Back in April, just a month after Michigan softball lost their season to COVID-19, the Wolverines also lost former No. 18 FloSoftball prospect Morgan Overaitis to the transfer portal.
Overaitis made the decision to transfer to Virginia Tech after her sophomore year and will be immediately eligible to play after enrolling in classes this fall.
This spring, Overaitis started 14 games and appeared in 20, splitting time between right field, second base and designated player. In her freshman season, she started just nine games, hitting at a .255 clip.
From Canton, Michigan, Overaitis was a stud in high school. She was awarded Softball Player of the Year by the Detroit Free Press in 2018 and was a four-time All-State first-teamer, earning her a spot amongst the nation’s best prospects. At Salem High School, Overaitis holds the school record of 38 home runs with 223 RBI, all while posting a .586 batting average and .643 on-base percentage.
At Michigan, however, Overaitis’ skills were slow to translate and resulted in less playing time than what might be expected based on her high school career. Her .265 batting average across two seasons, accompanied by lowly slugging percentages of .333 and .319 in her freshman and sophomore years.
Fellow sophomore Lexie Blair, who came in as FloSoftball’s 28th-ranked player, claimed her role in the lineup with her .406 batting average her freshman year. In Blair’s sophomore year, she hit .307 despite early-season struggles. The result for Blair is 81 games started across two seasons, 58 more than Overaitis. With competition like Blair, Overaitis was never able to find a consistent spot in the starting lineup.
By leaving Michigan to become a Hokie, Overaitis may find a fresh start and a more comfortable location to prove herself worthy of that No. 18 ranking.