THE FLATS – Coach Aileen Morales and the Georgia Tech softball staff have officially welcomed nine new members to the Yellow Jacket family on National Signing Day on Wednesday. The 2025 class consists of nine signees: four infielders, two pitchers, two catchers, and one outfielder.
“I’m very excited about our 2025 signing class. We are adding valuable pieces to our program who will help us reach our goal of competing for conference championships,” coach Morales said. “Each come from a strong travel ball programs and have shown a commitment to academic excellence as well. We are happy they are Yellow Jackets and can’t wait to see the impact they make”.
Madi Duffel | INF/UTL | Senoia, Ga. | East Coweta HS
Madi Duffel comes to the flats following a stellar four year run at East Coweta HS, where Duffel helped lead the Tigers to become State Champions in 2024 after four consecutive Regional Championships. Duffel most recently played at the Ga. Dugout Club All-State game at Truist Park. During her senior season, Duffel plastered the East Coweta record book with her name as she set new records for single season hits (70) and single season runs (69) along with a second all-time record for single season batting average (.588). She finished her time as a Tiger with a career record 232 hits, 199 runs, and .525 batting average. Duffel’s consistent performances over her four years as a Tiger earned her numerous accolades including First Team All-Region honors for four consecutive seasons (2021-24), Second Team All-State (2021), First Team All-State for three consecutive seasons (2022-24), Region Player of the Year (2022), 7A State Player of the Year (2022), and Co-County Player of the Year (2023). Duffel plans to study Biology on The Flats with intentions to be a DNA analysis in forensics.
Payton Miller | C | Shreveport, La. | North Desoto HS
Payton Miller comes Georgia Tech after becoming a back-to-back State Champion with North Desoto HS. The No. 33-ranked catcher was named All-State following both her 2022 and 2023 seasons while also collecting All-District honors for three consecutive seasons (2022-24). Away from the diamond, Miller was inducted into the National Honor Society while being part of FCA and maintaining a perfect 4.0 throughout her time as a Griffin.
Julia Morici | SS/OF | Marietta, Ga. | Kell HS
Julia Morici joins the Yellow Jackets squad after three-consecutive seasons earning First Team All-Region honors, two of which were for her efforts as a shortstop and the other as a third baseman. Morici lifted her team to a Conference Championship in 2023 and back-to-back Final Four appearances for state in 2023-24. Her 2024 season, Morici was named a Georgia Dugout Club All-State Player. In the 2023 season, Morici was named First Team All-State and Defensive Player of the Year, per Kell HS, for the second straight season. She most recently played at the Ga. Dugout Club All-State game at Truist Park. Morici plans to major in international affairs while playing for Tech.
Paige Carroll | INF | Cumming, Ga. | West Forsyth HS
Paige Carroll joins the White & Gold after a record setting high school career at West Forsyth HS. The 2025 Extra Inning Elite No. 42 ranked infielder, 28th ranked by Line Drive Softball, most recently finished her 2024 season collecting Region Player of the Year, WSB-TV Player of the Week, and Senior All-State Team honors after recording a new West Forsyth HS home run record (9). Carroll’s 2023 season saw the infielder set new records for batting average (.510), RBI (47), runs (39), and hits (50) leading her to earn First Team All-Region, Forsyth County Player of the Year, and Second Team All-State West Forsyth Offensive Player of the Year honors as well as a spot in the Junior All-State game. Carroll’s efforts as a Wolverine earned her post season appearances in the Georgia Fast Pitch All-Star Game. Outside of athletics, Carroll was part of the National Honor Society (2023-25), National Technical Honor Society (2022-2025), Academic All-Region (2021-25) and the DECA Competition Team (2023-25). Carroll comes to The Flats to pursue her degree in business.
