Every year after the softball season ends, lots of players decide to leave their current teams and look for new ones.

Maybe your team’s best pitcher will join a rival. Or maybe the hitter who gave you trouble last season might become your new teammate.

Thanks to big NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals and players moving closer to home, the transfer portal has turned softball into a busy, year-round event.

Here, we will share the biggest player moves, top names still available, and how this new system is changing the way college softball operates.

What is the Transfer Portal?

The NCAA Transfer Portal, launched in October 2018, has revolutionized the process by which student-athletes transfer to a new school.

For softball players, it serves as a centralized database where athletes can enter their information and make themselves available to other programs.

The process works in several key steps:

• A player notifies their school’s compliance office of their intention to transfer.
• The school enters the player’s information into the portal within two business days.
• Once in the portal, coaches from other schools can contact the player.
• The player can then evaluate opportunities and commit to a new program.

As of April 2024, significant rule changes have made transferring more accessible than ever.

The NCAA has eliminated restrictions on the number of transfers academically eligible athletes can make during their college careers, removing the requirement to sit out a year for multiple transfers.

For softball specifically, the transfer windows for the 2025-2026 season will open after the regular season and last 30 days. Graduate transfers can enter the portal at any time.

Latest Transfer Portal Listings

Here are some of the most notable players currently in the 2025 softball transfer portal:

Recent Transfer Portal Commitments

Several major commitments have already shaped the 2025 softball landscape:

• CeCe Cellura to LSU: The former San Diego State pitcher committed to the Tigers on May 26, 2025, bringing elite talent to an SEC powerhouse.
• Ella Harrison to Auburn: Another pitcher on the move, Harrison leaves Rutgers to join the competitive SEC at Auburn, also committing on May 26, 2025.
• New Mexico State’s Portal Success: The Aggies have been particularly active, securing nine incoming transfers to bolster their roster after a 30-win 2024 campaign.

These moves highlight how programs are increasingly relying on transfers to fill immediate needs rather than waiting for freshman development.

The immediacy of impact has made transfer recruiting a top priority for coaching staffs across the nation.

Rising Programs to Watch Out!

Several college softball programs have made strategic moves in the transfer portal, utilizing it to increase their competitiveness and improve their performance.

• Texas Tech made a significant splash by landing Ni’Jaree Canady, considered one of the nation’s top pitchers, with a stellar 0.73 ERA and 337 strikeouts last season, which immediately positions the Red Raiders as a serious contender.
• Nebraska, although not historically a softball powerhouse, has proven its ability to attract top talent through the transfer portal, helping to improve the program’s status.
• Oklahoma State, with a series of key power-conference transfers, including Ruby Meylan, is setting itself up as a new standard in the Big 12, showcasing the potential of the transfer portal to take a team from good to great.

These programs highlight how strategic portal use can accelerate rebuilding and increase a team’s performance.

Resources for Tracking Transfer Portal Activity

If you want to stay up-to-date, here are some of the best places for real-time transfer news:

For more details, click here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are There Deadlines for Entering the Softball Transfer Portal?

Yes. There are sport-specific windows when athletes can enter the portal. Graduate transfers have more flexibility and can join at any time, but undergraduates must follow the designated transfer window for their sport.

Do Transfer Rules Differ Between NCAA Divisions?

Yes, while the general process is similar, some details, such as academic standards and scholarship rules, can vary between Division I, II, and III.

Johnny Manziel truly believes he would’ve stayed in college football at Texas A&M in the NIL era, rather than go to the NFL as early as he did. Following two years as a starter, Manziel declared for the NFL Draft and was a first round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2014.

However, his NFL career quickly flamed out and he had stints in the CFL a few years later, as well as Fan Controlled Football, an arena league. But, the former Heisman Trophy winner has been open and honest about his post-collegiate struggles on and off the field but has his moments where it’s fun to play the hypothetical game.

Just imagine Manziel, at the peak of his collegiate powers, rolling in the NIL dollars. And then coming back to Texas A&M on top of it? Oh man.

“I mean, I think no matter what, being in the NIL era, if that would have, you know, been the equivalent of 2013, I would have stayed no matter what,” Manziel said on Always College Football. “Just because, you know, a couple million bucks in College Station goes a really, really long way. And, you go to the NFL, or a first round pick, you know, you sign for $10 million or whatever it is, you know, that’s the two years that I had remaining at Texas A&M, to be able to make (that) through NIL. So I think, for me, when I think back about it now, I definitely, if there would have been any real money involved, I definitely would have stayed no matter what.”

This isn’t the first time Manziel alluded to more time in College Station. He spoke to fellow Heisman winner Matt Leinart about the topic back in December with NIL being such commonplace across college athletics.

“Yeah, I think so, just because, I mean, you know, you get into your rookie contract if you’re not taken  high enough, I mean, you know, I could have stayed two more years in college and probably made what I made throughout the four years of your NFL deal for the most part,” Manziel said. “So I think it would have given me the opportunity to still be at a place today and then like that, be able to make money and be able to, you know, still continue to go play the college football life. It’s tough for me looking back, having left two years of eligibility on a table.”

Manziel burst onto the college football scene in 2012 when he became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. That year, he threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns to help the Aggies to an 11-2 record. 

Along the way, he set multiple records, including one against Arkansas when he had 557 yards of total offense. That broke Archie Manning’s record, and Manziel broke his own mark just two games later with 576 yards of offense in a single game. As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, Manziel threw for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns as he finished fifth in the Heisman voting.

ATLANTA – Just a few years after NIL and instant eligibility for transfers upended the college football world, programs must adjust again.