LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head softball coach Todd Judge announced the signing of five players to the 2024-2025 roster in infielder/outfielder Faith Kroening (Phoenix, Arizona), first baseman/third baseman Alex Garcia (Folsom, California), first baseman/third baseman Justine Davidson (Farmington, Arkansas), catcher Jaelyn Castillo (Tucson, Arizona) and middle infielder Rylee Turlington (Wittmann, Arizona).
 
"We are extremely excited to announce our 2024 recruiting class," Judge said. This class is a group of players that have played at the highest level of club softball. They have played under some great club softball coaches, which will help them greatly transition into the collegiate game." 
 
"We feel that each player we have brought in will help in getting this program to where we want it to be," Judge said. "The number one thing we recruited were high character players who have a high softball IQ. We also wanted to add team speed, depth to our infield and players that not only hit for average but can also hit for power. We feel like we have accomplished everything we were looking for, so we could not be more excited to announce this class of 2024."
 
Kroening is a three-year letterwinner at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona. There, she has earned Desert Valley all-region first team accolades all three seasons, and was named the region's Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. Kroening was also named the school's Female Athlete of the Year and was the team's most valuable player after posting a .467 batting average with 43 hits, 12 doubles, three triples, a .545 OBP and 28 stolen bases in 2023. She currently ranks third in school history with 62 stolen bases in her career. 
 
Kroening plays club softball for Arizona Storm, a team ranked No. 4 in Fall 2023. Her team took fifth place in the National Power Pool at the TCS Colorado Sparkler in 2023, while she participated in the 2022 16U Future Stars game at the 2022 TCS Colorado Sparkler. 
 
Garcia is a three-year letterwinner at St. Francis High School in Sacramento, California. There, as a team captain, she has helped the Troubadours to a second-place finish in the Division 2 San Joaquin Section in 2021-22, and her team was a top-8 Division 1 NorCal finalist in 2022-23. In 28 games that season, Garcia posted a .429 batting average with 39 hits, 23 RBIs, seven doubles and two home runs. 
 
Garcia plays club softball for I-5, and was a 2022 and 2023 PGF high school All-American nominee. Her team had a top-8 finish at the PGF Premier Championship in 2023, as well as a top-10 finish in the Colorado Sparkler Power Pool. In 2022, Garcia hit with a .391 average with 28 RBIs, 10 doubles and seven home runs. 
 
Davidson is a three-year letterwinner at Farmington (Arkansas) High School. There, she has helped lead the Cardinal to a pair of 4A-1 conference championships and state tournament appearances all three years, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2023. Davidson was named to the 4A-1 all-conference first team her sophomore and junior years, and the second team as a freshman. She was named the top third baseman in Arkansas by Scorebook Live her sophomore and junior seasons, and had a strong junior campaign with a .395 batting average, nine doubles and six home runs, while turning eight double plays and recording 23 putouts and 53 assists. 
 
Davidson played five years of club softball for Athletics Jendro, and is now playing for Iowa Premier 18U National. In 2023, her team earned a third-place finish at the Colorado Sparkler Power Pool, and a top-10 finish at the PGF national championship. 
 
Castillo is a three-year letterwinner at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona, where she has helped lead the Lancers to back-to-back-to-back 4A Arizona state titles in 2021, 2022 and 2023. She earned all-region honors and was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year as a junior after posting a .400 batting average with 40 hits, 31 RBIs, seven doubles and three home runs. Her team went 39-1 and was ranked ninth nationally by MaxPreps in 2023. 
 
Castillo played club softball for OVSC from 2020-22, and currently plays for AZ Storm, which was ranked No. 4 in the nation in 2023. In 2022, she helped OVSC to a top-25 finish at the Colorado Sparkler, and in 2023 she was selected to participate in the Colorado Sparkler futures game. During her club career, Castillo has a .422 batting average with 208 hits, 122 RBIs, 61 doubles, 11 triples and 10 home runs.
 
Turlington is a three-year letterwinner for Willow Canyon High School in Surprise, Arizona, where she has helped the Wildcats to a pair of Arizona 5A state titles (2021, 2022) and a state runner-up finish (2023). As a junior, she led the state of Arizona in RBIs and was second in the state in home runs, with 64 and 12, respectively. She also had a .438 batting average with a .962 slugging percentage to be named her team's offensive MVP. 
 
Turlington has played club softball for various teams, including two years with AZ Storm, two years with Firecrackers-AZ, two years with AZ Bombers and three years with Rogue. In 2023, she helped her team to a top-10 finish at the Colorado Sparkler Power Pool, as well as an Elite 8 Alliance National Championship. 
 
Fans can follow the Aggie softball program on Twitter, @USUSoftball, on Facebook at /USUSoftball or on Instagram, @ususoftball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
 
Utah State Softball 2024-25 Signing Class
Jaelyn Castillo – Catcher – Tucson, Arizona
Justine Davidson – 1B/3B – Farmington, Arkansas
Faith Kroening – Infield/Outfield – Phoenix, Arizona
Alex Garcia – 1B/3B – Folsom, California
Rylee Turlington – Middle Infielder – Wittmann, Arizona