The UCF softball team has landed a pair of Pac-12 transfers to add to the 2023 roster. Junior pitcher and outfielder Sarah Willis joins the Knights from Washington while redshirt senior infielder Jasmine Williams comes to UCF from Oregon.

Willis spent two seasons as a two-way player for the Huskies, tossing 48 innings pitched over 26 appearances in the circle and registering 98 total at-bats in 60 games as a position player. Willis has a lifetime record of 3-3 with two saves and 42 strikeouts while compiling a 4.23 ERA and holding opponents to a .267 batting average. At the dish, Willis has hit for a .245 average with a .737 OPS. She smashed three of her four career homers this season along with collecting 11 of her 14 career RBI. Willis started her 2022 campaign with a bang, hitting a two-run homer in her first plate appearance of the season, and finished the game with four RBI. At the end of the 2021 slate, Willis was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

SarahWillisSigned

Williams joins the Knights after three seasons at Oregon, where she posted a .275 career batting average and an OPS of .763 with seven homers and 54 RBI. She played in 40 games in 2022, registering 90 at-bats and striking out just six times, earning an equal number of walks in the process. Williams tallied a pair of hits in Oregon’s 10-2 opening win at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional and appeared in all four games at center field before the Ducks’ exit in the regional final. Despite playing center field in the NCAA Tournament, Williams is typically an infielder, seeing most of her time at shortstop.

Williams began her career with a statement freshman year, one that landed her on the Pac-12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive teams, as well as a nod to the All-Conference First Team. Off the field, Williams went viral for her pre-game locker room dance sessions with former Duck teammate Haley Cruse. Since then, Williams has reached over 182,000 followers on Tik Tok and over 86,000 on Instagram. She is married to Zephaniah Williams and has a son named Zee.

Jasmine Williams Signed

Willis and Williams are the first two transfers to UCF’s 2023 incoming class, bringing the Knights’ newcomer total to nine. Aubrey Evans, Michelle DiPuma, Olivia Elliot, Nehanda Lewis, Katelyn Cochran, Macy Miles, and Madison Appplebe make up the remainder of UCF’s additions; all seven are freshmen.

Along with Willis and Williams, the UCF softball team has landed Minnesota transfer Chloe Evans, a rising junior outfielder who is fresh off a breakout sophomore season.

Evans comes to UCF after spending two seasons as a Golden Gopher, playing and starting in each game during the 2022 campaign and totaling 89 career games played. She posted incredible numbers at season’s end, finishing with a .318 batting average and an OPS of 1.033, a mark that would have been second on the 2022 UCF squad behind Jada Cody’s 1.140 clip. Evans smacked 11 doubles and matched that number with 11 home runs, driving in 46 runs along the way. She led the Golden Gophers in RBI and walks, and was second in home runs, doubles, slugging percentage total bases, and stolen bases while sitting third in batting average, hits, and on-base percentage. She led her team with 14 games with multiple RBI and totaled 11 multi-hit performances.

Evans and Minnesota beat the Knights in just the second game of 2022, a game in which she went 1-for-2 with a walk. She started in right field that game, the spot she started 53 of her 54 games last season.

Evans was recognized at the Big Ten Conference level, being named to the All-Big Ten Second Team as well as earning a nod to the Academic All-Big Ten squad. The accolades didn’t stop there as she was named to the NFCA Great Lakes All-Region Third Team.

“I chose UCF because it is exactly what I have been looking for,” said Evans. “UCF made me feel at home the second I got to campus, and it was a moment I knew I had been looking for. The team culture and environment was inviting with a glimpse of the family qualities that I had hoped for in a new school. The future of UCF softball is bright and I hope to help make more history while creating another family away from home.”

Evans is now one of three transfers the Knights have added ahead of the 2023 season. She joins Sarah Willis and Jasmine Williams, who was officially announced on Wednesday. Seven freshmen join the three transfers in bringing UCF’s newcomer total to 10 for the upcoming campaign. Aubrey Evans, Michelle DiPuma, Olivia Elliot, Nehanda Lewis, Katelyn Cochran, Macy Miles, and Madison Appplebe make up the remainder of UCF’s additions.