Softball America All-American Pitcher Enters Transfer Portal After Breakout Season

After earning its first NCAA Tournament win in program history, the Bruins’ best arm in the circle has entered the transfer portal. | Belmont Athletics

After earning its first NCAA Tournament win in program history but falling short in the final game of the elimination bracket to Virginia Tech, Belmont's best arm in the circle has entered the transfer portal. 

Maya Johnson, the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Pitcher of the Year, holds a career 1.63 ERA with 50 wins, a 1.77 opponent’s batting average, and 757 strikeouts in 458 1 innings of work across three years with Belmont. 

200 KS FOR MAYA JOHNSON‼️😎#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/j2vJOTtusi

— Belmont Softball (@BelmontSoftball) May 12, 2023

Johnson is no stranger to the transfer portal. Battling Lupus since she was a sophomore in high school, she initially committed to play at the University of Pittsburgh. Coming off an excellent high school and travel ball season, Pitt decided they wouldn’t clear her to play just days before arriving on campus. Never getting cleared, she was forced to redshirt her freshman year while she struggled with lupus and dealt with post-viral gastroparesis. 

Entering the portal for the first time, she was ready to head to Bowling Green with the Falcons, but coaching changes led to another bump in the road with another training staff refusing to clear her to play. 

Then she found Belmont, a place that welcomed her with open arms. Though she is undoubtedly performing at peak levels on the field, hopefully, entering the portal for the third time will not cause as much chaos as her journey to Belmont did. 

She will have one year of eligibility left.

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