Abby Huhn is searching for her third different college softball program in three years. The former Iowa State and East Carolina pitcher entered the transfer portal for a second time after her sophomore season.
It is not as simple as it sounds!
Huhn spends the majority of her day emailing, texting and calling back and forth with college softball coaches all over the country. Her inbox looks a lot like someone with a full-time job.
Who is Abby Huhn?
As a native of Carlsbad, California, Huhn was a two-sport star at Mission Hills High School. She decided to stick with softball and went on to be a four-year starter. She held a 1.66 ERA with 200 strikeouts over the course of her career and made the all-conference team in two of four seasons. And when she wasn’t in the circle, she hit .370 at the plate.
Abby Huhn ultimately committed to play at Iowa State. The 5-foot-9 right-handed pitcher threw 55.1 innings as a freshman, the third most of any member of the team, and finished with a 5.06 ERA, 13 strikeouts and a record of 3-3.
And then it was off to the transfer portal. Huhn transferred to East Carolina for the 2025-26 calendar year.
Unfortunately, she did not get as many opportunities as she had hoped. The sophomore appeared 14 times in the circle with an ERA of 4.82 and six strikeouts over 20.1 innings of work. The Pirates played deep into the American Conference tournament but they did not make a regional. East Carolina finished at 34-25.
And then it was off to the transfer portal, again.
The college softball transfer portal is a full-time job!
Abby Huhn is currently searching for her next opportunity at her third different program in three years. As far as I am aware, she has two years of eligibility remaining.
Being that this is her second time, Huhn offered some advice to other athletes in the same position:
- Take as many visits as you can.
- “You never know what school or coaching staff will surprise you. But if you visit those schools you might be pleasantly surprised with the campus or the coaching staff or just the area itself.”
- Ask the tough questions.
- “You’re in the transfer portal for a reason. So ask those tough questions that might be uncomfortable but need to be answered. If you’re in between schools, right down a pros and cons list.”
- Go with your gut.
- “If you gut is telling you something, listen to it. Because most of the time, it’s always right. If you have a weird feeling about the school, campus or coaching staff — if you get to meet some of the players and you have a weird feeling about them — go with your guy. At the end of the day, God will lead you where you’re supposed to be.”
While that might be valuable information, the transfer portal still requires most athletes to put in a lot of work. Not only must they field inquires from interested suitors, they must also reach out to other coaches who are searching for a certain player.
Huhn recently shared a behind-the-scenes look at her email outbox. She has been firing them off like a 9-5!
Thousands of athletes enter the transfer portal each offseason. Only some of them find a new home. Others are forced to transfer down or sit out a year. Huhn is being proactive throughout the process to avoid that harsh reality.