Last week’s column took a look at three softball players who will arrive from the transfer portal to Tennessee. This week’s column takes a peek at the six freshmen who have signed their paperwork to be Lady Vols, will enroll soon and play their first official college softball season in 2026.

The six pack of players is rated as the No. 2 class in the country with four players ranked in the top 25 in the high school class of 2025. The players hail from Tennessee, California, Colorado and Kansas and include Meredith Barnhart, Peyton Hardenburger, Taelyn Holley, Elsa Morrison, Kailey Plumlee and McCall Sims.

Barnhart, a 5-8 infielder from Parker, Colorado, is a four-time state champion, Colorado 4A Player of the Year in 2024 and MaxPreps Colorado Softball Player of the year in 2025.

“I chose to attend Tennessee because it feels like home to me,” Barnhart said. “The atmosphere around athletics is unmatched. It makes me want to work harder and perform better. Playing for proven, trusted coaches in the SEC is an incredible opportunity. Additionally, the people of Knoxville have great hospitality and the liveliness within the town feels so inviting. It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol.”

Hardenburger, a 5-7 righthanded pitcher from Wamego, Kansas, is ranked as the No. 4 player in the country, No. 2 pitcher in the 2025 class and No. 1 player from Kansas. She won Kansas 4A state championships in 2023 and 2024 and was named the 2024 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year

“The family atmosphere that Tennessee presented was unmatched,” Hardenburger said. “I fell in love with the culture, athletic and academic opportunities they have for their student-athletes. Some SEC schools l visited felt like football reigned over everyone. At Tennessee, it really felt like an everything school which l loved.”

Peyton Hardenburger, the No. 2-ranked pitcher in the country in the class of 2025, will be in orange next season.

Holley, a 5-6 outfielder from Murrieta, California, is ranked No. 7 overall  in the country and No. 2 among outfielders. She also was ranked No. 2 overall in the Golden State, a hotbed of softball recruits.

She was the California State Junior Player of the Year, Southwest League MVP, four-time Southwestern League Champion and holds records at Murrieta Mesa High School for runs scored in a season, 59; runs scored in a career, 145; and highest single-season batting average at .598.

“I want to continue the Lady Vol legacy,” Holley said. “It also felt like home the minute I stepped on campus.”

Morrison, a 5-11 catcher from Knoxville who played at Farragut High School, is ranked No. 11 overall in the country, No. 2 catcher and No. 1 player from Tennessee.

She was the 2023-2024 Tennessee Softball Gatorade Player of the Year, East Tennessee Miss Softball and 5-Star Preps Player of the Year. Morrison also won the Tier 1-18u 2024 Alliance national championship with Texas Bombers Gold.

Elsa Morrison, who played at Farragut High School, will be in orange next. She is the No. 1 ranked player in Tennessee.

“The first thing that led me to my decision on where to attend school was based on academics,” Morrison said. “In college, I plan on studying engineering, and the Tickle School of Engineering has a good industrial program that I would like to focus on. The second thing that brought me to Knoxville is coach Karen Weekly and the university’s legacy in growing female athletes. Knoxville is home to me, and I couldn’t be more excited to get a chance to compete for a national championship!”

Plumlee, a 5-10 lefthanded pitcher from Carthage, Tennessee, is ranked No. 22 in the country, No. 9 at the pitcher position and No. 2 player from Tennessee.

She was the 2024 Tennessee Softball Gatorade Player of the Year and won 1A State Championships in 2023 and 2024 at Gordonsville High School. Plumlee started pitching for the varsity team as an eighth grader in 2021 and finished her high school career with 1,583 strikeouts and a career ERA of 1.22.

“I chose the University of Tennessee for many reasons,” Plumlee said. “The first is that they are family-oriented. My family is the most important thing to me other than my faith. The second reason I chose UT is because it felt like home, I felt safe and supported by all the staff, coaches and future teammates.

“And last but definitely not least is my faith. The coaches and players encourage each other to prioritize their faith. With God all things are possible! He is the one person that will always be there and has always been there so keeping my faith a priority is really big for me.”

Sims, a 5-6 outfielder from Martin, Tennessee, is ranked No. 54 in the country, No. 23 at the outfield position and No. 5 player from Tennessee. She was the 2023 Division 1 2A State Champion for Westview High School and 2024 2A Tennessee Miss Softball.

She also won a PGF national championship and Triple Crown national championship in travel ball and hit .667 as a high school junior.

McCall Sims, who is from Martin, Tennessee, is ranked the No. 5 player from Tennessee.

“I chose the University of Tennessee because it just felt like home and I love the home, family-like feel and the atmosphere surrounding all sports,” Sims said. “It is like no other and it’s always been my dream to play softball here at Tennessee.”

In other softball news, All-American pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who would have been a hot commodity and likely could have commanded seven figures in an NIL deal in the transfer portal for one season of work, will play her final season at Tennessee.

Her Instagram post, which can be viewed HERE, said: “It’s the dirt that they’re gonna bury me in, TN. Wearing Tennessee across my chest means everything but wearing it alongside these girls means even more. Forever grateful for this amazing group of girls and all we accomplished this season. Go Lady Vols #LVFL #KP23”

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press and a 10th anniversary edition will be released in 2026.