA in 54 innings pitched. It was a tough season for the Wildcats, who saw their 35-year NCAA tournament run snapped, but Silva got some early experience alongside fellow freshman Somerndike.
Silva pitched more as a sophomore, forming the primary one-two punch with Miranda Stoddard while Devyn Netz sat out with an injury. Silva went 21-6 in 47 appearances with 19 starts. She had a 3.27 ERA and struck out 105 in 147.2 IP. The ERA was the best on the team in 2024.
This year, Silva saw her innings plummet to a career-low 26 while serving primarily as a lefty specialist. Lowe mentioned that her splits against lefties and righties showed that she was more effective against left-handed batters this year.
Silva ended her final season as a Wildcat with a 3.77 ERA. Her WHIP stayed fairly stable, going from 1.30 as a sophomore to 1.31 as a junior.
Silva gave up two doubles, two triples, and seven home runs against 117 batters this year. The number of extra-base hits was up slightly, giving up an extra-bases hit 8.9 percent of the time in 2024 compared to 9.4 percent of the time in 2025. She gave up 27 doubles, 3 triples, and 27 home runs against 626 batters in her second season.
She ends her career at Arizona with 30 starts in 72 appearances. She went 24-9 with a 3.65 ERA. She struck out 143 batters in 209 innings. Batters hit .255 against her.
Somerndike had some injury concerns as a freshman, but she got some experience in a limited 45.1 innings. She had 7 starts and 22 appearances. She ended with a 4-2 record and a 4.01 ERA. She gave up 23 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs, to 201 batters for an extra-base hit 11.4 percent of the time. She did not pitch at all as a sophomore when she was one of three Arizona pitchers out with injuries.
Somerndike only made two appearances this season, getting into games against UC Davis and Western Michigan. She pitched 0.2 ininngs and ended with a 21.00 ERA. She faced six batters, giving up one home run and walking two. She had one strikeout.
Over her career, Somerndike went 4-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 46 innings. She made seven starts and had 24 appearances. She faced 207 batters, striking out 40 of them (19.3 percent) and giving up an extra-base hit to 24 (11.6 percent).
Mannon gave Arizona a much-needed arm in 2024 when the Wildcats were without Netz, Somerndike, and Ryan Maddox. She made 11 starts in 25 appearances. She had a 5.18 ERA in 50 IP. Batters hit .261 against her in a tough Pac-12. Just a shade over nine percent of the batters she faced got an extra-base hit. She struck out 33 of the 231 batters she faced.
Mannon did not get as many opportunities this season. The Ohio native threw just 11.1 innings in seven appearances. She got four starts. She ended with a 1-0 record and a 3.71 ERA.
Mannon ran into an issue with walks in her limited turns in the circle. After walking 11.3 percent of the batters she faced as a freshman, she put 26 percent on via the base on balls this year. Her 1.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio plummeted to 0.6.
With three Arizona pitchers running out of eligiblity and three transferring out, Arizona will return just two from this year’s bullpen. Maddox and freshman Sarah Wright are currently the only returning pitchers on the roster.
The Wildcats will bring in Rylie Holder out of the Houston area in their freshman class. The right-hander had a great senior season, dramatically improving her numbers over her junior campaign.
After throwing just 69 innings as a junior, Holder threw 188 this year. She dropped her ERA from 1.52 to 0.71. By April 8, she had thrown two no-hitters and two perfect games—and hit a grand slam in one of the perfect games.
Holder struck out 271 and walked 26 while facing 710 batters as a senior. As a junior, she struck out 63 and walked 16 of the 281 batters she faced.
She was just chosen as an all-star on the Alliance Fastpitch circuit. Her 2025 stats in Alliance games can be found here.
Holder also plays first base, but Arizona will need her to be ready in the circle. Lowe and her staff will also need to make inroads in the portal, but both of those things were going to be true regardless of what happened with the Wildcats’ roster.