FSU softball: Impact of Allison Royalty transferring to Noles

FSU softball looks to re-stock its lineup for the 2023 season after a disappointing upset in the regionals.

The Noles were solid in all aspects last season, winning many tight games, but one weakness was their lack of depth on the mound.

Pitching ace Kathryn Sandercock was outstanding, and senior Danielle Watson was solid, but the latter exhausted eligibility, which left the Noles with question marks behind Sandercock.

That’s why Lonni Alameda went the transfer portal route to snag another quality arm with experience in Allison Royalty from Arizona State. Royalty officially joined the program Tuesday:

Royalty appeared in 32 games with 19 starts as a freshman in 2021. She finished the season with an 11-6 record, 3.21 ERA, and led the team with 121 strikeouts in 124.2 innings. Royalty threw seven complete games, with three shutouts and one save.

Her numbers are comparable to Watson’s when you consider she was a freshman and Watson was a redshirt senior last year. She averaged A couple of red flags with Royalty were the number of home runs allowed (19) and walks (44), but she can improve in those areas with more experience.

She’ll have three years of eligibility remaining, which bodes well for FSU since Sandercock will exhaust her eligibility after the 2023 season.

This addition will also take some pressure off of incoming freshmen pitchers Makenna Reid and Madi Balk. I also expect Mack Leonard to see mound time in 2023, along with Ali DuBois(redshirted in 2022 after transferring from Boston University).

Emma Wilson also returns. The addition of Royalty gives the Noles another experienced arm to trot out there, coupled with the highly-touted freshmen.

This addition allows FSU to have several options in 2023 but helps bridge the gap over the next two years as the younger players gain experience in 2022. Welcome to the Tribe Allison Royalty!