Softball Places Five on 2025 Post-Season All-Big 12 Conference Teams

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – As announced by the league office Wednesday, the UCF softball team saw five members placed on the Big 12 Conference’s 2025 post-season All-Conference Teams. This season marks the second straight with five Knights earning post-season All-Big 12 Conference recognition.

Leading the charge for UCF is redshirt freshman right-hander Isabella Vega, who, after authoring a dominant collegiate debut season, earned All-Big 12 Conference First Team and unanimous All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors.

Junior shortstop Aubrey Evans and sophomore third baseman Sierra Humphreys landed on the All-Big 12 Second Team, and freshmen Izzy Mertes and Beth Damon joined Vega on the All-Big 12 Freshman Team.

ISABELLA VEGA – ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM, UNANIMOUS ALL-BIG 12 FRESHMAN TEAM

After taking a redshirt and sitting out during the 2024 season, Vega this spring certainly has reaped the benefits of the work she put in during her development year.

In addition to her post-season All-Conference recognition, the Bradenton native also earned one Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honor, two D1Softball National Freshman of the Week honors, and two Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors this season.

She threw her first career no-hitter in the regular season’s final weekend against Kansas, spun a seven-inning complete game shutout in UCF’s 4-0 victory over the No. 3 Florida Gators at home, and against ranked opponents overall this spring finished with a 1.69 ERA in 29 innings pitched with 23 strikeouts and a .248 batting average-against.

In conference play, Vega finished as the Big 12’s ERA leader, besting Conference Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady’s 1.05 conference ERA with a 0.89 mark of her own in 55.1 innings of work.

She kicked off conference play helping lead UCF to its series-opening win over No. 4 Arizona, tossing 5.1 innings with just two earned runs allowed on four hits with four strikeouts. Her effort was instrumental in the team later earning the highest-ranked series win in program history.

Vega then went on to allow two or fewer runs in each of her final 11 appearances in conference play, and ended the regular season with a 22.2-inning scoreless streak against Big 12 opponents dating back to UCF’s 9-1 run-rule win over BYU April 10.

SIERRA HUMPHREYS – ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM

Sophomore slumps hate to see Sierra Humphreys coming.

The Corona, California native followed her unanimous All-Big 12 Freshman Team 2024 campaign with a standout sophomore slate, setting single-season career-bests in games played (51), average (.371), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.530), runs scored (40), hits (56), doubles (8), triples (2), total bases (80), home runs (4), walks (25) and stolen bases (15), while trimming her 2024 strikeout total of 26 down to just 12 in 2025.

UCF’s leading hitter throughout the regular season, Humphreys authored a single-season career-best 23-game on-base streak from Feb. 15–March 26, during which she hit .426/.500/.603 (29-for-68) with 18 runs scored, two doubles, two triples, two home runs, 10 walks and 41 total bases.

Humphreys in conference play recorded a .333/.461/.500 (20-for-60) line, accompanied by five extra-base hits and 30 total bases.

She went consecutive conference games without hitting safely just twice, and with 15 walks served as a catalyst for her team’s offense, scoring 18 runs, including three straight conference games with multiple runs scored against Houston April 26-27 and Kansas May 2.

AUBREY EVANS – ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM

Evans sees her name on an All-Conference team for the second time in her first three collegiate seasons, as she previously earned All-Rookie Team and All-Conference Second Team honors in UCF’s final season in the American Athletic Conference in 2023.

After hitting a combined four home runs between her first two seasons, the shortstop has enjoyed a power surge throughout her junior campaign, slugging a single-season career-high nine en route to setting other career-highs in slugging percentage (.562), RBI (31), total bases (86) and runs scored (32), and matching her previous season-best in total hits (48).

Evans represented UCF’s leading hitter in conference play, producing a .338/.430/.635 (25-for-74) line accompanied by 18 runs scored, four doubles, six home runs, 19 RBI, 12 walks and 47 total bases.

She went consecutive conference games without hitting safely just once, and in her first conference series of the season at No. 4 Arizona, hit a key game-tying two-run home run in game two that helped power the Knights to the highest-ranked series win in program history.

Against the No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowgirls April 18, she hit her first career grand slam in a nine-run first inning, helping propel UCF to its sixth top 25 ranked win of the season and the Knights’ first win over the Cowgirls under head coach Cindy Ball-Malone.

IZZY MERTES – ALL-BIG 12 FRESHMAN TEAM

Mertes proved worthy of the Softball America four-star status she brought with her entering her first collegiate season. The Chatsworth, California native served as the Knights’ second-leading hitter overall, recording a .315/.426/.582 (46-for-146) line, accompanied by 26 runs scored, 16 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 32 RBI, 85 total bases and 28 walks.

Her 28 free passes and 16 doubles both lead the team entering play in the Big 12 Conference tournament, with the latter threatening teammate Aubrey Evans’ 2023 program single-season doubles record of 18. Her 16 doubles also rank tied for the most in the Big 12 with Arizona’s Kaiah Altmeyer.

She went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles in the largest ranked comeback win in program history against No. 15 Missouri, and in UCF’s 6-4 win over Clemson, now slotted No. 13 in the NCAA’s RPI rankings, she hit her first career home run. She also hit an insurance two-run home run in UCF’s 4-0 win over No. 3 Florida in Orlando.

Mertes played a key role in UCF’s series win at No. 4 Arizona, hitting safely in all three games, including a double and two runs scored. In conference play overall, the freshman slashed .299/.429/.507 (20-for-67) with 12 runs scored, six doubles, one triple, two home runs, 34 total bases and 16 walks.

She notched five multi-hit games against Big 12 opponents, and notably went 2-for-4 against No. 21 Oklahoma State ace Ruby Meylan in the teams’ series finale, hitting a solo home run and an RBI double.

BETH DAMON – ALL-BIG 12 FRESHMAN TEAM

Damon, like Mertes, joined the Knights as a four-star recruit out of high school according to Softball America and made an immediate impact, establishing herself as a regular in Ball-Malone’s lineup.

Her breakout game came against the Clemson Tigers in Clearwater Feb. 15, when she went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI in helping lead UCF to its 6-4 eight-inning win.

She hit her first career home run in UCF’s 3-0 shutout win over No. 22 Florida Atlantic Feb. 26, and later hit her second long ball in the Knights’ series-opening win over No. 4 Arizona in Tucson March 7.

One of the more prolific games of her young career came against the Arizona State Sun Devils March 15, when she went 3-for-4 with two home runs, including her first career grand slam, and seven RBI in UCF’s 11-0 run-rule win.

In conference play overall, Damon hit an aggregate .269/.351/.522 (18-for-67) with nine runs scored, seven extra-base hits, 18 RBI and 35 total bases.

Her second three-hit game in league play came on the road against Baylor, when she helped lead UCF to its 7-2 win with a 3-for-4 showing, and she later hit safely in all three games against Kansas, going a combined 4-for-9 with five RBI, two doubles and one home run as the Black and Gold completed their first series sweep of the season.

UP NEXT

UCF’s five All-Big 12 honorees will lead the group into Big 12 Conference tournament play Wednesday evening in its first-round matchup against Utah. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be streamed on ESPN+.

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