The softball transfer portal may not open for most undergraduates until June 8, but the Arizona Wildcats already know which positions they need to focus on when the time comes. There are plenty of good options who have announced their intentions to look for a new program. Graduate students and players whose coaches have left are already officially open for business.

None of the Arizona pitchers have announced their intentions to leave, but the Wildcats need pitching depth even if Rylie Holder, Jenae Berry, and Sarah Wright are all still in Tucson when incoming freshman Lilly Hauser arrives. An experienced ace who can miss bats is the biggest need if the Wildcats want to be legitimate Women’s College World Series candidates. The need goes beyond that, though.

While one elite pitcher may get a program to Oklahoma City, even NiJaree Canady couldn’t secure a title for Stanford or Texas Tech on her own. Times have changed. Having a second or third high-quality arm is critical. While one of the pitchers expected to be in Tucson next season may develop into that, a staff of six would be optimal.

It would help if at least one of the additions in the circle pitches from the left. While Hauser is a good hitter from the left side, she pitches from the right. Everyone on the current roster is also a RHP. Some variety should be in Arizona’s plans.

The Wildcats need both elite talent and depth at catcher. There’s no longer a catcher on the roster since Emma Kavanagh is leaving and the recruiting class lacks a player at that position. They need at least two who can play. The bullpen catching can be handled by Sydney Stewart and Grace Jenkins, both of whom are returning as graduate managers in 2027.

While Arizona officially needs a third baseman to replace Jenna Sniffen, the Wildcats could move one of several players over there next year. That includes rising sophomore Kez Lucas, who played first base as a freshman but primarily patrolled the left side of the infield during her prep career. That would open first base for sophomore Sina Talataina or a transfer.

Arizona could look for help in the middle infield, as well. The options at shortstop are currently Lucas or one of the two incoming freshman infielders. There is only one returning second baseman. The only incoming freshman with second base listed on her recruiting profile is Violet Mitchell.

There will be more options next week, but which seven current portal dwellers fit Arizona’s needs?

While it’s never a good idea to base everything on social media interactions, follows can sometimes indicate interest by one or both sides in transfer relationships. At least one Arizona coach is following each of the players listed below who is already in the portal. Multiple Wildcat coaches are following two of the three on one platform or another.

LHP Hailey Maestretti (Utah)

Maestretti was part of a solid Utah pitching staff that sent Arizona into a tailspin as it headed into the postseason. The Wildcats never really got out of that tailspin. They went 2-3 after that, beating Marshall and Duke but losing to ASU once and Duke twice. Could she be part of helping avoid a future late-season crash?

Maestretti has been Utah’s leader in ERA and innings pitched the last two seasons. The rising junior made a big jump in her numbers as a sophomore, leading a staff that had a 2.81 ERA.

Maestretti threw 149.1 innings in 2026. She had a 2.53 ERA. That was an improvement from the 3.92 ERA she had in 135.2 IP as a freshman. She cut her home runs in half from 16 allowed in 2025 to just eight in 2026. Her BAA against dropped from .309 to .254. Her WHIP went from 1.64 to 1.30.

Maestretti can’t be called a “strikeout pitcher,” but she had a better K:BB ratio than anyone on Arizona’s staff in 2026. She struck out 82 while walking 46. That was an improvement in both numbers from her 70 Ks and 54 BB in 2025. Her 152 strikeouts against 100 walks in her two years at Utah gives her a 1.52 K:BB ratio.

The Utes didn’t face the kind of nonconference schedule that Arizona did, but they did face a tougher conference schedule. Part of that is because they faced Arizona, but they also had Kansas and UCF on their league slate. Arizona missed both of those NCAA postseason teams. Utah played every Big 12 team that made the postseason.

Maestretti stayed strong despite that slate of teams. She had a 2.87 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and .266 BAA in league play. She gave up six of her eight home runs against teams in the Big 12. Her overall 1.78 K:BB ratio dropped, but it stayed in the positive at 1.27 in league play.

One advantage of Maestretti is that she still has at least two years of eligibility. If the NCAA goes to a 5-in-5 model, she will have three.

