With the portal window officially closed for undergraduates until December, players and coaches know who is available and who is moving on across the landscape of Division I softball. That has the remaining prospects on solid ground as they select their new landing spots. Two former Arizona Wildcats and a player who enrolled but never played at UA made those choices public over the weekend.
Former Arizona right fielder Kaiah Altmeyer and catcher/designated player Emily Schepp have either signed with or committed to other schools. Former commit Kate Vance is also committed elsewhere.
Altmeyer is on her way to join the defending national champion Texas Longhorns. The San Diego native originally committed to Texas A&M in high school but flipped to Arizona after the coaching change that brought Trisha Ford to College Station. UT announced her signing on June 20. One day later, Schepp announced that she is joining former Wildcat teammate Aissa Silva at ASU. Vance has noted her transfer to Utah State on her Instagram profile.
Altmeyer will be a big loss for the Wildcats, joining All-American left-fielder Dakota Kennedy on the way out of town. That leaves Arizona without two-thirds of its superb outfield.
Altmeyer didn’t knock the ball out of the park with any regularity, but she was able to get on base at an extremely high pace. That provided the power hitters in the Arizona lineup with a regular runner to drive in.
Her absence will leave Arizona with some holes in the outfield. While they still have star centerfielder Regan Shockey, the Wildcats are lacking the high-quality depth they typically have out there. Paige Dimler, the fourth outfielder over the past several seasons, graduated. They brought in two transfers whose trade is in the outfield, but all except Shockey are unproven.
Schepp showed some promise stepping into the starting catching role her freshman year when Olivia DiNardo was nursing an issue with her leg. She quickly lost that role with the introduction of Sydney Stewart, who was a star for Arizona last season. Emma Kavanagh didn’t have the freshman season she might have wanted, but she was a highly regarded catcher in high school. She has also been playing some first base for the Madison Night Mares in summer ball.
That pair should more than carry the catching position for Arizona, but Softball America indicates that the Wildcats are pursuing a third catcher. The outlet has the Wildcats as one of four programs that have offered former UConn catcher Grace Jenkins. The four-star prospect from Folsom, Calif. has also received offers from Washington, Ole Miss, and Florida Atlantic, according to SA.
ASU is as good a place as any for Schepp. She will reunite with Silva, whom she caught a lot two years ago. She will also reunite with former hitting coach Josh Blooomer, who was at Arizona her freshman year. The Sun Devils had just one returning catcher, so it was a position of need for them.
Vance will play for former Sun Cats travel team coach Todd Judge at USU. The infielder will have four years of eligibility.
The three players join three other former Wildcats who have new teams. That leaves outfielders Kennedy and Zaedi Tagalog, pitcher Sydney Somerndike, and infielder Logan Cole still available. Softball America projects Kennedy as an Arkansas commit.
In other Arizona recruiting news, former Florida outfielder/designated player Layla Lamar visited the Wildcats earlier in the month. Softball America now has Duke and South Carolina battling Arizona for her services. Lamar is the daughter of Blue Devils head coach Marissa Young.
Lead photo by Troy Hutchison