Having claimed their second consecutive national title less than a week ago, Texas softball players are riding the high of a repeat victory on college softball’s biggest stage.
Or, at least, most of them are.
Just days after becoming back-to-back national champions, sophomore pitcher Cambria Salmon and sophomore infielder Shylien Brister have decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal and pursue other programs ahead of the 2027 season.
While it’s difficult to determine exactly what made the pair decide to depart from the Forty Acres, playing time was likely a key contributing factor.
Salmon had been a clear contender for the No. 2 position on Texas’ pitching depth chart toward the beginning of the season, spending 17 innings on the mound in the Longhorns’ opening 10 matchups. However, in the last 30 games of the season, the Beaumont, Calif. native pitched just over three innings.
In a pitching room dominated by junior Teagan Kavan and supplemented by the efforts of experienced senior pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez, along with rising talents like freshman pitcher Hannah Wells and sophomore pitcher Brenlee Gonzales, playing time was difficult for Salmon to earn and harder to keep as the season progressed.
Brister’s 2026 experience, on the other hand, was less of a rollercoaster in terms of playing time.
The Houston, Texas player didn’t see the field in 2026, despite accumulating nine starts on 28 appearances in 2025 in the absence of then-sophomore infielder Viviana Martinez. Brister’s decision to take her talents elsewhere could provide an increased chance for playing opportunities that she didn’t receive this past season.
Salmon and Brister were the only two members of the Longhorns’ 2024 signing class, but the pressure of the large and talented classes above and below them made it difficult for the two to establish themselves in Texas’ lineup.
The Longhorns also added Gonzales and sophomore utility Taylor Anderson into the class ahead of the 2026 season, increasing the difficulty of finding minutes.
Where Salmon and Brister will end up remains unknown at this point in the process, but fans will have an answer by June 22, when the portal window officially closes.
