Texas Softball Lands Former Texas Tech Pitcher From Transfer Portal

The Texas Longhorns have now fully turned their attention to the 2027 season as they start to build out their roster for a chance at a historic three-peat after a few key departures from their championship-winning squad in 2026.

The college softball transfer portal has now been open for a week, and some players have already found new programs for next season. And the Longhorns themselves have already gotten in on the action, adding one of the top players available in the transfer portal.

And the Longhorns have not stopped their momentum in the transfer portal as they go back in and land one of the top available pitchers.

Texas Adds Promising Arm to Pitching Staff

Texas Longhorns head coach Mike White looks on in the second inning against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

On Monday night, Softball America's Brady Vernon reported the Longhorns will be adding a new arm to their pitching staff in Texas Tech transfer left-handed pitcher Samantha Lincoln.

Samantha Lincoln is joining the Texas bullpen https://t.co/xtlhf5aaxU pic.twitter.com/bmmn0PdUXv
— Brady (@BradyVernon) June 16, 2026

With the addition of Lincoln, the Longhorns bring in one of the top players remaining in the transfer portal as the lefty ranked as the No. 32 overall player in the portal per Softball America's transfer portal rankings and also ranked as the No. 13 pitcher available.

Lincoln found some playtime in a crowded Texas Tech pitching staff as a sophomore, which featured two of the best pitchers in the country in NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry, who consumed the majority of the innings for the Red Raiders.

The lefty made 25 appearances and made 12 starts in the circle for the Red Raiders as she ended the season with a 7-0 record. In Lincoln's 74.2 innings pitched, the sophomore held a 3.47 ERA, to go along with 67 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .240.

The Longhorns and Lincoln aren't strangers, as the Texas batting lineup faced its newest teammate in game one of the championship series against the Red Raiders. Lincoln would come in as relief and tossed a solid 3.1 innings of work, surrendering four hits, two earned runs, while picking up a lone strikeout.

The addition of Lincoln comes at a crucial time as the Longhorns' pitching staff is set to lose two players from the 2026 team, as Citlaly Gutierrez wrapped up her senior year, and sophomore Cambria Salmon heads to the transfer portal.

The Longhorns still have their ace in Teagan Kavan as she heads into her senior season, but bringing in Lincoln gives Texas an experienced arm that can become a trusted No. 2 pitcher over the season, and a pitcher who has shown flashes over her last two seasons with the Red Raiders.

The Longhorns 2027 pitching staff keeps taking shape with returners Hannah Wells, who showed promise as a freshman, and Brenlee Gonzales, who, like Lincoln, transferred from Texas Tech to Texas, through Gonzales did so ahead of this past season, and one of the top high school prospects in the country, freshman Madi Doty.

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