Arkansas softball adds prized portal pickup in Texas Tech’s Kailey Wyckoff

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – The Katy, Texas to Arkansas softball pipeline got even stronger on Sunday when the Razorbacks picked up a prized portal pickup that was All- Big 12 first-team selection last season.

Texas Tech utility player and former Katy prep standout Kailey Wyckoff announced Sunday that she would be joining a pair of former high school teammates in incoming freshmen Camryn Harrison and Ashtyn Reichardt at Arkansas next season.

The 5-7 lefty-swinging Wyckoff, rated as Softball America’s fifth-best player in the transfer portal, hit a team-leading .407 as a sophomore last season for the Red Raiders with 7 home runs, 35 RBIs, 12 doubles, 2 triples and 3 stolen bases.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Wyckoff said in announcing her pledge via social media platform X.

Starting 49 of the 50 games she played in last season, Wyckoff saw action at catcher, first base, right field and left field while slugging .662 with an on-base percentage of .482.

She had 8 walks to just 12 strikeouts and enjoyed a 24-game on-base sterak at one point in the season.

That breakout campaign came after being named a D1 Softball Freshman All-American, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and second team All-Big 12 season in 2023.

Wyckoff hit .393 as a freshman with 9 home runs, 31 RBIs, 17 doubles and a Big 12- leading 5 triples with 14 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI ones.

Harrison and Reichardt are two members of an 8-player Razorback recruiting class that includes three of the nation’s best high school pitchers and is ranked No. 5 in the country by Extra Innings.

Harrison was tabbed Texas’ Gatorade Player of the Year after a senior season in which she went 22-1 record on the mound with a 0.53 ERA and 232 strikeouts in 119.1 innings pitched.

She also hit .500 with 10 home runs, 47 RBIs and 28 runs scored for a squad that went 39-3-1 this season.

As a junior, Harrison compiled a 0.81 ERA across 103.2 innings in the circle while logging a 16-3 record. She also tallied a .432 batting average with 11 home runs and 36 RBI at the plate.

Harrison joins two other All-American pitchers joining Arkansas next season in fellow right handers Lexi King of Windmere, Fla., and Payton Burnham of Eugene (OR) Sheldon.

Reichardt, a lefty outfielder, hit a team-high .560 with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for a team that was ranked No. 1 nationally most of the high school season.

She was named the District 19-6A offensive player of the year in a season where her team scored 412 runs while allowing just 28.

Reichardt hit .484 as a junior with a .588 on-base percentage five home runs, 15 doubles, three triples and 47 runs as a junior in 2023.

Reichardt was tabbed the No. 22 overall player in the class of 2024 by Extra Inning Softball.

The other members of freshman class are all position players in Richmond (Texas) Foster infielder Ella McDowell, Green County Tech utility player Ava Carter, Fresno (Calif.) Central first baseman Jayden Ramos and Shreveport (LA) Calvary Baptist outfielder Ramsey Walker.

Photo courtesy of Kailey Wyckoff