When the final team was called during Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show, the Scarlet Knights’ 2024 season officially ended. While past years have provided a postseason to other noteworthy teams via the National Invitational Softball Championship, this year’s event was cancelled, and it is not known if the NISC (softball’s equivalent to basketball’s NIT) will ever return.
In 2023, the Scarlet Knights saw their season end at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, 7-4, in the Big Ten Tournament. Building on the success of that season, the 2024 Rutgers softball team set records for personal and program achievements during this past year.
This past season, Rutgers brought in several high impact transfers that changed the face and fortune of the 2024 Scarlet Knights.
These new additions blended seamlessly with program veterans to produce high water mark results during the 2024 campaign, including program records for Big Ten victories and series wins.
The Scarlet Knights rolled out the same lineup for nearly every game, and got great performances from their veteran players.
In particular, two transfer students filled huge holes in the lineup with the departure of 2023 seniors Kirsten Withstandley at first base, and Taylor Fawcett in the outfield.
University of Houston transfer L.A. Matthews was more than adequate at first base (.976 fielding percentage), with impressive stats at the plate (.306 average, one home run and 34 RBIs), while batting second in the lineup.
Transfer Jillian Anderson occupied the ninth spot in a talented Rutgers lineup, and while steady defensively all year, her bat caught fire at the end of the season. Anderson batted .457 (16-for-35) over the last 12 games, raising her average to (.284) on the year. She was also the only one of the RU starters to post a perfect year in the field with a 1.000 fielding percentage.
As a regular starter for all 55 games in 2024, former CSC Academic All-District player Kayla Bock posted a .268 batting average (just as she did in 2023), with 34 hits and 30 RBIs.
Outfielder Leilani Chavez improved her batting average to .256 this past season, with 33 hits and a .279 slugging percentage. She also showed improvement in the field, posting a .953 fielding percentage.
While it is true that the batting average and fielding percentage statistics of Maddie Lawson dipped somewhat this season, the former CSC Academic All-District player scored more runs, had more hits, doubles, walks, RBIs, and total bases than last year. Meanwhile, she showed more range and flashed the leather at second base, providing solid defense in the middle of the diamond.
Veteran infielder and former Rawlings Golden Glove Award winner Payton Lincavage has been a mainstay for Rutgers for years, and was also a 2023 Second Team All-Big Ten honoree. Lincavage missed one game this season due to being struck in the face by a foul ball, and while she did not reach her numbers of 2023, she still batted .279 with 46 hits and eight home runs.
Bench players Megan Herka (winner of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award) and Bailey Briggs both hit over .300 this season, while Lauren Punk collected 10 RBIs. Kobie Hura crossed the plate 13 times during the 2024 campaign and had a .947 fielding percentage.
Relief pitchers Georgia Ingle (2-2 record with a 4.73 ERA) and Laurelai DePew (1-0 record with a 2.63 ERA) saw limited action this season in the circle, but showed promise in the games in which they played.
While freshmen Stephanie Kraska and Hailey Stripling did not see the field this season, Gaelen Kelly did manage to slip into the lineup for three games at catcher.
But this season was defined by four players for the Scarlet Knights who not only produced, but provided the team with the veteran leadership this group needed to reach the milestones that they did.
Katie Wingert. Wingert was a generational player the likes of which Rutgers softball fans are not likely to see for a long time, if ever again. Her prowess at the plate was record-setting, and while it is true that her numbers at the end of the season rarely match those at the start, that precipitous drop was unquestionably due to the physical strain over the course of the season.
A former CSC Academic All-District Team honoree, Wingert excelled as a hitter despite playing at the most physically demanding assignment on the diamond. A multiple Academic All-Big Ten winner, as an everyday player Wingert absorbed the punishment of being hit by players, bats, and balls, yet she still managed to start every game of her final season. Even for a young athlete, the strain on her knees as a catcher is unmatched by any other position, yet she never failed to run down the first base line on an infield grounder to back up the play in the event of an errant throw.
Wingert’s hidden value was her presence on the field. As a six-year player (due to injury and COVID-19 eligibility rules) she has been a mainstay for the Scarlet Knights since her breakout freshman season. Her ability to manage the various personalities of the pitchers, her leadership on the field, and her ability to take direction from skipper Kristen Butler (the only head coach Wingert has ever known in her time at Rutgers) and transmit it to her teammates has been invaluable. She finishes her career at Rutgers holding program records for home runs, walks, and RBIs.
Kyleigh Sand. Simply put, Sand was the table setter for the Scarlet Knights’ offense. Sand now holds the program record for runs scored, as well as setting the single-season mark (62 during the 2024 season). Over the past three seasons, Sand has been a true leadoff hitter for the Scarlet Knights, leading the team in batting average every season. In fact, she batted .396 in her entire time with the Scarlet Knights, including a ridiculous .418 in 2024. Her speed allowed her to bunt for singles, stretch plays into extra base hits and steal bases at an 80.7% rate during her three years at the top of the Rutgers lineup.
Morgan Smith. If Sand set the table, it was usually Smith who cleared it. Simply put, it is no coincidence that the appearance of Smith on the roster of the Scarlet Knights in 2023 and 2024 equated to them winning more than 30 games in each of the last two seasons. For anyone who still doubts her value to the team, the fact that in May she was voted the top-ranked two-way player in Division I by Softball America should be evidence enough.
All-Big Ten, Smith led the conference in home runs for most of the regular season, finishing in a tie for first with 19. In addition, she set the RU single season RBI record (66 during the regular season) while sporting a .408 batting average at the dish. But, Smith didn’t just help the Scarlet Knights with her bat. As a pitcher, she had an intimidating presence for opposing batters, making 30 appearances in the circle during the season. With an 11-10 record, she pitched 130.2 innings, striking out 93 batters. She registered a 3.54 ERA, holding opponents to a .247 batting average.
Mattie Boyd. The departure of RU hurlers Jaden Vickers, Raimy Gamsby, Ryann Orange, and Ashley Hitchcock following the 2023 season certainly gave Scarlet Knight fans cause for concern. After all, those hurlers combined to give the Knights a team ERA of 3.36 in 2023, a vast improvement of nearly a full run (4.29) from 2022. But the arrival of Boyd quickly assuaged the fears of fans and alumni alike.
The hard throwing right-hander became the ace of the pitching staff, and not surprisingly, was an All-Big Ten selection. Including the Big Ten Conference game, Boyd pitched 189.2 innings, amassing 162 strikeouts, while walking just 72. With a 19-10 record and a 2.40 ERA, it’s not surprising that she only gave up 17 home runs and just one triple in all of 2024.
Without question, after earning a bye in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, it was a bitter disappointment for the Scarlet Knights to lose to a Wisconsin team that they had beaten twice during the regular season.
But while this season has closed for the Scarlet Knights, it was a memorable one for the players and fans alike. Unquestionably, the composition of next year’s team will be different, because that is the nature of college sports. But while this year's departing players can be replaced, this collection of athletes will not be duplicated.
