LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head softball coach Todd Judge announced the signing of eight players to the team's 2026-27 roster on Wednesday.
This signing class features eight players, including six from the state of Arizona and two from California. Signees include middle infield/outfielder Amanda Benites (Chandler, Arizona), middle infielder Anaya Romero (Avondale, Arizona), outfielder Bri Smith (Phoenix, Arizona), pitcher Maddie Holzer (Sahuarita, Arizona), catcher Natalie Holzer (Sahuarita, Arizona), pitcher Mia Jacobs (Litchfield Park, Arizona), middle infield/outfielder Camryn Legeny (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) and infielder Gianna Garcia (Camarillo, California).
"This Class of 2026 has everything and it's absolutely loaded with talent," Judge said. "We're bringing in a top-100 player, middle infielders who are fast and athletic, two pitchers that we believe will have outstanding careers, outfielders who can really go get the ball, and a dominant catcher who commands the game. This group is special. They come from winning programs, they know how to compete, and they represent everything we value in our program. We couldn't be more excited to call them Aggies!"
Amanda Benites | Middle Infield/Outfield | Chandler, Arizona | Hamilton HS
Amanda Benites is a four-time letterwinner at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, where she has helped lead the Broncos to three-straight 6A Arizona state tournament appearances in 2023, 2024 and 2025. She is ranked as the No. 82 player in the 2026 class by Line Drive Softball. Benites earned 6A Premier all-region first-team honors as a junior and freshman, and second-team honors as a sophomore and was also named to the 6A all-conference second team her freshman season. As Hamilton's primary leadoff hitter in her first three seasons, Benites has batted .422 with 119 hits, 40 RBIs and 34 stolen bases during her career.
Benites has played club softball for Arizona Rising under coach Steve Appel in Gilbert, Arizona, for 10 years, where she helped her team win the 2025 PGF 18U national championship. She also helped Arizona Rising to the championship of the 16U Colorado Sparkler and third place at the 2025 18U Colorado Sparkler and the 2024 16U PGF Nationals.
Anaya Romero | Middle Infield | Avondale, Arizona | La Joya Community HS
Anaya Romero is a four-time letterwinner at La Joya Community High School in Avondale, Arizona, where she helped lead the Lobos to their first-ever 5A Central Valley Region title in 2025. She earned region player and offensive player of the year honors as well as all-conference first-team honors as a junior. Romero was named an honorable mention All-American by MaxPreps in 2025 after batting .753 with 25 home runs, 10 triples, 13 doubles and 94 RBIs and posting a slugging percentage of 2.086.
Romero has played club softball for Arizona Storm and Arizona Rising in Phoenix, Arizona, where she has helped her team to third-place finishes at the 16U PGF Nationals and at three-straight Colorado Sparkler tournaments.
Bri Smith | Outfield | Phoenix, Arizona | Pinnacle HS
Bri Smith is a three-time letterwinner at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where she helped the Pioneers to third-place 6A finishes in 2024 and 2025. She earned district player of the year honors as well as second-team all-state honors after batting .500 with 49 hits, 18 RBIs and seven triples as a junior. The Pinnacle center fielder has posted a fielding percentage of .971 and stolen 49 bases during her high school career.
Smith has played club softball for Arizona Storm and Explosion AZ in Phoenix, Arizona, since 2019. She hit .404 for Arizona Storm from 2024-25 and .386 for Explosion AZ from 2019-22.
Maddie Holzer | Pitcher | Sahuarita, Arizona | Walden Grove HS
Maddie Holzer is a four-year letterwinner at Walden Grove High School in Sahuarita, Arizona, where she has helped lead the Red Wolves to 4A Arizona playoff berths in 2024 and 2025. She led the team in batting average (.465) and ERA (2.53) in 2024-25, collecting 62 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched in the circle while also adding 20 hits and seven doubles at the plate. Holzer has struck out 183 batters in her first three years of her high school career.
Holzer played her club softball with Arizona Rising in Phoenix, Arizona, under coach Rob Westover and with Thundercats NXT with coach Laura Espinoza-Watson. In 2021, she helped her team to an 11-1 record and a second-place finish in the Gold bracket of the Colorado Sparkler. Holzer pitched to a 3.21 ERA with 39 strikeouts during her 2023 club campaign.
Natalie Holzer | Catcher | Sahuarita, Arizona | Walden Grove HS
Natalie Holzer is a four-time letterwinner at Walden Grove High School in Sahuarita, Arizona, where she has helped the Red Wolves to 4A Arizona state tournament berths in back-to-back seasons. She batted .453 with a team-high 29 hits in 2025 while also posting a .989 fielding percentage behind the plate, earning team MVP and defensive player of the year honors.
Holzer played her club softball with Arizona Rising in Phoenix, Arizona, under coach Rob Westover and with Thundercats NXT with coach Laura Espinoza-Watson. She batted .434 with 90 RBIs and a .515 on-base percentage during the 2024 summer season. Holzer helped her team to a third-place finish in the PGF 18U Platinum bracket in 2025.
Mia Jacobs | Pitcher | Litchfield Park, Arizona | Canyon View HS
Mia Jacobs is a four-year letterwinner at Canyon View High School in Waddell, Arizona, where she has helped the Jaguars to three Arizona state playoff appearances. She earned first-team all-region and all-district honors as a first baseman and second-team all-region honors as a pitcher in 2024-25. Jacobs batted .397 with 30 hits and 25 RBIs while pitching to a 1.06 ERA with 30 strikeouts in her junior season.
Jacobs has played her club softball with Batbusters Jacobs in Litchfield Park, Arizona, since 2021. She posted a 1.00 ERA with 38 strikeouts in the circle and batted .370 with 15 hits and three home runs in her most recent club season and has helped the Batbusters to multiple appearances at the Alliance Nationals over her career.
Camryn Legeny | Middle Infield/Outfield | Rancho Santa Margarita, California | Santa Margarita Catholic HS
Camryn Legeny is a letterwinner at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. She earned second-team All-Trinity League and was a finalist for the Golden Glove Award in 2025. Legeny batted .312 as a junior and is hitting .347 in her senior fall season so far with the Eagles.
Legeny has played club softball for OC Batbusters in Chino Hills, California, since 2019. She hit .487 in the 2024-25 club season and has been an all-tournament selection seven times in her career. Legeny helped OC Batbusters to Top Club national championships in 2019 and 2020 and a second-place finish at Alliance Nationals in 2020.
Gianna Garcia | Infield | Camarillo, California | Oaks Christian HS
Gianna Garcia is a four-time letterwinner at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California. She earned first-team all-Marmonte League honors as a junior after batting .354 with 23 hits, four home runs and 18 RBIs. Garcia helped the Lions to a combined 43-10 record in 2024-25 and the 2024 Marmonte League title.
Garcia played her club softball for OC Batbusters in Anaheim, California. She batted .443 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 2022 and .427 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2023. Garcia was named to the 2023 Alliance Stars of Tomorrow and won the 2023 Alliance Home Run Derby.
