Tennessee softball starting infielder Ella Dodge enters transfer portal

Tennessee softball infielder Ella Dodge is entering the transfer portal, she announced June 13.

Dodge has started at second base, and eventually third base, for the last two seasons for the Lady Vols, which are coming off back-to-back trips to the Women's College World Series semifinals.

"I am thankful for my time at Tennessee, but after much thought and prayer, I have decided to enter the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility," Dodge wrote in a post on X.

Dodge started in 113 of 120 of her appearances the last two seasons. She only hit .244 as a redshirt freshman and then hit .275 this season. Dodge logged 46 RBIs, 18 home runs, 20 doubles, 50 walks and 82 runs scored over two seasons with a .518 slugging percentage and a .383 on-base percentage.

Dodge is the third departure of the offseason for Tennessee. Sophomore outfielder Saviya Morgan and freshman pitcher Kailey Plumlee also entered the transfer portal, and Plumlee committed to Alabama on June 10.

Dodge was ranked No. 65 as a utility player in the 2024 class out of Bradenton, Florida, and she enrolled early to redshirt the 2024 season at Tennessee. She won a pair of Florida 7A state championships in 2021-22 at Lakewood Ranch High School.

The 5-foot-8 infielder was a true utility player that Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said she felt like she could play anywhere. Dodge started at second base as a redshirt freshman and for the entirety of this season until the NCAA regionals.

Weekly needed to shift the batting lineup and ended up moving Dodge from second to third base, and she thrived despite the drastic position change going into regionals. Tennessee's defense was at its best en route to the WCWS semifinals, and Dodge played a significant role in that.