LHP Madison Azua (Texas State)

Former Arizona pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney has had a lot of success at Mississippi State with mid-major pitching transfers. Her alma mater should try to beat her and the rest of Division I to this highly regarded lefty who can be called a strikeout pitcher.

The Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year was ranked 25th in the nation in K% with 67.5 percent of her pitches going for strikes.

Azua has 79 starts and 115 appearances under her belt over the past three years. She has amassed a 54-27 pitching record, including 26-13 her junior year. She threw a whopping 244.2 innings while keeping her ERA at a career low 1.95 and striking out 236 batters in 2026. She has an ERA of 2.26 and an xFIP of 2.44 for her career. Her career K:BB ratio is 4.43.

Azua is primarily a groundball pitcher with a 52.1 groundball percentage in 2026. She had a flyball percentage of 30.8, which was the lowest of her career. Her 17.1 line drive rate was better than her freshman year but not as good as her sophomore season. Her home run to fly ball percentage was 11.2, the lowest of her career.

Texas State sat in the top 35 of RPI for much of the season and were an at-large selection to the NCAA postseason. They went to the Gainesville Regional but did not face the host Gators. They were eliminated with a 1-2 record. Both losses were to Georgia Tech, including a hard luck, 2-hitter loss assessed to Azua.

Azua would be a bridge to help lead a younger staff. She will be a senior next year, although NCAA eligibility rules could give her two years to play. She will be in high demand, though.

Proctor isn’t very highly ranked on the defensive side, but she’s a very good offensive option. She’s also versatile. She is listed as a catcher and outfielder, playing both positions in 2026. She has two years of experience in the Big 12.

While Proctor would need a lot of coaching to get anywhere near Stewart’s defensive metrics, she hit much better than the two catching options listed below. She also made steady offensive improvements from her freshman to her sophomore seasons.

Proctor would be ideal as a designated player and possible backup catcher. While Tele Jennings held down the DP position for most of the latter half of 2026, it would not hurt to have additional power to mix into the competition. That became even more important when Anyssa Wild announced that she was going to transfer out of the program following an injury-shortened sophomore season.

In her two years at Utah, Proctor hit .329 with 23 doubles, three triples, and 20 home runs. That works out to a career slugging percentage of .631. She has a career OPS of 1.053.

As a sophomore, she hit .338 with 13 doubles, two triples, and 14 home runs. She had a slugging percentage of .706 and an OPS of 1.167.

Proctor became far more patient at the plate her sophomore season. That drastically improved her K:BB ratio. She had 21 strikeouts in 2025 and again in 2026, but her walks shot upwards from just seven as a freshman to 34 as a sophomore.

Her defense would definitely need to be coached up if she’s going to play behind the plate or in the outfield. Her DRS was in the negative at both catcher and right field. Her framing runs saved was also in the negative as a backstop.

Rodriguez is a bit of an enigma. She had a fantastic redshirt sophomore season in 2025 after sitting out her true sophomore season in 2024 with an injury. However, her freshman and redshirt junior years were not as impressive. Could hitting coach Amber Freeman help her get back to her 2025 form? Could Freeman (a former catcher) and pitching coach Christian Conrad help her improve her defensive metrics from good to elite?

Although her average dropped to .238 this year, Rodriguez hit .320 in 2025. She had nine home runs in 2025 and again in 2026. In 2025, she added 11 doubles and two triples for a slugging percentage of .556.

Rodriguez is a bit feast-or-famine. She had 19 walks against 28 strikeouts in 2025. The ratio was worse in 2026, when she walked just seven times while striking out 25 times. It would definitely be a change from the patience of Stewart.

Rodriguez helped eliminate Arizona from the postseason by going 2-for-7 with three RBI, two home runs, and a walk in three games against the Wildcats at the Durham Regional.

As a defensive catcher, she’s been very successful wiping away runners who try to steal. She had 12 runners try to steal on her in 2026. She caught eight of them. She was not assessed any passed balls this season.

Rodriguez had 4.89 defensive runs saved this season, 2.51 framing runs saved, 1.70 stolen base runs saved, and 1.13 blocking runs saved (avoiding passed balls/wild pitches), according to Synergy. In comparison, Stewart had 8.57 DRS, 5.67 FRS, 0.90 SBRS, and 2.63 BRS.

