Liberty Adds 5 Transfers to Softball Roster

The Liberty softball team has announced the addition of five transfers. Savannah Woodard (Alabama), Emily Estroff (FGCU), KK Madrey (LSU), Sierra Kersten (Michigan) and Megan Fortner (Jacksonville State) will all transfer to Liberty and will be eligible immediately.

Estroff has one year of eligibility remaining, while Kersten, Fortner and Woodard all have two years left and Madrey has three years remaining.

These five will join an incoming class that includes previously-signed incoming freshmen Savannah Jessee, Brynn McManus and Maddy Tuck.

Emily Estroff (P/UTL, Sr., Coconut Creek, Fla./Coral Springs Charter (FGCU))

Emily Estroff is a familiar face to ASUN softball fans, having played at FGCU for three seasons after spending her freshman year at Villanova. This year, she was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. Estroff batted .279 with four doubles, one homer and 12 RBI this season, while also posting a 3-5 record and 4.95 ERA. The senior was named ASUN Player of the Week on Feb. 14, 2022 after helping FGCU to an upset of No. 8 Texas. She entered college as a highly-touted pitcher. Estroff was named All-State Pitcher of the Year, MaxPreps first team All-American and FloSoftball second team All-American as a senior in 2018 when she went 29-2 and led her team to a state title.

Sierra Kersten (UTL, So., Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston (Michigan))

For the second year in a row, Liberty adds a transfer from Michigan. Lou Allan finished up her collegiate career as a Lady Flame in 2022 and her former Wolverine teammate Sierra Kersten joins Liberty this year. Kersten appeared in 83 games over the last two seasons at Michigan, starting 29 games in left field, 24 at second base and 12 at designated player. This year, she batted .260 with four doubles, five homers and 17 RBI, posting a .357 on base percentage and .521 slugging percentage. She homered in back-to-back games against Duke and Northern Kentucky. A 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year nominee, Kersten was named Michigan All-State first team as a junior in high school when she hit .557 with 13 homers and 77 RBI.

Savannah Woodard (UTL, So.*, Warrior, Ala., Hayden (Alabama))

Savannah Woodard brings Women’s College World Series experience to the Lady Flames, as she started in all four of Alabama’s WCWS games in 2021. After batting .278 during a CoVID-shortened 2020 campaign, Woodard was named to the 2021 NFCA All-South Region third team and 2021 All-SEC Newcomer Team. In 2021, she batted .292 with three homers, 26 RBI, 26 runs scored, registering a .343 on base percentage and .385 slugging percentage. She was named SEC Newcomer of the Week on May 4, 2021. Woodard recorded hits in three out of Alabama’s four WCWS contests in 2021. During her high school career at Hayden High School, Woodard was named the 2019 5A State Player of the Year.

KK Madrey (UTL, Fr., Newnan, Ga./Newnan (LSU))

KK Madrey joins the Lady Flames after appearing in 26 games as a pinch runner during her freshman season at LSU. She scored 14 runs and stole seven bases to finish third on the team in steals in 2022. She made one appearance in the NCAA Tempe Regional, seeing action as a pinch runner in an elimination game against Cal State Fullerton. A three-sport star in high school, she was rated the No. 24 recruit in the Class of 2021 by ExtraInningSoftball.com and 20th at her position. Madrey was named all-state three times in high school and batted .588 as both a junior and senior. During her senior year of track and field, she finished second in the Georgia 7A State Track & Field Championships high jump.

Megan Fortner (INF, So.*, Cedar Hill, Mo./Northwest HS (Jacksonville State))

ASUN double leader Megan Fortner joins the Lady Flames from Jacksonville State. This season, Fortner batted .287 with an ASUN-leading 17 doubles, eight homers and 33 RBI. Fortner has started each of the last three seasons at first base for JSU.  She is a burgeoning two-sport star after making a splash at the 2022 ASUN Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Competing at the site adjacent to the 2022 ASUN Softball Championship, Fortner earned a bronze medal in the women’s javelin while making her collegiate track & field debut. She brought impressive credentials to Jacksonville State, as she was a five-sport athlete, making all-state in basketball and volleyball and winning Missouri state championship and setting the state record in javelin.

These newcomers join a strong Liberty program which is one of only seven NCAA Division I softball teams to win 40 or more games in each of its last five full seasons played.

The Lady Flames finished the 2022 season with a 44-18 record, posting the nation’s best conference winning percentage with a 23-1 ASUN record. Liberty outscored opponents 24-5 while sweeping to its second straight ASUN Softball Championship title. The team tied a program record with three wins over Top 25 programs, including a 2-0 win over No. 19 Georgia in the first game of the 2022 NCAA Durham Regional. The Lady Flames also downed No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 9 Duke at Liberty Softball Stadium, two out of 10 wins over Power Five programs this season.