Coming off a 56-9 season that ended with a trip to the Women’s College World Series Semifinals, Alabama softball has turned its focus to building its 2026-27 roster.
Throughout Alabama’s successful season this year, freshmen played a big role, with multiple starting and many notable plays from them, such as pitcher Katilyn Pallozzi’s perfect game, which was just the 10th in program history and the first thrown by a freshman.
For the 2026-27 season, Alabama has welcomed five freshmen onto the roster.
Ava Briski
Briski, a four-star recruit and sister of Alabama star pitcher Joceyln Briski, committed to the Crimson Tide on National Signing Day in the fall.
Briski is ranked No. 82 nationally and played for Tennessee Mojo, a national softball program focused on preparing girls for college softball. Briski was also a 2026 regional finalist for Premier Girls Fastpitch.
“I am beyond grateful, excited and blessed to announce that I will be continuing my academic career and my athletic journey of playing softball at the University of Alabama!” Briski said in an Instagram post announcing her commitment. “This is truly HOME away from home for me.”
Paige Stanfield
Stanfied is a four-star recruit and three-sport athlete from Overland Park, Kansas. She was her high school’s MVP, holds their record for rebounds in women’s basketball and was a 6A track and field state champion in javelin.
“Paige is a tremendous three-sport athlete who will add major power to our lineup. She’s capable of playing three positions on the field – first base, third base and catcher,” head coach Patrick Murphy said.
Ava Bush
Originally committed to Iowa, Bush decommitted after coaching changes, sending her into her senior year uncommitted. Bush told Softball on SI that a phone call from Murphy is what swayed her towards Alabama.
“While I was in Colorado, Patrick Murphy called, and honestly, I was shocked, but I was having a pretty good summer, and my mindset was to just play my game and good things will happen,” Bush said. “After that, with the conversations I had with Murph, I knew that he was who I wanted to play for. The way he cares about his players on and off the field is something you don’t get a lot, and it was incredible.”
Bush broke her high school’s record for home runs in a single season and set the program’s record for most career home runs.
“Ava just completed an incredible high school career, setting the new Missouri high school career home run record. She’s a lefty-lefty with easy pop in her bat,” Murphy said.
Liv Keiter
Keiter is Alabama’s first recruit from Colorado. She is ranked No. 40 nationally and has racked up a long list of accolades. Keiter played every varsity game of her high school career at Columbine High School and started as a freshman, where she helped her team earn to a state championship title.
Keiter began her journey to committing to Alabama as a sophomore in high school, where she attended a camp at Rhoads Stadium.
“I was lucky enough to go to a camp at Alabama, and I just fell in love,” she said. “They have the most fans in the country. They’re loud and rowdy. It still doesn’t even feel real.”
Keiter signed as a utility player and brings the ability to play multiple positions to the Crimson Tide.
Torynn Slaughter
Slaughter is the highest-rated recruit in Alabama softball’s 2027 class. Slaughter is one of two catchers Alabama has welcomed to the team after the graduation of Marlie Giles, who was the catcher for the 2025-26 season.
Slaughter is ranked No. 6 nationally overall and is the No. 1 catcher in her recruiting class. She has already proved to withstand national competition, playing on the 2022-23 U15 Women’s National Team.
Despite her No. 1 ranking as a catcher, Slaughter is expected to play other roles on the team, as Alabama also welcomed transfer catcher Karlee Ford to the roster.
Notably, Alabama also made it out of the transfer portal, retaining all of its eligible players while picking up three new transfers.
Kailey Plumlee
Redshirt freshman Plumlee joins the Crimson Tide as a pitcher from Tennessee — the only team with a better ERA than Alabama.
While she didn’t get the chance to throw for the Lady Vols, coming from a team with an elite pitching staff allows her a better chance at quickly becoming a key part of Alabama’s pitching rotation.
Plumlee is also the only left-handed pitcher on Alabama’s roster this year. All four returning pitchers for the Crimson Tide pitch from the right side, giving Plumlee a chance to star in games where there are a lot of lefty batters in the lineup.
Noelani Livingstone
A junior outfielder from Florida SouthWestern State College, Livingstone adds to Alabama’s outfield talent. She played primarily in the center fielder spot at FSW.
Livingstone was named the NJCAA National Player of the Year during the 2026 season and led her team with a .526 batting average.
At her previous school, Livingstone was surrounded by ties to Alabama. She was coached by the father of Alabama’s coordinator of player development, and former Alabama pitcher Courtney Gettins was also on staff.
Karlee Ford
Coming from the Big 12, Ford is expected to be Alabama’s next catcher following the graduation of Marlie Giles and Alexis Pupillo, the only two starting catchers on the Alabama roster.
Ford spent her first two years of eligibility at Iowa State, and during the 2025-26 season, she started in all 55 games, hitting 10home runs with a batting average of .345.
“Stepping on campus felt nothing short of home, and I knew it was where I wanted to be,” Ford said in an Instagram post announcing her transfer to Alabama.
