LSU softball made headlines over the offseason for signing some of the best available players in the transfer portal, while also bringing in some exciting freshmen stars.
Head coach Beth Torina has been clear that these new faces are not just an investment for the future, but players who she trusts to make an immediate impact and continue LSU’s reign as one of the top softball programs in the nation.
Recently Softball America released their top 100 freshmen list, and with LSU’s amazing recruitment, three of LSU’s commitments made the list. The three freshmen included were utility players Ashlin Mowery and Ci’Ella Pickett, and outfielder Rylie Johnson.
Mowery is a highly regarded first year player who made headlines at the high school level for her versatility playing both pitcher and around the infield.
Mowery excelled at Lanchester Highschool, becoming a four time Ohio Capital Conference First Team selection, while also being named her district’s player of the year in 2025 and defensive player of the year in 2024. All these accolades promoted Mowery into the second highest ranked player in Ohio.
Torina has to make a choice, will she want Mowery to start off as a pitcher or somewhere in the field, but Mowery looks to be an exciting prospect who can for sure find her way on the playing field this year.
Rylie Johnson was named one of the biggest commits of Torina’s career after finishing high school as the highest rated player in Virginia. The freshman outfielder dominated Virginia softball over her four years, winning three conference championships, while being selected as a high school All-American twice, and won Virginia Christian Athletic Conference Player of the Year twice.
Johnson is an impressive hitter and outfielder who was drawn to LSU because of her close connection to Torina and the rest of the Tigers’ coaching staff. Johnson will likely be utilized heavily by Torina for her hitting ability.
In high school, Johnson was practically unstoppable her senior year, recording 46 hits on 61 at-bats, while also racking up 17 home runs.
Ci’Ella Pickett was another highly coveted recruit Torina loved getting. The infielder is comfortable playing multiple positions and as a senior won the Citrus Belt MVP while at Cajon Highschool.
In Pickett’s senior season she recorded an impressive batting average of .585, recording 31 hits and 29 runs. Pickett will surely serve as an impressive hitter when given her chance to shine at Tiger Park.
LSU softball also held a major importance on bringing in experienced transfers to fill up their pitching and infield depth. Notable pitchers the Tigers grabbed from the transfer portal are senior Paytn Monticelli and junior Cece Cellura.
Both pitchers have great experience in college softball with Monticelli having played in both the Big 10 and SEC for Wisconsin and Oklahoma, while Cellura served as a key player pitching for San Diego State the past two years.
Monticelli will be an important piece in the pitching depth chart, the position Torina places a vital importance on. Monticelli’s previous experiences in college softball also will give this younger LSU roster an important veteran presence who has played against the top teams of the SEC and Big 10.
Monticelli looks for more opportunity at LSU compared to what she was given at Oklahoma last year, and with the presence of one of the best pitching staffs in the country, Monticelli could have a breakthrough year in the new scenery.
Cellura looks to make the jump from the Mountain West Conference to the SEC and will also provide great pitching depth. She showed improvement in her sophomore season, making 39 appearances and recording 94 strikeouts, almost 50 more than what she recorded her freshmen season.
Cellura is looking to challenge herself this year with the chance to play some of the best softball teams in the nation and to learn under one of the best coaching staffs around. It will be interesting to see if Cellura can continue this pattern of improvement in her junior year at a much bigger program in LSU.
There will surely be many new faces in LSU softball this year, but even with these uncertainties there’s a lot of excitement around this year’s team. With such an experienced head coach like Torina in charge, there will be plenty of players who develop into breakthrough stars. It’s just a matter of time until these players get their chance.
