Maddia and Rylinn Groff are transferring to Omaha. The pair, who took SIU Softball by storm and became their main battery, return to their hometown to play for the Mavericks.
All-American P Maddia Groff and her sister/C Rylinn Groff are transferring home to play at Omaha. The duo spent their freshman year at Southern Illinois in 2024. https://t.co/QfKHUb3KVU pic.twitter.com/uMW8AOFYBM
— Justin McLeod (@justfactsmaam) June 7, 2024
Freshman outfielder Katherine Johnson, another Omaha, Nebraska native, is also transferring to Omaha.
Returning to the O🤘
Returning to her roots, our newest Maverick, Katherine Johnson!
An infielder transferring from SIU, Johnson appeared in 34 games where she recorded 11 hits and 15 RBIs. #OmahaSB | @KatherineJ__12 pic.twitter.com/fGFNup3mVy
— Omaha Softball (@OmahaSB) June 7, 2024
The Groffs started their careers with the first ever seven-inning perfect game in SIU history. They would continue to build that momentum leading to a record of 30-5 with a 1.11 ERA, 244 strikeouts, 19 complete games, and 220.2 innings of work.
Maddia Groff’s 30 wins is a single-season record for SIU Softball.
In 45 games, Rylinn Groff batted .173 but had a .314 on-base-percentage. As a catcher, she caught five of 11 baserunners attempting to steal.
Katherine Johnson appeared in some key at-bats this season, going 11-60 at the plate with a double and three home runs. Johnson drove in a total of 15 runs.
Omaha won the Summit League in both 2023 and 2024; they’ve made the NCAA Tournament twice in school history.
