{"id":369373,"date":"2026-07-11T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/369373\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:00:22","slug":"softball-adds-seven-transfers-to-2027-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/369373\/","title":{"rendered":"Softball Adds Seven Transfers to 2027 Roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

DENTON \u2013\u00a0UNT softball signed seven players from the transfer portal to the 2026-27 roster, head coach Cody White<\/a> announced on Friday.
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\nThe seven-player portal class features Preslee Downing<\/a> (Oklahoma State), Haley Gardella<\/a> (Cameron), Jentrie Gibson<\/a> (Seminole State), Ari Maxwell<\/a> (Abilene Christian), Taryn Newton<\/a> (Liberty), Maggie Place<\/a> (Grand Canyon) and Nevaeh Watkins<\/a> (Missouri).
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\n“This transfer class checks every box we set out to address this in this cycle,” White said. “We prioritized our pitching depth and brought in some really talented arms. We also searched and found dynamic and versatile pieces to add to our lineup that will impact winning immediately. Most importantly, every player we added is a quality human being that will fit the culture we’re building here at UNT. We’re excited to get them to Denton and continue raising the standard for Mean Green softball.”
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\nIncluding right-handed pitcher Riley Mays<\/a> (Grayson College), who signed with the Mean Green during the winter transfer portal window in January, UNT added a total of five transfer pitchers, three outfielders and one utility player in Gardella.
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\nThe eight total transfer signees will join eight returning letter winners and five freshmen to bring the roster to 21 players ahead of the 2026-27 season.
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\nAdditional information on each of the seven signees can be found below:
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\nPreslee Downing<\/a> | P\/UT | 2nd Year | 5-5 | Oklahoma State | Owasso, Okla. (Owasso HS)
\nPlayed one season at Oklahoma State (2026) \u2026 Finished with a 5-1 record over 19 appearances including 12 starts in the circle \u2026 Tallied 22 strikeouts and a 4.48 ERA over 40 2\/3 innings pitched with the Cowgirls \u2026 Recorded three complete games including one solo shutout and one combined shutout as a freshman \u2026 Tossed a five inning complete game shutout with three strikeouts in her collegiate debut versus San Jose State on Feb. 6, 2026 \u2026 Established career high of four strikeouts over a five inning complete game against Kansas City on Feb. 19, 2026 \u2026 Struck out four over four shutout innings with no walks in a combined shutout over Brown on Feb. 21, 2026 \u2026 Spun a six inning complete game victory with three strikeouts against Southeast Missouri State on Feb. 27, 2026 \u2026 Collected a win as she gave up one unearned run over 3 2\/3 innings pitched on two hits and zero walks at Baylor on April 25, 2026 \u2026 Threw two scoreless innings versus No. 24 Arizona State in the semifinal of the Big 12 Tournament on May 8, 2026 \u2026 Recorded the final two outs in the circle at No. 1 Nebraska in the NCAA Super Regionals on May 22, 2026 \u2026 Played for the Sarasota Circus of the Florida Gulf Coast League (FGCL) in the summer of 2026 \u2026 Named FGCL All-Star selection for Team Sun \u2026 Flipped her college commitment from Stephen F. Austin to OSU \u2026 Four-year letter winner at Owasso High School, graduating in 2025 \u2026 Ranked as the No. 14 overall recruit in the 2025 Extra Elite 100 by Extra Innings Softball \u2026 Named the 2025 Tulsa World All-World Player of the Year after guiding the Rams to the 6A state championship as a senior \u2026\u00a0 Posted a 24-3 record in the circle in 2025 with a 1.10 ERA and 261 strikeouts over 162 1\/3 innings pitched \u2026 Helped Owasso claim four consecutive regional titles \u2026 Finished prep career with a 76-9 record, 1.11 ERA and 705 strikeouts \u2026 Named First Team Large East All-State and All-Region selection as a senior \u2026 Three-time district pitcher of the year award winner \u2026 Threw a perfect game in the 2023 Regional Championship \u2026 Earned an honorable mention selection for District 6A-4 as a sophomore in 2022 \u2026 Played travel ball for Oklahoma Athletics and head coach Brian Madden \u2026 Brother, Chris Goodman, played football at Central Oklahoma (2025).
