Alabama Softball Picks Up Experienced Catcher Out of Transfer Portal

Alabama softball has found its experienced catcher in the transfer portal.

Former Iowa State catcher Karlee Ford announced her commitment to the Crimson Tide on social media Friday afternoon.

Found my herd 🐘🌊@AlabamaSB pic.twitter.com/U4DWTGJwyi
— Karlee Ford (@KarleeFord2) June 12, 2026

"Found my herd," Ford said in a post on X.

Ford hit .345 with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs at Iowa State last season. During her freshman year, she was third on the team with 10 doubles despite not becoming a starter until midway through the season. Ford earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors in 2025 and was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team in 2026. She will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Crimson Tide.

On the defensive side, Ford had a .983 fielding percentage and a 42% caught stealing percentage. She split time between catcher and designated player for the Cyclones first 25 games before starting the rest only at catcher, with 55 total starts on the season.

Alabama has two catchers on the roster already: sophomore Holly Beth Brooks and incoming freshman Torynn Slaughter. The freshman is very talented and one of the top players in the class of 2026, but the Tide still needed some experience behind the plate after losing captain Marlie Giles and Alexis Pupillo to graduation, and Ford provides that collegiate experience. Either Giles or Pupillo started every game at catcher for Alabama last season with Brooks only appearing in 11 games.

While she is not from Iowa, Ford is now another player in the Alabama program with Iowa connections (where head coach Patrick Murphy is from.) This marks the fourth straight offseason that the Tide has gotten a player from the portal with ties to Iowa starting with Kendal Clark in 2023 (Des Moines Area Community College), Alexis Pupillo in 2024 (Northern Iowa), Jena Young in 2025 (Iowa) and Ford this year.

Murphy and his staff have been hard at work since Alabama's season ended in the semifinals of the Women's College World Series. Ford is now the third offseason roster pickup for the Crimson Tide joining former Tennessee pitcher Kailey Plumlee and the 2026 NJCAA Player of the Year in outfielder Noelani Livingstone. The college softball transfer portal will remain open until June 22.

As of Friday, there have not been any Crimson Tide players announce their intent to enter the portal. You can keep up with any offseason roster movement for the Crimson Tide on the BamaCentral offseason roster tracker.

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