Why All-American Char Lorenz Picked LSU Softball After Entering the Transfer Portal

Char Lorenz sent shockwaves throughout the softball world when she chose to enter the transfer portal after an All-American redshirt-freshman season at Louisville.

But a successful individual season wasn't enough for the outfielder.

The reason behind Lorenz transferring isn't so simple. She wants to win but in the postseason.

“I gave up my summer and a lot of other things that normal kids would do if they weren’t playing this sport,” Lorenz told Dave Melton of the Chicago Tribune. “So I wanted to see if there was an option for me to make a postseason run and make an impact on a team that could do that.”

When Louisville was eliminated in the first round of the ACC Tournament, transferring crossed Lorenz's mind, but she needed to have a conversation with her family to be sure of the decision.

Lorenz was convinced after the conversation. She had the support of her family, and once she entered, the response was overwhelming.

“It was a lot more than I ever thought it was going to be,” she said. “It was hard to navigate, and I was really struggling with it. But I knew what I wanted in a school: a competitive program, a competitive environment, coaches who were going to push me, and to be in the postseason to make a postseason run.”

No. 53 !!!@char_lorenz has set the single-season freshman record for RBI 😤

📺 https://t.co/tr10fN6Z4A #GoCards pic.twitter.com/hqV9z7auE5
— Louisville Softball (@LouisvilleSB) May 3, 2025

Throughout the transfer portal recruiting process, one name kept popping up. Former Louisville assistant Bryce Neal was familiar with Lorenz and thought she would be a great fit at LSU, where he is currently working.

“There were a few components of her game that stood out, like her positional versatility, her high contact rate, and her line drive rate, along with her ability to hit the rise ball because the SEC is a rise ball-dominant league,” Neal said to Melton.

Lorenz led Louisville in almost every offensive statistical category, and now, she's ready to take her game to the SEC.

“I loved Louisville, loved everything about it,” she said. “But you only get to be in college once, and I’m excited to see what new experiences are going to be there for me at LSU.”