Hofstra University softball’s ace of the pitching staff, Julia Apsel, entered the transfer portal on Friday, May 24. The southpaw is coming off a season where she had a record of 19-12, a Coastal Athletic Association-leading ERA of 1.79 and the second-most strikeouts in the CAA, with 176 in 201.2 innings of work.

Apsel is a candidate for earning some Name Image and Likness (NIL) money with her next team, or like all athletes in the portal, may choose to return to the Pride. After making a huge improvement from 2023 to 2024, Apsel may be one of the most intriguing names in the portal.

Out of the 23 games that the Pride won this past season, Apsel was responsible for 19 of them. That’s roughly 82% of the team’s wins.

Along with Apsel’s 2024 numbers jumping off the stat sheet, she added some other accolades to her resume. Apsel was chosen for the NFCA All-Northeast Region Second Team and the All-CAA Tournament team.

The one stat to keep an eye on in terms of a flaw is Apsel’s CAA-leading hit batters with 23.

In one offseason, Hofstra lost their starting left fielder, center fielder, first baseman, catcher and their number one, two and three pitchers in the rotation. The Pride have their work cut out for them ahead of the 2025 season.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Doug Neeb