ORLANDO – As the beginning of the UCF softball team’s 2025 season approaches with the program’s annual season-opening Black & Gold Classic, head coach Cindy Ball-Malone will bring into the new year an exciting team infused with young talent and potential to complement the experience and established skills of its returners.
In part one of UCF softball’s class preview, the freshmen on the squad’s 2025 roster will be highlighted.
Coco Jaimes | INF | Riverside, Calif.
Coco Jaimes made the journey to UCF from Riverside, California where she played varsity for four years at Riverside Poly High School. Jaimes earned First Team All-League for three straight seasons (2021-23) and two Golden Glove Awards in 2021 and 2023. Jaimes led her team to earn a top-eight finish at the Alliance National Championship in 2023 and earned three Ivy League Championships from 2021-2023. Jaimes joins the Knights as an infielder.
Yessenia Lopez | RHP | New York, N.Y.
Right-handed pitcher Yessenia Lopez joined the Knights from New York, New York. In high school, Lopez was ranked No. 35 in the nation in the 2024-2025 recruiting class by Extra Inning Softball and spent nine years in travel and club softball with Florida Gold Lopez/Santana. Most recently, Lopez aided Team Puerto Rico in earning the silver medal during the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile in Nov. 2023.
Izzy Mertes | INF | Chatsworth, Calif.
The Chatsworth, California native Izzy Mertes was ranked a four-star infielder by Softball America/ On3. The infielder won two championships, in 2021 she won the Foothill League title and in 2022 she won the Gold Coast League title. In travel ball, Mertes played for the OC Batbusters and led the team to two Alliance National Championships in 2022 and 2023, and an Alliance Super Cup Championship in 2023. Mertes slugged 30 home runs in her three years of high school, as well as hitting .566 in her junior season.
Kendall Yarnell | INF | Olathe, Kan.
Infielder Kendall Yarnell was selected for the Sunflower League’s First and Second Team and won League Player of the Year during her sophomore season. The Olathe, Kansas, native was also a member of the track and field team, earning a Sunflower League First Time Selection and an All-State selection her junior year. Yarnell won a regional championship title with her high school team.
Beth Damon | C/1B | Edmond, Okla.
Beth Damon, from Edmond Oklahoma, is the highest-ranked recruit in UCF’s 2025 class, ranked No. 24 in the nation according to Extra Inning Softball. Damon also joins Mertes as the second four-star in UCF’s freshman class according to Softball America/On3. Damon produced a .526 batting average through her first 137 high school games which includes 181 hits, including 54 doubles, 80 walks and 164 RBI. Damon has garnered two All-Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, three All-District Player of the Year honors, one All-Region selection, and one All-State selection.
Taylor Kittleman | INF/OF | Lancaster, Penn.
Redshirt freshman Taylor Kittleman, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was awarded Manheim Township Most Valuable Player and First Team All-League during her junior and senior seasons. She hit for a .500 average during her junior season as well.
Isabella Vega | RHP | Bradenton, Fla.
Isabella Vega, who joined Kittleman as a member of the 2023-24 squad who took a redshirt, was nominated for the Golden Herald Award during her senior high school season. She was named to the Herald Tribune All-Area Team during her junior year and won FACA District 16 Class 3A Player of the Year. Vega also won Parish Community High School Player of the Year honors in 2022 which was earned after she had a .65 ERA, a .59 WHIP, and a .127 batting average in her junior year.
UP NEXT
UCF softball kicks off its spring 2025 campaign with a Feb. 6 season-opening twin bill against CSU Bakersfield at 3:30 p.m. and No. 14 Georgia at 6 p.m. The Knights will then meet NC State Feb. 7 at 4:30 p.m., Illinois Feb. 8 at 5 p.m., and conclude the weekend with a Sunday doubleheader against James Madison at 11 a.m. and Illinois at 1 p.m.
The complete tournament schedule, live stats, ESPN+ livestream links and results can be found here.
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