CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina's 2025 softball season preview continues from the outside in, focusing on a host of new faces entering the year after bidding farewell to a pair of four-year veterans from a season ago.
Head coach Jim Clift must replace both Savannah Baldwin and Jeralynn Wells from the lineup, though Wells remains in the Cullowhee Valley as she joined the WCU coaching staff as an assistant coach.
WCU's lone outfield returner on the 2025 roster is rising sophomore Becka Wonsick. She'll be joined by a pair of transfers – graduate student Imara Harrell, a four-year transfer from N.C. Central, and Samford transfer, Rylee Butler. The trio of upperclassmen is joined by a pair of freshmen on the roster card in the form of Tatum Martin (Denver, N.C./East Lincoln HS) and Courtney Marks (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Wesley Chapel HS).
Wonsick returns to the Catamount outfield coming off a debut season that saw her play in 48 games with starts in 39, the majority coming in right field for the Jefferson, N.C. native. She finished tied for third on the team with six homers, matching Tessa Juett for the most returning homers this season. She also totaled a pair of doubles and 17 RBI. Wonsick homered in all three games against UNCG including the run-rule capper against the Spartans. She also finished off a run-rule win over Georgia State on March 13.
Wonsick had a pair of multi-hit games as a freshman including a three-hit showing against Mercer in conference tournament. She had four games with multiple RBI including four in a win over UNCG. Wonsick was also a force in the outfield as she totaled a .985 fielding percentage with one error in 67 chances last season.
The first of the four newcomers to Cullowhee are graduate student Imara Harrell who spent the past four seasons in Durham at N.C. Central. In her career with the Eagles, she saw action in 122 games with 107 starts. The Mooresville, N.C. native tallied a .298 average with NCCU, collecting 89 hits over the past three seasons after missing 2021-22 due to injury. Among those were 17 doubles, seven triples, and a pair of homers with 36 RBI. She was also a force on the basepaths with 23 stolen bases on 26 attempts in her time in the Triangle.
Following the 2022-23 season, Harrell garnered first-team All-MEAC honors as she posted a .431 batting average against fellow league schools. She also received three All-Academic Team honors from the conference at NCCU.
Rylee Butler joins WCU after spending the past two seasons at conference foe Samford. Butler played in 27 games in her two seasons with the Bulldogs including five starts, primarily in the outfield. In 2023, Butler's first collegiate hit ironically came against the Catamounts as part of a 5-4 win for Samford.
Last season, Butler recorded a pair of outfield assists and five putouts in seven chances. She picked up a base knock in her first game of 2024 against UT Martin while scoring a run in road contests with Jacksonville and Furman. Butler also picked up a pair of steals in 2024 for Samford. Ahead of her time with the Bulldogs, Butler prepped at Brookwood High in Snellville, Ga., where she posted a personal-best .450 average and swiped 21 bases for the Panthers as a junior.
Clift's first freshman in the outfield is Courtney Marks from Wesley Chapel, Fla. She concluded a successful high school career at Wesley Chapel High, finishing with a .453 career batting average that included 135 hits with a career-high 43 during as a junior and scored 120 runs driving in 35 career RBI. Marks finished her prep career with a .518 career on-base percentage and a 1.008 OPS, while also swiping 35 career bases.
Marks garnered second-team all-conference honors as a sophomore and first-team honors both as a junior and senior. She added Player of the Year accolades as a junior. Marks broke numerous school records during her prep career including runs scored in a season with 33 as a junior, hits in a season also as a junior with 43, and singles in that same season with 37. She closed out her career on a 68-game reached base streak. Marks was a part of two district titles and two more district runner up finishes.
The final piece to the WCU outfield is Tatum Martin, who arrives in Cullowhee after posting a strong .442 batting average over her prep career at East Lincoln High in Denver, N.C. She recorded 97 base hits over her final three seasons that helped propel her to the .400+ batting average. She finished with 24 doubles and a pair of triples to accompany an on-base percentage over .500 and an OPS of 1.070. In her 79 prep games, she was a successful 25-for-28 on the bases including a 10-for-10 mark in her senior campaign.
Martin garnered three straight all-conference honors along with a pair of all-district team representations as a prep. She also was named to numerous publications all-conference teams during her junior season including both the Gaston Gazette and Charlotte Observer. During her freshman season, East Lincoln made its first regional championship and won the 2023 NCHSAA 3A State Championship for the first time in school history.
Western Carolina opens its 2025 season at the River City Leadoff, hosted by North Florida beginning on Friday, Feb. 7. WCU battles both Jacksonville and UNF over a five-game tournament slate. The Catamounts open their home schedule three weeks later with the Catamount Classic, hosting North Carolina A&T and Presbyterian in tournament action in Cullowhee.
Admission to WCU's home games at the on-campus Catamount Softball Complex throughout the 2025 season is free of charge, courtesy of First Bank.
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