Northwestern opened its 2026 season on Friday at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona, and head coach’s Kate Drohan’s infield is one of the most intriguing storylines to monitor. Drohan opted to move sophomore Kaylie Avvisato to center field for the season opener after earning All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors playing shortstop in 2025. Senior Bridget Donahey slid in from third to fill in at shortstop, and true first-year Tru Medina earned a start at third base in her college softball debut.
Since we had Avvisato penciled in as Northwestern’s starting shortstop before Friday, she was not featured in our outfielder preview released last week. Before getting into the infield group, Avvisato deserves her flowers for an incredible debut campaign in 2025.
As a true first-year, Avvisato was one of just four Wildcats to start in each of Northwestern’s 51 games in 2025. She was second on Northwestern with a .348 AVG and finished fifth in the conference with 22 stolen bases on 25 attempts. Avvisato’s 57 hits in 2025 were the most by a Wildcat first-year since Jordyn Rudd (57) in 2019. Against Kentucky in her NCAA tournament debut, Avvisato went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs in a Northwestern victory.
Discounting Avvisato, Northwestern returns the entirety of its 2025 infield in Kansas Robinson, Grace Nieto, Emma Raye and Bridget Donahey. However, this past weekend in Tempe, Drohan turned to a series of new faces to fill the role of her star sophomore in the infieldf.
Starters
Kansas Robinson, 1B, Senior
2025 Stats: .250 AVG, .855 OPS, 8 HRs, 41 RBIs
By all accounts, Robinson had a down year in 2025 after earning Second-Team All American honors in 2024. She struggled mightily through the first half of the season with her batting average teetering below the Mendoza line until a monster weekend in late March against Minnesota and Notre Dame, capped by a game-tying grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Fighting Irish.
Inside NU’s Adam Beck looked at Robinson’s strikeout rate and BABIP (batting average on balls in play) when analyzing her slump last March. Adam compared Robinson’s slow start to an 18-game slump during Robinson’s monster 2024 campaign. During that stretch, Robinson’s BABIP dropped to .220 but her strikeout rate remained at an impressive 10.8%, suggesting that her low numbers were more a product of bad luck than anything else. During the first two months of 2025, her BABIP remained low (.245), but her strikeout rate increased to 24.7%. Though Robinson’s numbers improved in the second half, her strikeout rate increased to 27.6% by the end of the season.
Northwestern needs its veteran first basemen to return to 2024 form, especially with the questions surrounding its unproven, Lauren Boyd-less pitching staff. Robinson’s strikeout rate will be a key statistic to monitor in 2026.
Grace Nieto, 2B, Graduate Student
2025 Stats: .329 AVG, .801 OPS, 3 HRs, 17 RBIs
Nieto blossomed in 2025 after missing the 2024 season with an injury. Northwestern’s leadoff woman was a consistent presence in an up-and-down season for the Wildcat offense. Her final stat line was nearly identical to her pre-injury highs, with the noted exception of her 15 stolen bases, a career-high by nine. She also was not caught stealing once.
Nieto’s numbers translated against top competition. Against No. 8 UCLA in a late May battle with Northwestern’s postseason hopes on the brink, Nieto paced the Wildcats with a .600 AVG in three games while adding a home run. She also hit a career-high three home runs in 2025 while besting her strikeout rate from her stellar 2022 season. Nieto’s never been much of a power hitter, but that trajectory provides room for optimism that she can improve on her already excellent hitting profile in 2026.
Bridget Donahey, SS, Senior
2025 Stats: .280 AVG, .994 OPS, 8 HRs, 20 RBIs
Donahey was perhaps Northwestern’s best hitter in 2025, leading the ‘Cats in OPS and finishing tied for the lead in home runs. She struck out more and walked less compared to 2024, but those numbers came with double digit increases in both batting average and slugging percentage.
Donahey, who slid over to shortstop from third base in Tempe, was an excellent defensive player as well in 2025, posting a .911 fielding percentage and a series of highlight plays from the hot corner. Donahey played shortstop in high school, and there’s nothing to suggest the transition to shortstop in college shouldn’t be seamless.
Donahey, along with most of the Northwestern lineup, struggled in the NCAA tournament against Kentucky and Clemson, recording just a hit and walk in seven at-bats. A big showing in the postseason is the one box left to check for Donahey her final year of eligibility.
Tru Medina, 3B, First-Year
2025 Stats: N/A
Medina, like Donahey, also played shortstop in high school, and was dubbed the best shortstop in Illinois by the Daily Herald as a prospect. She also was named to the Softball America Freshman Watch List ahead of the 2026 season. Medina is all set in the pedigree department.
Medina, a “true switch-hitter” according to Inside NU’s Brielle Lowery, had no trouble adjusting to the college game in Northwestern’s opening weekend, wracking up five hits, three walks and a home run in 12 at-bats in Tempe. The All-Big Ten freshman team is very much in the realm of possibilities.
Emma Raye, C, Junior
2025 Stats: .246 AVG, .709 OPS, 2 HRs, 22 RBIs
Raye started behind the plate 46 of Northwestern’s 51 games in 2025, and her weekend in Tempe provided hope that the junior could build on those numbers in 2026. She homered twice in the Kajikawa Classic and caught four runners stealing. A member of the 2024 Big-Ten All Defensive Team as a true first-year, the sky is the limit for Raye in year three.
Other Contributors
True first-year Teagan McCue had two hits in three at-bats in Tempe, pinch-hitting for Donahey against Texas State and Nieto against Memphis. The Illinois native played shortstop in high school and showed a penchant for stealing bases, nabbing 22 in her senior year. She’ll for sure see more time in 2026.
Graduate transfer catcher Abby Harvey started against Memphis on Sunday, finishing 0-for-3 with a walk against the Tigers. Northwestern’s only transfer addition in 2026, she finished with a .426 batting average while earning Second-Team All American honors for Indiana Wesleyan in the NFCA/NAIA. Look for Harvey to occasionally rotate in at catcher with Raye. Emma Blea was on the bump against the Tigers, and its possible that Harvey could feature behind the dish the next time the true sophomore gets the start.
Redshirt sophomore Grace Minarovic had one at-bat in Tempe after starting three games and appearing in 24 in 2025. She posted a .188 AVG and a .504 OPS in 16 at bats last season.
Junior Ainsley Muno had one at-bat vs Memphis after playing in eight games and earning one start in 2025.
