May 24-Less than a week after the Washington softball team’s season ended with a loss in an NCAA tournament regional, five Huskies have allegedly entered the transfer portal, including their only two pitchers eligible to return and three of their top hitters. Sophomore pitcher Ruby Meylan, a third-team All-American last year and all-Pac-12 this season, and freshman pitcher Sidne Peters were supposed to lead UW’s pitching staff next season, but are now in the portal, according to various sources.
According to multiple reports, including Softball America, junior shortstop Rylee Holtorf, a three-year starter who was named first-team All-Pac-12 this season, three-year starting infielder/outfielder Kinsey Fiedler, and junior catcher Olivia Johnson, who has mostly been a starter in her three seasons, are also in the portal. A representative for the Husky softball program stated the program has no comment on players who use the portal.
Husky coach Heather Tarr also lost a significant member of her coaching staff when Victoria Hayward, who played for Tarr at UW, quit her position as hitting coach to become Nevada’s head coach. In response to suggestions that Tarr would contemplate quitting UW, the coach tweeted Friday, “It’s a great day to be a Dawg!”
It has undoubtedly been a difficult month for Husky softball, which concluded the season 32-15. The squad was ranked in the top ten for the majority of the season, and a top-16 – if not a top-eight – seed in the NCAA tournament appeared to be a foregone conclusion. However, a four-game losing streak at the conclusion of the season, including an 11-3 loss to Arizona in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, cost the Huskies their NCAA tournament seed.
Washington was sent to the Columbia (Missouri) Regional, where it won its first game before being ousted after two consecutive losses, the last to regional host Missouri. Last season, the Huskies advanced to the Women’s College World Series, with Meylan as their top pitcher.
They defeated Utah in their opener, with Holtorf hitting a vital home run, before dropping their next two games. Meylan had an excellent freshman season, finishing 18-7 with a 2.14 earned-run average. Her stats slipped this season, as she went 9-10 with a 2.55 ERA. Walks were an issue, as she allowed 55 in 122 2/3 innings, up from 52 in 180 in 2023. Still, Meylan was projected to be the anchor of next year’s staff, which may have included Peters, who was named all-Pac-12 as a rookie after going 8-1 with a 3.35 ERA.
Holtorf, Fiedler, and Johnson established themselves in the UW starting lineup from the moment they landed on Montlake as three highly regarded prospects, and each was named to the Pac-12 freshmen team in 2022. Johnson made the largest early splash, reaching base 14 times in her Husky career. During that time, she hit three home runs and had seven RBIs, as well as seven walks, five of which were intentional. Johnson concluded her freshman season batting.267 with 11 home runs. She struggled at the plate as a sophomore, hitting.207 with four home runs, but rebounded to hit.300 with four home runs this season.
Holtorf made significant offensive strides throughout her three seasons as a Husky, increasing her average and power stats. She hit.228 as a freshman with one home run and.277 with five last season. Holtorf hit.336 this season, ranking second on the squad with 11 home runs. Fiedler, who played every position at UW except pitcher and right field, improved her average with each season, hitting.336 this season and tied for third on the team with seven home runs.
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