It has been more than eight months since Kentucky softball closed out the 2025 season with a loss to Clemson in the regional final of the NCAA Tournament.
This past weekend, the Wildcats opened the 2026 season, going 5-1 through their first week of play. The Cats are looking to continue their 16-year streak of NCAA Tournament bids under head coach Rachel Lawson.
The Cats entered the season after losing six players to the transfer portal and three to graduation. Those departures included four transfers headed to other SEC schools.
Two of the major losses include Cassie Reasner, who transferred to Ole Miss, and Ally Hutchins, who left for LSU.
Reasner, a four-star transfer per On3, started at shortstop in 56 of the Cats’ 59 games. She recorded a .289 batting average, 10 home runs and 30 RBIs.
Hutchins started all but the first game of the 2025 season at third base for the Cats and made a total of 102 starts in her two years at Kentucky.
Reasner and Hutchins transferring out not only took two everyday bats out of the lineup but also left the Cats with no career starts on the left side of the infield.
Oregon State transfer and second-year Cat, Madyson Clark, has taken over Reasner’s spot at short. She was moved around a lot during her time with the Beavers.
“My freshman year, (I) got moved over to second base,” Clark said. “That was a whole nother area of learning.”
She split time between shortstop, third base and the outfield during her last season in Corvallis. Last year, in her first year with the Cats, Clark spent most of her time at second base.
Clark played shortstop growing up and is rather familiar with the position, making the offseason transition comfortable for her. However, familiarity with the position does not always prevent rustiness.
“It’s kind of like riding a bike, it all kind of comes back to you,” Clark said. “It’s definitely taken those few extra reps where it’s like, ‘okay, gotta work this out.’”
After joining the lineup following an injury to start the season, Clark quickly became a staple. She closed out the season anchoring the two spot in the order, posting a .253 batting average and a .346 on-base percentage in 41 games.
Clark opened the first three games of the 2026 season leading off for the Cats before being moved around in the lineup in the final two games of the weekend.
She went 4-for-15 at the plate, including a one-out single that sparked a five-run second inning in Kentucky’s 8-0 run-rule victory over Minnesota.
Her comfortability in the field did not show, however, as she committed five errors in five games at the San Diego State Season Kickoff.
Sophomore Allie Blum also saw time at shortstop during the fall but opened the season at second base. Lawson said Blum can play either middle infield position if needed.
Junior Emory Donaldson has transitioned to third base to fill the hole Hutchins left behind. Donaldson appeared in 56 games for the Cats last season, splitting time between second base, center field and left field.
“She’s probably one of the best defensive players that we’ve ever taught,” Lawson said. “She’s moved to the third base position, because we needed that — an elite infielder.”
Donaldson is exactly that. She is an elite infielder.
She has posted a .966 career fielding percentage in 97 games. She also produced at the plate in 2025, recording a .286 batting average and 21 RBIs from her spot toward the bottom of the order.
While Donaldson recovered from injury in the fall, both Troy transfer Reaghan Oney and freshman Abby Hammond also took reps at third base.
Oney, a former Miss Kentucky Softball, transferred after one year at Troy, where she hit .321 in 48 games with the Trojans.
Hammond is a two-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, who thrives on the mound but also swung a big bat in high school, hitting .571 and slugging over 1.300 in her four years at Lexington Catholic.
Lawson said she expects Hammond to have an immediate impact in the pitching rotation, rather than at third.
Donaldson was healthy enough to start all five games in San Diego at third base for the Cats. Her defense again proved trustworthy, recording just one error in 18 defensive chances at her new position.
Her best moments of the weekend came at the plate. She went 5-for-13 with three extra-base hits and one RBI. Donaldson also posted a .467 on-base percentage, which ranked second on the team among starters.
The Wildcats (5-1) continue their early season west coast trip on Thursday, Feb. 12, with a doubleheader to start off the Stanford Invitational.
First pitch for game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET against Cal State Fullerton (3-3) followed by game two against No. 12 Stanford (5-0) at 9 p.m. ET.
