The 2026 UCF Knights Softball Transfer Portal Tracker

Following a historic run to the NCAA Super Regionals, the UCF Knights softball team is assembling its 2027 squad for the follow-up.

This article breaks down all the program's offseason transfer portal activity, covering every addition and departure and, when applicable, poses a question or two about what they could mean for the team’s future.

Incoming Transfers
Outgoing Transfers
Position-by-Position Breakdown
Biggest Winners
Questions Still Remaining

Incoming Transfers

Name	Position	Years of Eligibility Remaining	Previous School	2025 Stats
Kayla Christensen	Infielder	2	Georgia Southern	Named an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention as a 2B. Slashed .324/.407/.400 with 3 triples.
Anyssa Wild	Infielder	2	Arizona	Played in 21 games, starting 7. Went 9-27 at plate with 7 RBIs.
Hailey Nutter	Pitcher	3	Kentucky	Started 13 of her 23 appearances. 7-4 record, 4.50 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 68 SOs.

Note: Wild's season ended prematurely due to a broken forearm, according to her Arizona Athletics profile page.

Position Group	# of Additions	% of P4 Transfers
Infielder	2	50%
Pitcher	1	100%

Outgoing Transfers

Name	Position	Years of eligibility remaining	2025 Stats	Destination
Kendall Yarnell	Utility	2	Slashed .344/.446/.747. Hit 15 HRs, 46 RBIs and 4 triples	Arkansas
Yessenia Lopez	Pitcher	3	Pitched 5 innings across 4 games.	Florida Atlantic
Kendall Trimm	Infielder	3	Played in 20 games, starting 4. Went 8-26 at plate.	?
Destiny Washington	Outfielder	2	Played in 31 games, starting in 8. Went 11-35 at plate	?

By the Numbers

Position Group	# in Transfer Portal	% of Group in Portal
Utility	1	50%
Pitcher	1	11.1%
Infielder	1	16.7%

Position-by-Position Breakdown

Infielder

Two of the Knights' trio of transfer additions are infielders as they try to replace graduating shortstop Aubrey Evans and first baseman Ashleigh Griffin.

Former Arizona infielder Anyssa Wild made six starts at designated player and one at first base in 2026, putting her as a likely candidate to succeed Griffin, barring another player making a position change or one of the Knights' true freshman utility players, Layla Bennett and Sammi Rychter, making a push for the spot.

Former Georgia Southern infielder Kayla Christensen, meanwhile, was an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention at second base, making her a likely candidate for regular playing time in 2027. The only question still remaining (which is elaborated on in a later section) is which position she is going to play: remaining at second base or shifting to shortstop?

Outfielder

The Knights did not make any moves to acquire outfielders in the transfer portal. In fact, they lost one in Destiny Washington. This is because all three of their core outfielders from 2026 are returning in 2027: Izzy Mertes in left field, Samantha Rey in center field and Zoe Calvez in right field.

Mertes and Rey can play infield as well, though. So, should they shift there or play designated player in 2027, the Knights still have options like a returning Hildie Dempsey or theheroes of their Regional Final against Florida State, Taylor Kittleman and Kalista Birkenstock, they can turn to.

Pitcher

Of the five UCF pitchers that went more than 40 innings last season, four of them are returning in 2027, including Dempsey, who would also be returning from injury.

Former Kentucky pitcher Hailey Nutter adds another experienced arm to a bullpen that showed some depth concerns after Dempsey’s season ended. Whether she serves in a starting role, a relief role, or a combination of both remains to be seen. Such a decision is likely going to be influenced by the development of rising sophomores Tori Payne and Ava Stuewe after their performances this past postseason, as well as by one of their fellow rising sophomores, Reagan Vokoun. There is also a new true freshman entering the fray as well in Maitland native McKenna Hawley.

Biggest Winners

Isabella Vega: With the Knights’ addition of Hailey Nutter, Vega has another added to a pitching group that can provide her with some potential respite from being the primary pitcher in 2027. While her status as an ace means she was going to pitch a lot of innings anyway, she was still in the circle for more innings than Stuewe, Payne and Elkins were combined.

So, with another experienced pitcher arriving from the transfer portal, a returning Hildie Dempsey and the potential for Stuewe and Payne to build off their postseason success, Vega may not have to shoulder as many innings as she's had to in the past.

The Outfield: (See outfield section in position-by-position breakdown)

Questions Still Remaining

Who is the Knights' next shortstop?

With the graduation of two-time All-Big 12 Second Teamer Aubrey Evans, a new player is set to take over at shortstop in 2027. However, the infielders that the Knights have acquired from the transfer portal did not play shortstop in 2026. Anyssa Wild, from Arizona, is a designated player and first baseman, more likely to take over at first base from Ashleigh Griffin, while Kayla Christensen, from Georgia Southern, is an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention as a second baseman.

Christensen could be the one to make the shift to shortstop, though returners 2025 third baseman Sierra Humphreys and second baseman Coco Jaimes are no strangers to switching positions, swapping their roles in 2026. Should head coach Cindy Ball-Malone want to keep Humphreys and Jaimes where they are, then the most likely contender that could prevent Christensen from being the next shortstop is true freshman Alexys Busch.

Busch, hailing from Fresno, California, hit for a .468 average in her high school senior season, according to her UCF Athletics profile page. A true freshman starting in the infield is not an unprecedented move for Ball-Malone, which she did for both Humphreys and Jaimes. So, if Busch impresses in practice, she too could be in the running for innings at shortstop.

Can the pitching rotation weather injuries and maintain quality depth?

While the Knights are getting most of their main pitchers back in 2027, Hildie Dempsey’s injury early last season proved how fragile their pitching depth could be. After the injury, they struggled to find a No. 2 arm behind ace Isabella Vega. Ava Stuewe, who ended up finishing the season with the second-most innings pitched, finished with a 3.67 ERA, while Tori Payne did not have her breakout moment until the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.

With former Kentucky pitcher Hailey Nutter and freshman McKenna Hawley entering the fray, these two pitchers provide two more opportunities for coach Ball-Malone to build a stable of arms that is more than just its ace.

Check out more UCF transfer portal trackers below:

The 2026 UCF Knights Transfer Portal Tracker

The 2026-27 UCF Knights Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker

The 2026 UCF Knights Olympic Sports Transfer Portal Tracker

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