MOBILE, Ala. | South Alabama head coach
Becky Clark announced the addition of six transfers – Kayden Dunn (Troy – Brantley, Ala.), Reganied Franka (Odessa Junior College – Rotterdam, Netherlands), Kiaedy "Edy" Gavin (Southern Union Junior College – Fairhope, Ala.), Virginia Mambelli (Florida Southwestern Junior College – Forli, Italy), Sydney Stewart (Flagler College – Fortson, Ga.) and Ella Ussery (North Alabama – Hoover, Ala.) to the 2025 recruiting class on Friday.
"Our goal with transfers this year was to focus on pitching, power, and speed, and we will definitely take a step forward in each of those categories," Clark said. "I'm really excited about the athleticism and quality of players we have added, and look forward to the immediate impact all of them bring to our program. This Fall will be big as we introduce them to our system and integrate them in with a very talented group of returners."
The group joins Gracie Dees (Saraland, Ala.), Cailyn Heyl (Central, La.), Gracie McDonald (Ocean Springs, Miss.), Lillie Stagner (Chunchula, Ala.) and Kara Wine (Cantonment, Fla.) who were announced as part of the recruiting class during the fall, bringing the total newcomer amount to 11.
Kayden Dunn
Infielder | 5-9 | R-R
Troy | Brantley High School | Brantley, Ala.
Dunn signs with the Jags after playing the last three seasons for Sun Belt Conference rival Troy. During that time, the Brantley, Ala., native has played in 136 games, starting 81 of those contests. Last season, Dunn batted .310 with 39 hits in her 126 at-bats. Of her 39 hits, 14 went for extra bases as she recorded six doubles and eight home runs, and posted a .548 slugging percentage. Dunn also drove in 29 runs and crossed the plate 18 times, with 10 multi-hit and six multi-RBI games (
Prior to her time at Troy, Dunn lettered at Brantley High School in Brantley, Ala., where she was a two-time Alabama 1A Hitter of the Year (2021, 2022) selection. She was selected as the Alabama 1A Hitter of the Year following her junior year where she hit .556 with 21 home runs, and led the state and set the Brantley home run record. She hit .490 with 18 home runs as a senior, and during her prep career, Dunn helped lead Brantley to the 2018 and 2021 Alabama 1A state title. She ranked 17th nationally among first basemen by Extra Innings Softball.
Reganied Franka
Infielder | 5-5 | L-R
Odessa Junior College | Caland Lyceum | Rotterdam, Netherlands
Franka was a two-year letterwinner at Odessa Junior College in Odessa, Texas, before arriving on campus where she helped the Wranglers capture the WJCAC regular-season title – the program's four-straight conference title – as they were a perfect 24-0 in league play this past season. Odessa finished with a 47-8 overall record and reached the NJCAA College World Series in May.
During her two-year career, Franka posted a .348 batting average with a .611 slugging percentage. Of her 102 hits, 41 went for extra bases – 18 doubles, 10 triples and 13 home runs – to go along with 58 stolen bases. She also matched her single-season mark in walks (44) that she had also done a year earlier, and left holding the career record in the category (88) as she shattered the previous mark which had been 56.
As a freshman, Franka was one of six players for Odessa to hit over .400, while scoring 83 runs and stealing 34 bases. She helped the Wranglers finish with a 23-1 conference record and win the WJCAC regular-season title, while also posting a 43-14 overall record, earning a berth in the 2024 NJCAA College World Series after capturing the Region 5 West tournament championship. Franka was both a first-team all-WJCAC honoree and a NJCAA All-Academic first team selection.
Franka led the nation in walks (44), ranked fifth in runs scored and was tied for 10th in one-base percentage (.545). Her 65 hits were tied for 27th-most nationally, while her .406 batting average ranked 25th. She was also Top 50 in doubles, triples, home runs and RBI. Of her 65 hits, 25 went for extra bases: doubles (12), triples (5), home runs (8), while recording 21 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games. The middle infielder scored multiple runs 27 times during the season, including 10 games of three or more.
Kiaedy "Edy" Gavin
Outfielder | 5-10 | R-R
Southern Union Community College | Fairhope High School | Fairhope, Ala.
Gavin joins the roster after playing her freshman season at Southern Union Junior College in Wadley, Ala., where she helped the team earn a berth in the 2025 NJCAA DI World Series, and finish with 44 wins. Gavin batted .402 with a .680 slugging percentage as she recorded 78 hits. Of those 78 hits, 30 went for extra bases – 15 doubles, six triples and nine home runs. She scored 61 runs and recorded 47 stolen bases in 48 attempts, and was named the Alabama Community College Conference Player of the Week in early February after racking up 16 hits in 22 at-bats for a .727 batting average. She also scored 14 runs, recorded four home runs, stole six bases and drove in six in four games for the Bison.
Gavin had at least one hit in each of her first 15 games to start the season, including 11 multi-hit efforts, and finished the season with 23 multi-hit games, including 11 of three or more. She scored a run in 34 games and multiple runs 20 times, and stole two or more bases 16 times during the spring, including six games with three steals.
