Florida State softball is taking its time with transfer portal additions, but it finally made its second move early Friday morning.
The Noles added a major name from the transfer portal in former Tennessee infielder Ella Dodge. She is considered the No. 10 player in the transfer portal by On3, joining No. 22 Nicole Edmiaston.
Dodge announced her committment on her social media page:
hiii tally ❤️💛 TYJ #gonoles🍢 pic.twitter.com/JtVXPD4FVi
— ELLA DODGE (@elladodge2024) June 19, 2026
The addition of Dodge will help replace the production of Jaysoni Beachum
On Thursday, I wrote about three offensive players Florida State should pursue, and I didn’t include Dodge, even though she was the No. 10 player in the portal. One reason, I figured, the price tag might be a little high, and although she has power, the low batting average and on-base percentage spook me.
She has two years of eligibility remaining and showed improvement in nearly every category between her freshman and sophomore seasons. She batted .275 with 11 home runs, 13 doubles, one triple, stole 11 bases, and scored 50 runs. She also walked (33 times) and struck out (24), with a .409 on-base percentage. Although the batting average was much lower, she had one more home run, scored two fewer runs, and had an identical number of doubles and triples to Jaysoni Beachum. Her stolen base total from a year ago nearly equals what Beachum has in three years. The competition she faced was probably a bit better too overall.
Defensively, she’s only committed 10 errors in his first two seasons (120 games). Dodge has experience at second and third base while at Tennessee, so I can understand why Lonni Alameda valued her.
That’s the part that Florida State will have to figure out on the infield. What’s the right combination between Marin Heller, who was solid at second base as a freshman before getting hurt last year, and who will replace Isa Torres at shortstop, and Beachum at third base? Five-star signee McLaine Hudson will fit into that picture somewhere, as she played shortstop in high school.
One reason I compared Dodge to Beachum offensively was because of her potential to play third base. When we look at it that way, her production equals what Beachum did overall, so it’s a wash, or even better, since she has two years of eligibility remaining, and Beachum only has one.
The more I analyze the addition, the more it makes sense for the Noles. It also doesn't hurt that Dodge comes from a winning program like Tennessee. That experience should help give her instant respect in the locker room.
Florida State has a couple of more spots to fill with the departure of Addie Delong (Ohio State) and Mimi Gooden entering the transfer portal.
I think they need another offensive bat and a pitcher. We'll see what route Lonni Alameda takes with the remaining spots, but I think it's safe to say she's trying to keep Florida State in a position to compete with other top teams. What she does next will tell us if she has a shot to be successful doing that. Stay tuned to Chopchat for more Florida State softball recruiting news and analysis.
Add us as a preferred source on Google