Florida’s softball program just got stronger. Head coach Tim Walton welcomed a slew of highly recruited players on National Signing Day.
The Gators are fresh off their 13th Women’s College World Series appearance, and the seven individuals new to the program make up the No. 2 ranked signing class in the nation.
Carolina Stanton
Stanton is one of two pitchers new to the Gators’ rotation. She was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the 2026 Softball America signing class.
The RHP notched three state championships with Buford High School in Buford, Georgia.She was a major contributor to the 2022, 2023 and 2025 Class 6A State Championships. Stanton was also named the 2024 MaxPreps Georgia Player of the Year during her time at Buford.
While primarily slated at pitcher, Stanton has seen time at both first base and in the outfield.
Outside of her time with Buford, she was a 2025 WBSC U-18 World Cup Finals gold medalist. She was named best defensive player during that stretch and pitched 17 innings with 10 strikeouts while maintaining a 0.82 ERA.
Stanton headlines the Gators’ incoming class and holds the Buford Wolves’ single-game strikeout record with 20 punch outs. She was also named a MaxPreps First Team All-American in three of her four years with the Wolves.
Stanton will join juniors Ava Brown, Keagan Rothrock, Olivia Miller and Allison Sparkman, as well as freshman Leah Steven and sophomore Katelynn Oxley in next year's bullpen.
Shayla Bahr
The No. 13 recruit in the 2026 signing class commanded the diamond at second base during her tenure at Wesleyan School in Norcross, Georgia.
Bahr was named the 2025 A-AAA Region Player of the Year with Wesleyan in her junior season. The infielder was also the 2024 5A Region Softball Player of the Year. Her numerous accolades helped lead Wesleyan to four consecutive state titles.
She is two-time Georgia A-AAA state champion in 2024 and 2025, and a two-time Georgia AAA state champion in 2022 and 2023.
Bahr will enter the Gators roster behind freshman second baseman Kalie Matsuno. Prior to Matsuno’s emergence, Florida saw now-Texas Tech junior Mia Williams excel at the position.
Once Bahr hits the field at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, she will be immediately slotted alongside young talent.
Kennedy Bradley
Bradley, a star third baseman and shortstop for Melissa High School in Texas, joined her future-Gator teammates in signing to Florida Wednesday.
She is ranked as the No. 14 signee in this year’s class and brought home the Texas UIL 5A Division 1 Softball State Championship in both 2024 and 2025 for the Melissa Cardinals.
Bradley stands at 5-foot-8 and will bring height to a smaller Florida infield. When she steps foot at KSP, she will have the chance to replace senior Kenleigh Cahalan. Before coming to Gainesville, Cahalan made 126 starts at shortstop with Alabama.
Bradley accounted for 68 runs and 59 RBIs in 39 games for the Cardinals in her junior season. Her third year at Melissa also came with a .518 batting average.
Bradley was named 2025 Max Preps High School First Team All-American following her record-breaking season.
Nina Carcone
Carcone joins Stanton and Bahr as the three recruits out of Georgia. The young shortstop is tagged as the No. 11 recruit in the 2026 class.
Carcone excelled at Woodstock High School, where she was awarded 2024 Region Player of the Year and 2024 and 2025 was selected to the all-state team. She headlined Woodstock softball as the only player to earn Region 6-AAAAA first-team honors. Two of her teammates were named to the second team and two were given honorable mentions.
Aside from controlling the infield at Woodstock, Carcone highlighted her travel team. Competing on the GA Impact Premier Taylor allowed her to earn the 2025 Premier Girls Fastpitch All American.
Similar to Bahr, Carcone will have the opportunity to thrive with young talent. She will play behind sophomore shortstop Gabi Comia.
Brooklyn Gidley
Gidley is the fifth player to be ranked in the top-30 among all 2026 recruits by Softball America. The middle infielder represented A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, Texas.
She received a 2025 Texas UIL 5A All-State Honorable Mention with the Tigers. While she played a large part on the high school roster, Gidley shone in travel ball.
She played for the Texas Bombers Gold Smith, where she became a 2024 18U Alliance Fastpitch Tier 1 National Champion. Gidley was named to the all-tournament team that year and for 14u and 16u.
Avery Killian
Killian, a Metairie, Louisiana, native, is a senior at Mount Carmel Academy. The catcher is the only signee at the position and was ranked within the top 100 recruits this year.
While she attended high school in Louisiana, she simultaneously competed on the Georgia Impact Premiere Taylor travel team.
Her efforts behind the plate earned her three separate All District 9-5A selections with Mount Carmel Academy. She was also named to the 2025 Sports Illustrated All-State Softball Team.
Liliana Escobar
One of Florida’s most recent commits, Escobar made it official on Aug. 7 that she will be pitching for the Gators.
The RHP was named the 2025 Orange County Pitcher of the Year and went 14-5 with a 1.20 ERA over the course of her junior season. She accumulated 239 strikeouts in 140 innings with JSerra Catholic High School to power their way to their first appearance in the CIF Southern Section finals.
Escobar continued her dominant campaign by being named the 2025 CIF-SS Division 2 Player of the Year. She was also named 2025 Trinity League Pitcher of the Year.
While not highly recruited, Escobar will play a pivotal role for the Gators’ arms in the coming years.
Contact Riley Orovitz at rorovitz@alligator.org. Follow her on X @rileyorovitz.
Riley is a sophomore sports journalism student and is the swim & dive beat reporter for Fall 2025 in her first semester with The Alligator. In her free time, she may be watching past Miami Dolphins or Florida Panthers highlights or hanging out with her friends.
