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Memphis Softball Signs Social Media Star, Pulls Offers From Multiple 2027 Commits

Memphis softball is shaking things up when it comes to recruiting ahead of Trena Prater's third season with the Tigers.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Trena Prater is shaking up her recruiting at Memphis via the transfer portal.
Trena Prater is shaking up her recruiting at Memphis via the transfer portal. | Memphis Athletics

Memphis softball is shaking things up when it comes to recruiting ahead of Trena Prater's third season with the Tigers.

Prater recently brought in three transfers, including a local social media sensation with more than a million followers on Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat combined.

Tatum Bittick was named the most-followed college softball player by Out2Win in March 2026. At the time, she had 850,000 followers. Now, she has about 1.1 million.

The Arlington, Tenn., native joins Memphis after spending her freshman year at Division II Henderson State. She started in 42 of 50 games played for the Reddies as a true freshman. She had a batting average of .263 with 31 hits, including four doubles and two home runs, while also leading Henderson State in sacrifice hits (10) and ranking second on the team in runs scored with 31.

Bittick was also a menace on the base paths, going 30-for-34 on stolen-base attempts and ranking in the top 50 at the Division II level.  

"It is great to add a homegrown Tiger to our roster," said Prater. "Tatum is a speedy outfielder that is not afraid to run through a wall or lay out for her pitchers. I was most attracted to her 30 stolen bases last season. She is going to help us terrorize other teams on the base paths this season."

Memphis has also added left-handed pitcher Cassiti Baroni and 2026 NJCAA Division II Third-Team All-American, Bree Urban.

Baroni spent her freshman season at Morehead State before playing the last two seasons at Campbell. With the Fighting Camels, she tossed a total of 56.1 innings, going 6-4 with a pair of saves and a 3.23 ERA.

Urban is a native of Omaha, Neb., and spent two seasons (2024-25) at Omaha, appearing in four games and utilizing a redshirt in 2024. From there, she ended up at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota for the 2026 season.

The infielder led her team in batting average (.525), hits (104), RBI, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage in her lone season. She recorded 38 extra-base hits with 22 doubles, which were tied for the 18th-most at the NJCAA DII level. Her er 15 home runs ranked 39th.

Memphis Softball Pulls Offers from Three 2027 Commits

On the heels of the NCAA changing its eligibility rules, Memphis reportedly withdrew offers from three commits from the class of 2027.

The Division I Cabinet unanimously passed new eligibility rules for NCAA Division I student-athletes on Tuesday, giving student-athletes five years to play five seasons if they enroll in college no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday.

The impact from the rule change is immediately impacting college softball.

Cassidy Ott, Kinley Patten and Isabell Gonzales all took to social media on Friday, discussing how the new 5-for-5 rule has impacted their futures.

"Well due to the new 5 year eligibility rule I have been involuntarily de-committed from the University of Memphis," Ott said. "My recruiting has been reopened and I’m looking for my new future home. "

"Well due to the new 5 year eligibility rule I have been involuntarily de-committed from the University of Memphis," Patten added. "My recruiting has been reopened and I'm looking for my new future home."

"Due to the 5-for-5 eligibility rule I have involuntarily de-committed from the University of Memphis," Gonzales stated. "My future path has reopened and I am looking for a new home!"

These three young women could be just the first of many 2027 commits to feel a direct impact from the new rule change.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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