Like Azua, Rodriguez would be a bridge. While she’s listed as a redshirt senior according to eligibility, she will transfer as a grad student and is already officially in the portal. She can be recruited now.

Arizona has six players set to sign in November. One is C/OF Emma Anderson, who is rated a four-star catcher by Softball America. Getting someone like Rodriguez would not block Anderson. Arizona has lost a highly regarded sophomore catcher each of the past three years. All three sat behind older catchers for at least one of their two years at Arizona.

Lilly Vallimont (Michigan)

Vallimont is superior to both Rodriguez and Proctor as a defensive catcher. Offensively, she has made steps forward each season, but her junior year would have to be considered her breakout year.

The Michigan native hit a career high .280 this year. Her batting average jumped by almost .030 each season with the Wolverines. As a freshman, she hit just .224. That rose to .253 the next season before improving again this year. It works out to a career average of .252.

Her power numbers took a jump this season, too. She hit 11 home runs over her first two season combined. She matched that two-season number by hitting 11 her junior year. Her slugging percentage jumped from .389 in 2025 to .536 in 2026.

The biggest issue for Vallimont is an unfavorable K:BB ratio. She has 76 career strikeouts against 50 career walks. She struck out 26 times and had 12 BB this year.

Behind the plate, she comes much closer to Stewart’s numbers than either of the catchers listed above. She had 7.02 defensive runs saved, 5.23 framing runs saved, 1.10 stolen base runs saved, and 0.94 blocking runs saved this season. All except the SBRS were lower than Stewart but exceed the numbers of Rodriguez or Proctor.

Vallimont is transferring as a grad student because she redshirted her true freshman year due to an injury. Like Rodriguez, she is already in the portal and can be contacted by coaches. She has one year to play under current rules.

Karley Shelton (South Carolina)

Shelton seems like an unlikely option for the Wildcats since she plays second base for the Gamecocks, and Arizona seems pretty set at the position with Sereniti Trice. There’s always the option of moving her to the other middle infield spot, though. She definitely has skills the Wildcats could use, including three years of experience in the country’s top conference.

Shelton doesn’t hit a lot of home runs. She had seven last year. Stewart showed that the right place and right coaching can drastically improve power, though. Shelton may be able to improve the home run numbers in a similar fashion. Her ability to use her power and speed to hit doubles may make up for the home runs even if those didn’t increase during her final year.

She hit 16 doubles, one triple, and seven long balls in 2026. Her .543 slugging percentage, .345 batting average, .946 OPS, and 40 RBI were second on the team among those with qualifying appearances. She led the team with 68 hits.

Over the course of her career, Shelton has a .314 average, .860 OPS, and .472 slugging percentage. She has 39 doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs.

Shelton’s numbers took a huge jump between her freshman and sophomore season. She joined the Gamecocks a year early and took a while to acclimate to the college game. Her numbers have been very consistent over her last two seasons.

The biggest challenge may be getting Shelton to cross the country. Her top schools were all in the SEC when she was being recruited. She moved to the Columbia area from Florida for her final year of high school.

Shelton was a team captain for South Carolina’s in 2026.

Aumua seems to fill a bigger need for Arizona. She’s a corner infielder with some pop in her bat who comes with at least three years of eligibility.

The fact that she has that much eligibility might also be one of her downsides. She would be one more young infielder in what could be an extremely inexperienced group next season. If she was added to the group, the Wildcats could be looking at an infield of one junior, two sophomores, and a freshman.

Aumua appeared in 35 of Auburn’s 55 games this season. That included 14 starts with 12 at designated player and two in right field. The Wildcats probably wouldn’t be putting her in the outfield, but both first base and DP are spots she could fill.

Aumua hit .296 and had an OPS of .974 as a freshman. She had 16 hits in 54 at-bats. Four of those hits went for two bases and four more left the park, giving her a slugging percentage of .593.

The rising sophomore is from Livermore, Calif. in the East Bay, so getting back out West may be on her agenda.