Following a historic run to the NCAA Super Regionals, the UCF Knights softball team is assembling its 2027 squad for the follow-up.This article breaks down all the program's offseason transfer portal activity, covering every addition and departure and, when applicable, poses a question or two about what they could mean for the team’s future.Incoming TransfersOutgoing TransfersPosition-by-Position BreakdownBiggest WinnersQuestions Still RemainingIncoming TransfersNamePositionYears of Eligibility RemainingPrevious School2025 StatsKayla ChristensenInfielder2Georgia SouthernNamed an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention as a 2B. Slashed .324/.407/.400 with 3 triples.Anyssa WildInfielder2ArizonaPlayed in 21 games, starting 7. Went 9-27 at plate with 7 RBIs.Hailey NutterPitcher3KentuckyStarted 13 of her 23 appearances. 7-4 record, 4.50 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 68 SOs.Note: Wild's season ended prematurely due to a broken forearm, according to her Arizona Athletics profile page.Position Group# of Additions% of P4 TransfersInfielder250%Pitcher1100%Outgoing TransfersNamePositionYears of eligibility remaining2025 StatsDestinationKendall YarnellUtility2Slashed .344/.446/.747. Hit 15 HRs, 46 RBIs and 4 triplesArkansasYessenia LopezPitcher3Pitched 5 innings across 4 games.Florida AtlanticKendall TrimmInfielder3Played in 20 games, starting 4. Went 8-26 at plate.?Destiny WashingtonOutfielder2Played in 31 games, starting in 8. Went 11-35 at plate?By the NumbersPosition Group# in Transfer Portal% of Group in PortalUtility150%Pitcher111.1%Infielder116.7%Position-by-Position BreakdownInfielderTwo of the Knights' trio of transfer additions are infielders as they try to replace graduating shortstop Aubrey Evans and first baseman Ashleigh Griffin.Former Arizona infielder Anyssa Wild made six starts at designated player and one at first base in 2026, putting her as a likely candidate to succeed Griffin, barring another player making a position change or one of the Knights' true freshman utility players, Layla Bennett and Sammi Rychter, making a push for the spot.Former Georgia Southern infielder Kayla Christensen, meanwhile, was an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention at second base, making her a likely candidate for regular playing time in 2027. The only question still remaining (which is elaborated on in a later section) is which position she is going to play: remaining at second base or shifting to shortstop?OutfielderThe Knights did not make any moves to acquire outfielders in the transfer portal. In fact, they lost one in Destiny Washington. This is because all three of their core outfielders from 2026 are returning in 2027: Izzy Mertes in left field, Samantha Rey in center field and Zoe Calvez in right field.Mertes and Rey can play infield as well, though. So, should they shift there or play designated player in 2027, the Knights still have options like a returning Hildie Dempsey or theheroes of their Regional Final against Florida State, Taylor Kittleman and Kalista Birkenstock, they can turn to.PitcherOf the five UCF pitchers that went more than 40 innings last season, four of them are returning in 2027, including Dempsey, who would also be returning from injury.Former Kentucky pitcher Hailey Nutter adds another experienced arm to a bullpen that showed some depth concerns after Dempsey’s season ended. Whether she serves in a starting role, a relief role, or a combination of both remains to be seen. Such a decision is likely going to be influenced by the development of rising sophomores Tori Payne and Ava Stuewe after their performances this past postseason, as well as by one of their fellow rising sophomores, Reagan Vokoun. There is also a new true freshman entering the fray as well in Maitland native McKenna Hawley.Biggest WinnersIsabella Vega: With the Knights’ addition of Hailey Nutter, Vega has another added to a pitching group that can provide her with some potential respite from being the primary pitcher in 2027. While her status as an ace means she was going to pitch a lot of innings anyway, she was still in the circle for more innings than Stuewe, Payne and Elkins were combined.So, with another experienced pitcher arriving from the transfer portal, a returning Hildie Dempsey and the potential for Stuewe and Payne to build off their postseason success, Vega may not have to shoulder as many innings as she's had to in the past.The Outfield: (See outfield section in position-by-position breakdown)Questions Still RemainingWho is the Knights' next shortstop?With the graduation of two-time All-Big 12 Second Teamer Aubrey Evans, a new player is set to take over at shortstop in 2027. However, the infielders that the Knights have acquired from the transfer portal did not play shortstop in 2026. Anyssa Wild, from Arizona, is a designated player and first baseman, more likely to take over at first base from Ashleigh Griffin, while Kayla Christensen, from Georgia Southern, is an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention as a second baseman.Christensen could be the one to make the shift to shortstop, though returners 2025 third baseman Sierra Humphreys and second baseman Coco Jaimes are no strangers to switching positions, swapping their roles in 2026. Should head coach Cindy Ball-Malone want to keep Humphreys and Jaimes where they are, then the most likely contender that could prevent Christensen from being the next shortstop is true freshman Alexys Busch.Busch, hailing from Fresno, California, hit for a .468 average in her high school senior season, according to her UCF Athletics profile page. A true freshman starting in the infield is not an unprecedented move for Ball-Malone, which she did for both Humphreys and Jaimes. So, if Busch impresses in practice, she too could be in the running for innings at shortstop.Can the pitching rotation weather injuries and maintain quality depth?While the Knights are getting most of their main pitchers back in 2027, Hildie Dempsey’s injury early last season proved how fragile their pitching depth could be. After the injury, they struggled to find a No. 2 arm behind ace Isabella Vega. Ava Stuewe, who ended up finishing the season with the second-most innings pitched, finished with a 3.67 ERA, while Tori Payne did not have her breakout moment until the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.With former Kentucky pitcher Hailey Nutter and freshman McKenna Hawley entering the fray, these two pitchers provide two more opportunities for coach Ball-Malone to build a stable of arms that is more than just its ace.Check out more UCF transfer portal trackers below:The 2026 UCF Knights Transfer Portal TrackerThe 2026-27 UCF Knights Basketball Transfer Portal TrackerThe 2026 UCF Knights Olympic Sports Transfer Portal TrackerAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow