Why Texas A&M Softball's Transfer Class Ranks No.7
The 2025 NCAA Tournament's No. 1 seed did not have the postseason outcome many predicted. The Aggies were stunned by Liberty at home in College Station, becoming the first top overall seed in DI softball history to fail to advance from its own regional.
Now, head coach Trisha Ford and her staff have rebuilt with a mix of veterans and young bats through the transfer portal in hopes of bouncing back from the devastation in 2026. The program’s grabs in the portal rank them No.7 in Softball America’s transfer class rankings.
Here’s a deep dive into the players who are joining College Station and what to expect in the coming season.
Transferring In:
- Tallen Edwards (OSU)
- Micaela Wark (OSU)
- Taylor Pannell (Missouri)
- Maya Bland (OU)
- Paislie Allen (Georgia)
Tallen Edwards
The three-year starter for OSU was a fan favorite in Stillwater, but will now bring her talents to Texas A&M and look to improve at the plate.
Edwards made quite a name for herself as a freshman. Hitting .328 and becoming one of the most difficult players in the Big 12 for opposing pitchers to strikeout, her breakout season was impactful on OSU’s advancement to the Women’s College World Series.
Though named a Freshman All-American, the utility has not topped a .300 batting average in her past two seasons.
She led the team with 31 runs scored and 27 walks in 2024 but ended the 2025 season with a .282 average over 55 games with 10 doubles, three home runs, and 18 RBIs.
Edwards made her college debut as the starting left fielder for the Cowgirls but shifted to third base during her sophomore season and became a Rawlings Gold Glove recipient.
Micaela Wark
Continuing to add to the offensive side, grabbing OSU’s exclusive designated player was the perfect move for Ford to add extra power to the Aggies' lineup.
Though she redshirted her freshman year at Kansas, she moved on to OSU and put up impressive numbers over her three-year Cowgirl career with 29 homers and 99 RBIs.
In 2024 and 2025, Wark played primarily as the designated player. She ended the 2025 season with a batting average of .241, 28 hits, and eight homers.
Her two WCWS experiences aside Edwards will add to Texas A&M’s drive for another postseason run in 2026.
Taylor Pannell
Just one season after matching the NCAA single-season saves record holder with 15 in 30 appearances, Pannell hit the transfer portal and is looking to take her craft to even higher heights.
In three seasons with the Tigers, she became one of the top closers in the nation. After a breakout freshman campaign recording six saves, she upped her game in 2024.
However, the primary closer jumped into a new role in 2025, frequently joining the starting rotation. Her ERA jumped from 1.21 to 3.33, and she saw an increased number of innings, going from 34.2 IP in 2024 to 73.2 IP in 2025. The junior struggled with home runs, allowing nine to leave the yard versus just one in 2024.
Maya Bland
Transferring to Texas A&M for hopefully more playing time, the incoming junior was primarily used under Patty Gasso as a pinch runner, but she had clutch moments at the plate when given the opportunity.
This season, she hit .250 over seven starts and 32 games, scoring 18 runs while homering three times. She didn’t make her first career start until February, but went on to hit her first career home run against Marshall in March.
Paislie Allen
In her debut season, Allen appeared in 41 games for Georgia, making 27 starts, 26 at second base and one at shortstop. She hit .246, with 16 hits over 65 at-bats, scoring 10 runs and raking in four doubles and one homer.
The summer before her collegiate career began in 2024, Allen competed with the U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Cup Group C Stage Event. While making three starts at shortstop and two in right field, her .417 batting average propelled the U.S. to punch its ticket to the 2025 WBSC World Cup Finals.
With three years of eligibility remaining and her bat just getting hot, she will be of huge help to the Aggies' lineup.
Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.
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