Indiana softball gained 12 newcomers from the transfer portal and its freshman class during the offseason, but no matter how they arrived in Bloomington, they are already making an early impact 15 games into the 2026 season.
One of the most prominent players to arrive at Indiana via the transfer portal is senior outfielder Ellie Goins.
Goins transferred to Indiana from North Carolina State University following a 2025 season where she registered 13 hits, 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. Through the first 15 games of the season, she has hit a scorching .432 and is fourth on the team with 12 RBIs. She also ranks fourth on the team in hits with 16.
Another transfer who has had an immediate impact is junior utility player Brooke Mannon, who came to Bloomington from the University of Arizona. Mannon starred for the Wildcats both at the plate and on the mound, and she has already had a similar impact for ninth-year Indiana head coach Shonda Stanton and the Hoosiers.
Mannon has already registered eight hits and four RBIs offensively. As a pitcher, she has posted a 1.27 ERA in six appearances. She has pitched 11 innings so far this season, putting up 11 strikeouts while surrendering five hits and two earned runs.
Also on the pitching side, freshman pitcher Aubree Hooks arrived in Bloomington following a career at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama, and has immediately made her way into the pitching rotation for the Hoosiers. Hooks has appeared in five games, starting four, and has pitched 16.0 innings thus far. She has recorded a 1.31 ERA with nine strikeouts, but she’s given up 15 hits on the year along with three earned runs.
Sophomore pitcher Ella Troutt arrived at Indiana from the University of Georgia, where she finished the 2025 season with a 2-0 record and a 7.68 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched. She notched seven strikeouts on the mound, and she managed to score a run as a pinch runner in a game against Longwood University in February of last year.
This season for the Hoosiers, Troutt has pitched 24 innings. She has registered a 2.33 ERA and racked up 20 strikeouts, but she has also given up 23 hits and eight earned runs on the year.
Some of the other newcomers for Indiana include players such as freshman outfielder Jada Ellison and utility player Josie White.
Ellison arrived in Bloomington from Oakland High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She has racked up two hits and two RBIs in six at-bats this season.
White was a standout at Greenfield-Central High School in Greenfield, Indiana, where she posted a high school career batting average of .462. So far in the 2026 season, she’s only gotten three at-bats but has tallied three hits and an RBI.
The Hoosiers have lots of veteran talent, but Stanton has infused her team with youth and new faces. Players such as Goins and Mannon have had immediate impacts on this Indiana offense, while players like Hooks and Troutt have made their mark on the mound for the Hoosiers.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Joe Elms (@JoeElms1 and @jpelms@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana softball season.
