To help replace outfielders lost to the transfer portal, Arizona softball has tabbed a star catcher.
Senior utility Grace Jenkins made the move to the UA after earning Big East Player of the Year accolades at Connecticut. She’s been the Wildcats’ clean-up hitter for their first five games.
Although she played in the outfield in high school and travel ball, she entered the transfer portal as a catcher.
Connecticut catcher Grace Jenkins (17) during a game against Georgia Tech on Feb. 10, 2023 in Atlanta.
“You see a catcher go in and you're like, ‘man, that is not the position of need,’ so you want to be very careful about that,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said. “Catching is one of those positions you don't expect to be super versatile as far as being able to plug and play anywhere and I think it takes a special person to be a senior, enter the portal with the stats that she has in the position that she had and be willing to reinvent their game in a way defensively and she is that special person and she is selfless.
“She stepped right in and I was fully upfront and honest in our commitment meeting that, I was like, ‘I’m gonna work you in the right field and how do you feel about that?’ because one thing I'm not going to do is lie to you and then stick you out there, it's never going to provide for a good experience,” she added. “So she was all into it, she’s repped out some stuff at first base, she will see some time behind the plate but I think, just takes a special player.”
Jenkins is on USA Softball’s Player of the Year Top 50 watchlist, along with senior catcher/utility Sydney Stewart and junior utility Regan Shockey. Stewart appeared in 53 games at catcher for the Wildcats after transferring from Washington, earning All-American honors.
“I think at the end of the day, it was more so about the people that I was gonna play for and with," Jenkins said. "Like, I love this team so much, and I knew going into it, it wasn't about positions, it wasn't about that. It was more so about finding a place to spend my final year, and Sydney Stewart is an amazing person; she’s an amazing player.
“Part of the reason why I entered the transfer portal was to play with people like her,” she added. “So being able to play with her is just like an amazing thing to do in my last year.”
Calling the transfer portal process "very different than the recruiting process," Jenkins knew the Old Pueblo was the right fit after conversations with Lowe and assistant coach Amber Freeman.
“It just felt different than the other conversations I had and I came on campus and it sounds really cliché, but it just felt like home," she said. "I knew that this coaching staff had a really great reputation and they were just really good human beings and then also, too, I knew a lot of the girls on the team.
“So it was just a combination of getting the opportunity to play with really good people and then also play for an amazing program.”
Arizona’s Grace Jenkins (8) comes into third base on the way to the plate after slashing a two-RBI homer to draw the Wildcats to 6-5 in the fifth against Oklahoma, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Tucson.
At UConn, Jenkins was on the All-Big East team three times and was the conference’s freshman of the year in 2023. She had a .484 on-base percentage, set the Huskies’ career record in RBIs (138) and doubles (51) and had school single-season records with 19 doubles, 21 homers, 68 RBIs, 65 runs, 39 walks and 154 total bases last year.
New era brings new faces
Jenkins comes to Arizona after the Wildcats lost outfielders Dakota Kennedy and Kaiah Altmeyer to the portal. Kennedy, who was an All-American, went to Arkansas and Altmeyer, who was second team All-Big 12, went to defending national champion Texas.
“In today's day and age, that just is the norm,” Shockey said of the transfer portal era. “They stayed true to themselves, and I stayed true to myself, and I didn't get caught in the flow. ... They're still my best friends to this day. We were the three. But they're happy where they are, and I'm extremely happy where I am, and I'm just proud to be here. There was no thought in my head that I would go anywhere else.”
Arizona lost seven other players to the portal: catcher Emily Schepp and pitcher Aissa Silva to ASU, pitcher Brooke Mannon to Indiana, pitcher Ryan Maddox to Washington, pitcher Sydney Somerndike to UCLA, outfielder Zaedi Tagalog to Pacific, and second baseman Logan Cole is no longer playing after marrying (Sacramento) Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson in December.
The new Wildcats have worked their way into the action, including Addison Duke — a sophomore transfer from Ole Miss who hails from Yuma — who has started in left field in the Wildcats’ first five games.
UA added four others via the transfer portal: senior pitcher Jalen Adams from Iowa, sophomore pitcher Jenae Berry from Indiana, junior outfielder Tele Jennings from San Diego and sophomore infielder Sereniti Trice from Iowa State. Jenkins, Trice, Duke, Jennings, Berry and Adams have made starts so far this season.
Lowe said this has been a fun portal class, and most of them were in town and working out in July, a month before the team was scheduled to reconvene.
“Jalen, I knew from first phone call, I’m like, ‘she has to come here,’ like, we just vibed so well and I think she felt that too because that was a pretty fast turnaround,” Lowe said. “Grace, I had to think about because I'm like, ‘man, I don't know what I can promise this kid catching wise,’ but I want her bat in our line up for sure and has just been a gem of a human. I think it's hard with a transfer portal, like understanding that you want to bring in your culture kids, but you also got to bring in elite talent and I think we were able to do a good job of both.”
Give and take
Jenkins got an RBI and double against Southern Utah last week, then hit a two-run home run in the win over No. 3 Oklahoma Friday to help start the rally. She also had an RBI on Saturday against the Sooners.
When asked about tutoring Jenkins and sophomore Emma Kavanagh, another catcher who is taking up an outfield role, Shockey said they’re good enough athletes that they don’t need a lot of help; at the end of the day, it’s just playing catch.
Arizona right fielder Grace Jenkins (8) can only wave at Oklahoma’s Nelly McEnroe-Marinas (2) two-run homer in the first inning of their game, Feb. 6, 2026, in Tucson.
Jenkins said she has learned a lot from Shockey, an All-West Region honoree, however.
“She's one of the smartest players I've ever played with, like, she'll say things and there are a couple moments in the fall where she would say something before the pitch, and then it would happen,” Jenkins said. “I'm like, ‘wait, crazy that you predicted that,’ but it's true and just honestly leaning on her and then, we have an amazing coaching staff.
“So, Caitlin Lowe, (assistant coach) Lauren Lappin, they're insane with the defensive perspective,” she added. “So just really leaning on them. We have an incredible staff that I lean on and also my teammates, as well.”
Jenkins, of Folsom, Calif., placed third at PGF Nationals and at the Triple Crown Nationals playing for Lady Magic. UA senior infielder Tayler Biehl, who is also from Folsom, also played club for the Magic.
Jenkins parted ways with one other Folsom player though, after playing together at UConn — her twin, Hope, transferred to Ole Miss. Hope is a pitcher/utility.
Connecticut pitcher Hope Jenkins (7) embraces catcher Grace Jenkins (17) during a game against Georgia Tech on Feb. 10, 2023 in Atlanta.
“It was hard, but it was also super rewarding, it’s really cool to be a twin and to experience that,” the Arizona twin said. “Obviously we're two different people and when entering the portal, different teams needed different things but she's loving it at Ole Miss and I can't wait to see what she does.”