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\nHaley Gardella<\/a> | UT | 3rd Year | 5-7 | Cameron | Royse City, Texas (Royse City HS)
\nPlayed two seasons at Cameron University (2025-26) \u2026 Named NFCA Division II Second Team All-Region in 2026 \u2026 Two-time First Team All-Lone Star Conference (LSC) selection at designated player \u2026 Named to the LSC All-Freshman Team at catcher\/third base in 2025 \u2026 Appeared in 104 games including 103 starts in two seasons with the Aggies \u2026 Posted a .394 batting average with 127 hits, including 58 for extra bases \u2026 Tallied 31 home runs, 27 doubles for 247 total bases and a .767 slugging percentage \u2026 Recorded 106 RBI and scored 66 runs over her first two years \u2026 Collected 50 walks and seven hit-by-pitches for a .484 on-base percentage \u2026 Finished tied for seventh in Division II with 19 home runs in 2026 \u2026 Ranked 23rd in slugging percentage (.802), 24th in total bases (138) and 28th in RBI (61) across DII in her second season \u2026 Posted second career multi-homer game with two along with five RBI versus Augustana on Feb. 1, 2026 \u2026 Collected four hits including two home runs and six RBI against Northwestern Oklahoma on Feb. 11, 2026 \u2026 Scored three runs on three hits with three RBI and a home run against Midwestern State on Feb. 27, 2026 \u2026 Tallied fourth career two-home run performance versus UT Permian Basin on March 14, 2026 \u2026 Matched career-high mark of three runs scored at Western New Mexico on March 20, 2026 \u2026 Drew career high four walks against UT Dallas on April 29, 2026 \u2026 Registered her first career hit with a three-run home run in her collegiate debut against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 7, 2025 \u2026 Finished 3-for-3 with six RBI and first career grand slam versus Midwestern State on Feb. 24, 2025 \u2026 Dropped two home runs with three RBI at Western New Mexico on March 2, 2025 \u2026 Listed on the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times \u2026 Graduated from Cameron with a Bachelor of Science in Sports and Exercise Science in May 2026 \u2026 Signed with Harding University in November 2023, never appeared for the Bisons \u2026 Four-year letter winner at Royse City High School, graduating in 2024 \u2026 Helped the Bulldogs to the 5A Region 2 Semifinals as a sophomore \u2026 Four-time all-district selection with first team nods in 2022 and 2024, second team in 2021 and 2023 \u2026 Listed as an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete and to the District 10-6A All-Academic team as a senior \u2026 Two-time Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association (THSWPA) state champion \u2026 Played travel ball for Texas Blaze \u2026 Named to the 2024 Alliance Fastpitch All-Star Game Watch List.
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\nJentrie Gibson<\/a> | OF | 3rd Year | 5-8 | Seminole State | Chandler, Okla. (Davenport HS)
\nPlayed two seasons at Seminole State (2025-26) \u2026 Named NJCAA First Team All-Region selection as a sophomore \u2026 Appeared in 99 games for the Trojans, primarily in center field \u2026 Posted a .344 career batting average with 85 hits \u2026 Recorded 69 runs scored, 36 RBI and 35 stolen bases \u2026 Swatted 13 extra-base hits, including three home runs, for a .425 slugging percentage \u2026 Made her collegiate debut in game one versus Cowley County Community College on Feb. 5, 2025, before scoring her first career run in game two \u2026 Posted her first career hit with a single against Western Oklahoma State College on Feb. 8, 2025 \u2026 Collected her first career stolen base with two hits and a run scored versus Western Oklahoma State on Feb. 15, 2025 \u2026 Tallied a triple for her first career extra-base hit and finished with three RBI and two runs scored at Northern Oklahoma College-Enid on April 12, 2025 \u2026 Dropped her first career home run and finished with two runs scored and two RBI at Northern Oklahoma College-Enid on March 23, 2026 \u2026 Tallied four hits with one RBI and one run scored at Eastern Oklahoma State College on April 9, 2026 \u2026 Recorded five runs scored and four RBI on four hits with a home run and two stolen bases in game one against Carl Albert State College on April 21, 2026 \u2026 Stole three bases and scored three runs on two hits with two RBI in game two versus Carl Albert on April 21, 2026 \u2026 Scored three runs on three hits with two stolen bases against Connors State College on April 27, 2026 \u2026 Graduated from Seminole State in May 2026 \u2026 Named to the Seminole State President’s Honor Roll in all four semesters \u2026 Graduated from Chandler High School in 2024 \u2026 Won district championships in fastpitch softball and basketball as a freshman at Chandler High School \u2026 Competed in both fastpitch and slowpitch softball along with basketball at Davenport High School as a sophomore and junior \u2026 Named an all-conference selection in basketball as a junior at Davenport \u2026 Played travel ball for Oklahoma Pure Fastpitch and was coached by her father, Jeremy Gibson.