Sydnie Watts | RHP | Youngstown, Ohio | Austin Fitch HS
Sydnie Watts joins the Yellow Jacket family, bringing a laundry list of accolades with her including 2024 Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year honors after leading the Falcons to a 23-1 record and a second straight Division I State Championship. Her 0.53 ERA through 133.1 innings pitched also earned her the Ohio Max Preps Player of the Year, Max Preps First Team All-American honors, and NFCA First Team All-American honors. Watts’ sophomore season saw the right-handed pitcher collect Ohio Max Preps Player of the Year honors for the first time along with Max Preps First Team All-American Underclassmen, Second Team All-American, NFCA Third Team All-American, and NFCA First Team All-Region honors. So far in her three seasons at Austin Fitch HS, Watts has attained DI First Team All-State, First Team All-District, and First Team All-Conference honors. With Watts leading the pitching staff, the Wolverines were Three-time Conference and District Champions (2022-24) along with Regional and State Champions (2023-24), which featured an undefeated 2023 season, only one run allowed across back-to-back state tournaments, a no-hitter in the 2023 State Semifinal, and a 2024 Semifinal perfect game. Watts departs Austin Fitch HS holding records for ERA (0.56), shutouts (39), no hitters (16), perfect games (6), and strikeouts in 400 innings (868). Her high school records aren’t the only ones Watts departs Ohio with as she holds the state record for no hitters in a single season (7), perfect games in a single season (3), and consecutive games not surrendering a homerun (5). Watts plans to study biomedical engineering while at Georgia Tech.
Landri Pick | 3B/UTL | Riesel, Texas | Riesel HS
Landri Pick comes to The Flats as one of the most decorated recruits both in and out of uniform, holding Salutatorian honors after being the Vice President of the National Honor Society, President of the Student Council, a science scholar, physics scholar, and art scholar alongside numerous athletic accolades. The 2023 season saw the centerfielder set a Riesel HS record for homeruns in a single season (18) and collect the varsity softball MVP award for the second straight year after leading the team to a District Championship. Pick’s junior season earned her All-Academic, Super Centex First Team, All-State First Team (THSCA), and 13-2A Offensive Player of the Year honors alongside a Top-25 Middle Infielder in Texas ranking and No. 1 vote for Texas High School Middle Infielder, per Scorebook Live. Her 2022, 2021, and 2019 seasons Pick earned rankings from Extra Innings Softball, all of which were a 26th ranking of higher, with the highest-ranking being No. 1 in 2022. With the Impact Gold 14u National Team, Pick helped the group take Runners-up for the 2020 TFL National Championship and 2021 PGF National Championship before becoming TFL National Champions in 2022. Pick will pursue her degree in Aerospace engineering while playing for Tech.
Gracie King | C/UTL | Boone, Iowa | Boone HS
Gracie King comes to Georgia Tech following her time with Iowa Premier Fastpitch. While with the group, King earned a spot on the Softball 16u Super Cup All-Tournament Team in 2021 and 2022 as well as helped the team get third at the Alliance 16u Nationals in Tier 1 and a fifth-place finish in 18u the following season. She earned a No. 53 ranking from Softball Extra Innings in 2023. King has maintained above a 3.8 GPA while collecting President’s List (4.0 GPA) honors and a varsity letter in academics each year while attending Boone HS. The Iowa native comes to The Flats to major in accounting.
Victoria Bryant | RHP | Lumber Bridge, N.C. | Freedom Christian Academy
Victoria Bryant comes to The Flats after several season occupying the circle for both Freedom Christian Academy and Fury Platinum X Helton 16u. Bryant finished her 2024 season being named the 910Preps Softball Player of the Year as she led Freedom Christian softball to its fourth NCISAA Division III Championship with a historic first ever undefeated season (25-0). After taking game one of the three-game series championship, Bryant’s leadoff homerun in the top of the 14th inning would break the 3-3 tie and ultimately lift the team to victory. Her 2024 season saw four homeruns along with a 1.15 ERA and racking up 92 strikeouts, which earned her NCISAA D-III All-Conference First Team honors.
Abigail McKinnis| OF | Buford, Ga. | Greater Atlanta Christian School
Abigail McKinnis joins the White and Gold after playing for Buford HS, Greater Atlanta Christian School, and Georgia Impact Sullivan Premier 07. McKinnis was a key piece in her team becoming Buford State Champions in 2022 as well as their Regional Championships in 2021 and 2022. For her efforts in centerfield, McKinnis was named to the MSP All-American in 2023 and 2024 as well as earned the 2024 Offensive Region Player of the Year. McKinnis’ legacy will live on at the Greater Atlanta Christian School after she departs to Georgia Tech as she now holds the career record for homeruns after it took her a single season to replace the previous record. Outside of softball, McKinnis was a member of the Beta Club and National Honor Society while maintaining a spot on the President’s List throughout her time in high school. The outfielder most recently played at the Ga. Dugout Club All-State game most recently at Truist Park. McKinnis comes to The Flats to major in computer science with a minor in engineering.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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