As a senior at Fairhope High School, Gavin batted .390 in 51 games, and recorded 62 hits, scored 72 runs and drove in 43 for the Pirates while also stealing 34 bases. Of her 62 hits, 27 went for extra bases – six doubles, four triples and 17 home runs. She, along with current Jag teammate,
Ryley Harrison, helped Fairhope advance to the AHSAA Class 7A State Championship game in 2023. As a junior, batted .492 with nine home runs, 58 RBI, three doubles, six triples, 60 runs, 36-of-38 stolen bases, a .530 on-base, a 1.341 OPS. She earned Class 3A first team all-state honors as well as being named to the Coastal Alabama Terrific 20.
Virginia Mambelli
Infielder | 5-9 | L-R
Florida Southwestern Junior College | Liceo Scientifico Fulcieri Paolucci | Forli, Italy
Mambelli wrapped up her Buccaneer career as a .378 hitter with 30 doubles, which tied for second most in program history, while driving in 108 runs, which also ranked in the Top 10 all-time. She led Florida Southwestern to a pair of Conference Championships in her time in Fort Myers and helped the program make a pair of trips to the NJCAA World Series and compiled a 113-17 record during that span. The Bucs finished seventh at the CWS in 2024 and as national runners up this past spring, where they fell to Northwest Florida State led in the circle by Heyl.
Mambelli earned NJCAA Third-Team, All-America honors for FSW (56-7) this past season. The Forli, Italy, native started all 63 games and batted .372 with 15 doubles and six home runs, while knocking in 54 runs, en route to earning all-Citrus Conference and all-FCSAA, first-team honors for the second straight season. She ranked in the Top 10 in the Citrus Conference this past season in batting average (.399), doubles, and RBI.
Mambelli recorded 17 multi-hit games for FSW and drove in two or more runs 13 different times. She also starred in the classroom where she was a CSC Academic All-District selection last year.
During the 2024 season, Mambelli led Florida Southwestern to a 57-10 overall mark and 39-5 record in conference play, while advancing to the NJCAA College World Series. Mambelli was a first-team all-Citrus Conference selection and a second-team FCSAA all-state pick as a freshman after hitting .385 in 59 games for the Bucs. She finished with a team high 15 doubles while driving in 54 runs which ranked second on the team. She had 12 multi-hit games on the year, including three straight midway through the campaign against Hillsborough and Eastern Florida. Mambelli had 16 multi-RBI games for the Bucs and knocked in a run in 10-straight games to close out March. The highlight of the season came during her first at-bat where she hit a two-run home run against defending NJCAA National Champ, Indian River in a 2-1 victory
Sydney Stewart
Infielder | 5-4 | R-R
Flagler College | Harris County High School | Fortson, Ga.
In her two seasons at Flagler, Stewart hit .394 with a .715 slugging percentage, recorded 36 doubles, five triples, 25 home runs, scored 124 runs and drove in 108, while also drawing 61 walks. The infielder left holding program's career marks in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage (.481), and ranked second in extra-base hits (66), third in runs scored, doubles, triples and home runs, tied for fourth in total bases (269), seventh in walks, eighth in hits (148). She earned first-team all-Peach Belt Conference honors from the coaches each season and as a sophomore was named D2CCA all-Southeast Region (second team).
Last spring, the Fortson, Ga., native led the Saints with a .399 batting average, a .765 slugging percentage, and a .498 on-base percentage. She also led the team in runs (65), hits (73), doubles (17), home runs (16), and runs batted in (63). Stewart was second in the PBC in OPS (1.2653), runs scored, RBI, home runs, and she led the league in walks (36). She ranked sixth in the country in runs, seventh in runs per game (1.18), 14th in total bases (140), 11th in RBI, 14th in RBI per game (1.15), 13th in home runs, and 25th in home runs per game (0.29).
Stewart recorded 24 multi-hit games and 18 multi-RBI games, 11 with three or more RBI, and was named to the 2025 NFCA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year Watch List in March. She hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning versus Columbus State in the quarterfinals of the PBC tournament to become Flagler's new single-season home run leader (16). Stewart also bested her own previous single-season marks in batting average, runs, extra-base hits (34) and total bases (140), while also setting new program marks in RBI and slugging percentage. She was also named Peach Belt Conference's Player of the Week March 23 and Feb. 10.
Ella Ussery
Pitcher | 5-9 | R-R
North Alabama | Spain Park High School | Hoover, Ala.
Ussery transfers to South after spending her freshman season at North Alabama. She appeared in three games in relief, recording a 6.30 earned run average. She struck out five in her 6.2 innings of work, and held opponents to a .259 batting average.
The right-handed pitcher prepped at Spain Park High School in Birmingham, Ala., where she pitched and played first base. Ussery was an honorable mention on the Birmingham Terrific 22 as a pitcher, and had over 500 career strikeouts. The Hoover, Ala., native pitched nine relief innings in back-to-back elimination games against Bob Jones and Austin for two saves to get Spain Park to the state playoffs. She competed in the 27th Annual AHSAA North-South All-Star softball competition for the North squad in 2023.
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