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\nAri Maxwell<\/a> | OF | 3rd Year | 5-10 | Abilene Christian | Edmond, Okla. (Memorial HS)

\nPlayed two seasons at Abilene Christian (2025-26) \u2026 Named Second Team All-WAC as a sophomore \u2026 Appeared in 86 games including 78 starts for the Wildcats \u2026 Posted a .297 batting average with 71 hits over two seasons at ACU \u2026 Tallied 127 total bases with 14 home runs for a slugging percentage of .531 \u2026 Collected 39 runs scored, 34 RBI and five stolen bases \u2026 Finished tied for sixth in the WAC with 12 home runs as a sophomore \u2026 Led ACU in seven offensive categories including runs scored (32), hits (47) and RBI (29) in 2026 \u2026 Registered six hits including a solo home run in four games against UNT as a sophomore \u2026 Established season-high mark of three hits adding two runs and her first career stolen base versus South Dakota State on Feb. 11, 2026 \u2026 Drove in her first RBI of the season with two hits against Northern Illinois on Feb. 13, 2026 \u2026 Dropped career best two home runs and four RBI against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 28, 2026 \u2026 Collected her first career triple and scored two runs at Utah on March 12, 2026 \u2026 Matched her season high of three hits including a solo home run against UT Arlington on March 20, 2026 \u2026 Posted two runs, two hits, two RBI against Tarleton State on April 3, 2026 \u2026 Scored career-high three runs on two hits and a walk at Utah Tech on May 2, 2026 \u2026 Tagged her first career hit with a double versus Baylor on Feb. 6, 2025 \u2026 Posted her first career multi-hit game with two runs on two hits against Villanova on Feb. 7, 2025 \u2026 Popped first career home run at Seattle on March 8, 2025 \u2026 Set career-high mark of five hits including a solo home run at UT Arlington on March 21, 2025 \u2026 Finished with two hits including a double at No. 11 Texas Tech on April 29, 2025 \u2026 Played senior season at Edmond Memorial High School, graduating in 2024 \u2026 Helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to the finals of the OSSAA 6A Fastpitch State Championship \u2026 Named Second Team All-Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference (COAC) as a senior \u2026 Added All-District and All-Region honors in 2024 \u2026 Three-year letter winner and multi-sport athlete at Bishop McGuinness High School \u2026 Honored as a two-time Big All-City selection (2021-22) with the Irish \u2026 Set the single-season school home run record at Bishop McGuinness as a sophomore \u2026 Won the 2021 OSSAA 5A State Championship in the 4x400m relay as a freshman \u2026 Placed third in long jump at the 2022 OSSAA 5A State Championships \u2026 Played travel ball for Epic Fastpitch and head coach Scotty Smith \u2026 Father, Vernon, was a second round pick in the 1996 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and played three seasons in the minor leagues for the Padres and New York Yankees (1996-99) \u2026 Brother, Sandro, played football at Air Force (2018-21).
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\nTaryn Newton<\/a> | RHP | 2nd Year | 6-4 | Liberty | New Port Richey, Fla. (James W. Mitchell HS)
\nSpent one season at Liberty (2026) \u2026 Retained redshirt after she did not appear for the Flames \u2026 Played for the Manatee Seacows of the Florida Gulf Coast League (FGCL) in the summer of 2026 \u2026 Named FGCL All-Star selection for Team Sun \u2026 Four-year letter winner at James W. Mitchell High School, graduating in 2025 \u2026 Helped lead the Mustangs to the 6A state semifinals as a sophomore \u2026 Named 2024 Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) West Pitcher of the Year as a junior \u2026 Three-time SAC West All-Conference selection with first team honors in 2023 and 2024 \u2026 Suffered season-ending injury as a senior \u2026 Multi-sport athlete with varsity letters in volleyball \u2026 Played travel ball for Rock Gold and head coach Johnny Manetta \u2026 Won the 2023 PGF 18U Premier National Championship in Irvine, Calif. \u2026 Mother, Deann Wilson, played both softball and volleyball at Western Oregon and is currently the head volleyball coach at Pasco-Hernando State College (New Port Richey, Fla.) \u2026 Brother, Austin Newton, played baseball at South Florida before being drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round of the 2025 MLB Draft.
