ORLANDO – The rookies are on the national radar.
As announced by Softball America Tuesday morning, catcher/first baseman Beth Damon and infielders Coco Jaimes and Izzy Mertes were named to the publication’s 2025 preseason Freshman Watch List.
The honor represents the second preseason watch list on which Jaimes has seen her name included, joining her appointment to D1Softball.com’s D100 Freshman Watch List Jan. 8.
With Tuesday’s announcement, four members of the Knights’ five-player freshman class have now garnered preseason recognition as well, as right-handed pitcher Yessenia Lopez was also tabbed to D1Softball’s preseason D100 list.
Damon represents the highest-ranked recruit in UCF’s 2025 class at No. 24 in the nation according to Extra Inning Softball, and was also tabbed a four-star catcher by Softball America/On3.
Throughout her first 137 career high school games, she boasted a .526 batting average with 181 hits, including 54 doubles, 80 walks and 164 RBI. The Edmond, Oklahoma, native also earned two All-Conference Offensive Player of the Year selections, three All-District Player of the Year selections, one All-Region selection and one All-State Selection during her high school tenure.
Mertes joined Damon on Softball America’s recruitment rankings, representing the second Knights freshman to earn four-star status. She hit .566 during her junior season, marking her third straight year with an average north of .470, and slugged 30 home runs through her first three high school seasons.
With the OC Batbusters in travel ball, she helped lead her squad to two Alliance National Championships in 2022 and 2023, as well as an Alliance Super Cup Championship in 2023.
Jaimes was a four-year varsity captain at Riverside Poly High School in Riverside, California, where she earned First Team All-League selections in three straight seasons from 2021-23, as well as two Golden Glove awards in 2021 and 2023.
With the Corona Angels, Jaimes and her team earned a top-eight finish at the Alliance National Championship in 2023, and she also played her way to three straight Ivy League Championships from 2021-23 with Riverside Poly as well.
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