Softball America Announces Preseason Utility Rankings

Here are 10 of the most versatile players heading into the 2026 season.

Mya Perez | Texas A&M Athletics

Softball America continued to roll out preseason position rankings on Friday. Using advanced metrics from 64Analytics, along with the eye test and strength of schedule, utility player rankings have been released.

Check out the best utility players heading into the 2026 season. For the full list, visit Softball America. 

Top 10 Utility Players

1. Ella Parker, Oklahoma 
2. Megan Grant, UCLA
3. Mya Perez, Texas A&M
4. Katie Stewart, Texas 
5. Grace Jenkins, Arizona
6. Lauren Putz, Michigan 
7. Amari Harper, Oregon 
8. Sarah Gordon, Georgia 
9. Desirae Spearman, Texas Tech 
10. Brooke Klosowicz, Penn State 

Ella Parker, Oklahoma 

The NFCA First Team All-American primarily played as the Sooners’ designated player but also made a few starts in the field at the beginning of the season. At the plate, she hit .423 with 51 runs, 74 hits, 19 doubles, 15 home runs, 53 RBIs, 36 walks, and a .798 slugging percentage. In the last 10 games of the season, Parker hit .457 with five home runs. She finished her sophomore season on an eight-game hitting streak. 

Megan Grant, UCLA

Grant was named an NFCA First Team All-American and was a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist in her junior season. She played 67 games and made 47 starts at first base, 12 in right field, and six as designated hitter.  In all 65 starts, she was dominant in the cleanup spot of the lineup. She recorded a .376 batting average, a .540 on-base percentage, and a .933 slugging percentage. With 26 home runs, 12 doubles, 81 RBIs, and 46 runs scored, she led the team in homers, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and walks. 

Additionally, she set the Big Ten single-season record for home runs, and her totals are ranked in the top 10 of multiple UCLA single-season records. 

All-American trio 🇺🇸

Congrats to @jordanwooleryy, @ChefMeganCookin and @TaylorTinsley7 on being named Preseason First Team All-Americans by @SoftbalAmerica!#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/idFeSX9Byd

— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) January 13, 2026

Mya Perez, Texas A&M

In her breakout sophomore season, Perez earned All-America Second Team honors, NFCA All-Region Second Team honors, and All-SEC First Team accolades. She went down in the Texas A&M history books after she broke a 43-year old program single-season record with 73 RBIs, while her .424 batting average was third best in school history. Against ranked opponents, she hit .400 with seven home runs, six doubles, and a slugging percentage of .760 while producing 28 RBIs and 15 runs. 

Katie Stewart, Texas 

The national champion saw a lot of field action in 2025, but went on to record several career-bests at the plate with a .381 batting average and a .711 slugging percentage, a .455 on-base percentage, and recorded 75 hits, 54 runs, 17 home runs, 80 RBIs, and 140 total bases. Stewart ranked second on the team in home runs, RBIs, and total bases, all while putting up a 1.166 OPS. On the field, she logged a .958 fielding percentage with 142 putouts and a career-high 41 assists. 

All-American Longhorns🤘🇺🇸#HookEm pic.twitter.com/c90kECNZBd

— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) January 13, 2026

Grace Jenkins, Arizona

Before transferring to Arizona, the Big East Player of the Year posted the second-highest batting average in a single season in UConn program history, hitting .424. Jenkins broke six single-season program records, including doubles (19), home runs (21), RBIs (68), runs scored (65), walks (39), and total bases (154). She went on to lead the team with 19 multi-RBIs games, three multi-home run games, and finished her time at UConn with a 32-game on-base streak. 

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