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\nMaggie Place<\/a> | RHP | 4th Year | 5-9 | Grand Canyon | Washington, Okla. (Washington HS)
\nPlayed two seasons at Grand Canyon (2025-26) \u2026 Named to the 2025 WAC All-Tournament Team as a sophomore \u2026 Recorded a 17-3 record with six saves and 2.26 ERA over 127 innings pitched with the Lopes \u2026 Totaled 75 strikeouts over 53 pitching appearances with two complete games, one solo shutout and nine combined shutouts \u2026 Finished 2025 as the conference saves leader with four, tied for 26th in Division I \u2026 Threw a complete game shutout over six innings on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts against Montana on Feb. 9, 2025 \u2026 Recorded five strikeouts over three one-hit innings in a combined shutout against North Dakota on Feb. 15, 2025 \u2026 Earned the win with 4 2\/3 shutout innings as a reliever versus Arizona State on Feb. 18, 2025 \u2026 Tossed eight shutout innings with five strikeouts in the WAC Championship finals over Tarleton State on May 10, 2025 \u2026 Registered 1 2\/3 innings pitched in relief at No. 12 Arizona in the Tucson Regional on May 17, 2025 \u2026 Posted a career high seven strikeouts over 6 1\/3 innings against Southern Utah on Feb. 7, 2026 \u2026 Spun 4 2\/3 innings with three strikeouts in a combined shutout over Montana on Feb. 20, 2026 \u2026 Threw a scoreless three-inning save with three strikeouts against UC Riverside on Feb. 28, 2026 \u2026 Tallied a win with three scoreless innings and no hits in an extra-innings victory over Wisconsin on March 5, 2026 \u2026 Played one season at Oklahoma Baptist (2024) \u2026 Named Great American Conference (GAC) Freshman of the Year \u2026 Member of the 2024 All-GAC Second Team \u2026 Finished 17-8 with one save and a 2.01 ERA as a freshman \u2026 Collected 93 strikeouts over 135 2\/3 innings pitched with the Bison \u2026 Spun 11 complete games including three solo shutouts and one combined shutout \u2026 Made her collegiate debut with 1 2\/3 relief innings pitched versus Augustana on Feb. 1, 2024 \u2026 Struck out six over six innings in her first career start at Mississippi College on Feb. 2, 2024 \u2026 Tossed her first complete game shutout and added six strikeouts against Northwestern Oklahoma on March 2, 2024 \u2026 Spun a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts over Northeastern State on April 16, 2024 \u2026 Claimed a complete game victory with five strikeouts in the elimination game of the NCAA Division II Central Regional versus Southern Arkansas on May 10, 2024 \u2026 Awarded CSC Academic All-District honors as a sophomore at GCU \u2026 Honored as an NFCA\/Easton All-America Scholar-Athlete as a freshman at OBU \u2026 Played three summer seasons (2024-26) for the Lakeland Ranch Rodeo of the Florida Gulf Coast League (FGCL) \u2026 Winner of the 2024 FGCL Pitcher of the Year award \u2026 Four-year letter winner at Washington High School, graduating in 2023 \u2026 Helped lead the Warriors to three softball state championships, two in fastpitch (2021-22) and one in slowpitch (2022) \u2026 Named First Team Middle West All-State, First Team Little All-City, NFCA First Team All-Region and District Pitcher of the Year as a senior \u2026 Honored as District 3A-3 Most Valuable Player as a junior \u2026 Played travel ball for Gametime Stars Fastpitch \u2026 Coached by former Mean Green assistant Kady Self in travel ball.
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\nNevaeh Watkins<\/a> | OF | 3rd Year | 5-2 | Missouri | Rowlett, Texas (Sachse HS)

\nPlayed two seasons at Missouri (2025-26) \u2026 Appeared in 30 career games including seven starts, primarily as an outfielder and pinch runner \u2026 Tallied eight runs scored, six hits and two stolen bases in two years with the Tigers \u2026 Recorded 19 putouts with one error for a .950 fielding percentage \u2026 Made her collegiate debut at Kentucky on March 9, 2025 \u2026 Collected a pinch hit RBI single in her first career at-bat versus Kansas City on March 16, 2025 \u2026 Posted her first career start in left field against Southern Illinois on April 9, 2025 \u2026 Notched career-best mark of two hits with one run and a walk in an upset victory over No. 1 Texas A&M on April 18, 2025 \u2026 Scored two runs with one hit and one stolen base versus BYU on Feb. 7, 2026 \u2026 Tallied second two-run game against South Alabama on Feb. 8, 2026 \u2026 Earned SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll distinction in 2026 \u2026 Named to the 2024-25 First-Year Academic SEC Honor Roll \u2026 Four-year letter winner at Sachse High School, graduating in 2024 \u2026 Ranked No. 31 in the Extra Elite 100 for the Class of 2024 by Extra Inning Softball \u2026 Named District 9-6A Most Valuable Player as a senior \u2026 Listed as 2024 First Team All-Area selection by The Dallas Morning News \u2026 Earned District 9-6A Defensive Player of the Year as a junior \u2026 Four-time First Team All-District selection \u2026 Named to the 2022 DFW Fastpitch All-Metroplex Second Team \u2026 Played travel ball for Texas Glory and head coach Kevin Shelton \u2026 Member of Team USA at the inaugural Triple Crown International Challenge in 2020 \u2026 Uncle, Chris Hill, was a track athlete at Arkansas State (2016-21).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DENTON \u2013\u00a0UNT softball signed seven players from the transfer portal to the 2026-27 roster, head coach Cody White…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-369373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}