If the last few transfer seasons have been relatively quiet for Arizona softball, this year is turning out to be anything but. Four more players have entered the transfer portal according to Softball America and D1 Softball, although only three of them appeared in any games at Arizona.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Ryan Maddox, sophomore catcher Emily Schepp, and sophomore outfielder Zaedi Tagalog all entered the portal on May 21. The trio all played for Arizona this season. Freshman Kate Vance entered the portal on May 19. She signed with Arizona and enrolled but did not appear in any games during fall ball or the regular season.
Maddox was injured during her true freshman season and came back this season. She pitched 43.2 innings, which ranked fourth on the team behind the 44.2 thrown by senior Saya Swain. She ended with a 4.49 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, and .273 BAA, all of which ranked sixth on the team. She made 20 appearances (4th) and seven starts (3rd).
Maddox becomes the fourth Arizona pitcher to choose to transfer. Sophomores Sydney Somerndike and Brooke Mannon joined junior Aissa Silva in putting their names in on May 20. With the three top pitchers all exhausting their eligibility, that leaves Arizona with only freshman Sarah Wright returning next year. Wright pitched just 4.2 innings this season.
Schepp was Arizona’s primary catcher as a freshman, taking over for Olivia DiNardo, who moved to designated player. This year, it was Schepp who was supplanted by a newcomer.
Junior transfer Sydney Stewart became a star for Arizona behind the plate and in the batter’s box. When combined with two pitchers who were among Arizona’s best hitters, that left few at-bats for players like Schepp or senior outfielder Paige Dimler. Like DiNardo before her, Schepp is opting to transfer after her second season in Tucson.
Schepp got four appearances at catcher this season, but most of her playing time came as the designated player or a pinch hitter. A year after making 49 appearances and 46 starts, she made just 22 starts in 44 appearances.
Despite her limited time, Schepp had almost as many home runs this year (5) as she did as a freshman (7). However, her other hitting stats took a turn for the worse, which often happens for pinch hitters.
Schepp’s average dropped from .294 to .244, her slugging percentage went from .497 to .449, and her on-base percentage fell from .329 to .259. Her strikeouts stayed level, going from 11 to 10, despite having 65 fewer at-bats.
Schepp got more at-bats towards the end of the season when head coach Caitlin Lowe began putting her name on the lineup card at designated player while having second basemen Logan Cole and Kiki Escobar forego hitting. However, she got just one at-bat in 23 of her 44 appearances, including the final game of the season when Dimler pinch hit for her.
Schepp’s departure leaves Arizona with two returning catchers, Stewart and freshman Emma Kavanagh. Kavanagh didn’t play much this year, but she was the 2024 NFCA High School Catcher of the Year as a senior last year and was named an All-American all four years at the prep level. The Wildcats also add incoming freshman Kezia Lucas, whose positions are listed as third base, shortstop, and catcher.
Tagalog was a late addition to the class that signed in November 2022. She appeared almost exclusively as a pinch runner during her two years at Arizona, scoring nine runs as a freshman and 15 as a sophomore. Tagalog had three pinch hits during that time.
Vance signed with Arizona in November 2023 and was in Tucson for school in the fall of 2024. She didn’t appear in fall scrimmages and was gone by the time the season rolled around. The only comment Lowe made about her was that she was no longer with the team but was still enrolled in school at Arizona. Vance could have entered the portal last December and played elsewhere this year, but opted to sit the season out.
The departures of Maddox, Schepp, Tagalog, and Vance bring Arizona’s total portal losses to seven. The team also lost four seniors.
The Wildcats signed a class of four in November, putting the current 2026 roster at 16. Arizona typically doesn’t carry over 20 players. This year’s roster of 22 was larger than it has been in recent seasons. Last season, the Wildcats had 21, but four sat out with injuries for most or all of the year. In 2023, the roster consisted of just 17. In 2022, there were 18 Wildcats.
Arizona’s biggest need from the portal is pitching, but that was likely always going to be the case. The Wildcats’ top three pitchers all exhausted their eligibility. They could also use a middle infielder and an outfielder for depth purposes.
Lead photo by Ryan Kelapire