
Notre Dame softball commit Ava Zachary named Miss Softball Indiana
Future Fighting Irish infielder hit over .500 en route to award
A Notre Dame softball signee has been named Indiana's Miss Softball.
Ava Zachary hit .543 with 60 RBI in 32 games for Penn High School in Mishawaka, Ind.
She's the first player from Penn to win the state's highest award for a softball player.
Mishawaka, of course, is in the South Bend area, so Zachary will be staying close to home when she heads to Notre Dame's campus.
The left-handed hitting Zachary plays third base and she helped lead Penn to a 2023 state championship. She's been a four-time First-Team All-Northern Indiana Conference selection.
'It means everything,' Zachary told her school paper, The Pennant. 'It's such a surreal moment. I'm super grateful for this opportunity and the opportunity that Penn softball has given me the past four years. It was an amazing moment to stand up there with all the other amazing talent in Indiana and to hear my name be read. This is so much more than an individual award. It's an award for all the girls at Penn who have ever played Softball, and all the girls who played next to me the last four years and worked so hard and gave such a great effort every day.'
'This award just means I have to get back to work, Zachary said. "I have to work 10 times harder now and work to get better day-in and day-out.'
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Texas A&M baseball lands commitment from former Baylor left-handed pitcher
The Texas A&M baseball program added another impressive arm to its bullpen on Saturday night, as the Aggies landed the commitment from one of the Big 12 Conference's most promising stars. Head coach Michael Earley landed former Baylor left-handed pitcher Carson Bailey via the transfer portal, according to reports from TexAgs. As a freshman for the Bears in 2025, Bailey struck out 56 batters in 53.1 innings pitched with his impressive repertoire of pitches on the mound. Before signing with Baylor baseball in 2023, Bailey was a three-year letter winner at J.J. Pearce High School, as he led his team to back-to-back district titles in 2022 and 2023. In just eight starts as a sophomore in high school, he struck out 65 batters in 35 innings of work. After an injury sidelined him during his junior season, Bailey fired back by posting a 1.50 ERA and 88 strikeouts as a senior. After a full season with the Bears in Waco, Texas, the No. 43 lefty in the 2024 class announced his commitment to Earley and the Texas A&M baseball program, giving the Aggies some good late-night news this weekend. The offseason additions via the portal and high school recruiting continue to give the club momentum heading into next year's campaign. After a lackluster season in 2025, Texas A&M will hope to bounce back and silence any doubters by performing well and avoiding missing postseason play. If the program wants to change the current narratives, the first step to doing so is to build around the future of the program. With additions like Bailey to the bullpen, the future could be getting brighter if Earley can develop his young stars. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.


USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Predicting Steelers potential trade package for Jalen Ramsey
There is nothing more exciting than trade speculation — and there has been no shortage of it with the Jalen Ramsey to Pittsburgh rumors. Luckily for the Steelers, however, acquiring the Dolphins' All-Pro cornerback could come at a bargain, as Miami is likely desperate to offload his massive contract. The Rams demanded just a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long in the trade that sent Ramsey from Los Angeles to Miami — but that was two years ago, when his contract was more feasible. Ramsey's current deal, which expires in 2029, is far from ideal for any team looking to acquire him — with $25 million due in 2026, $26.8 million in 2027, and $36.1 million in 2028. That financial burden should force the Dolphins to settle for a Day 3 draft pick. In addition to Miami potentially eating some of his contract, the Steelers could theoretically acquire Ramsey for a fourth- or fifth-round draft pick — potentially creating the most dangerous secondary in the NFL with cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay Jr., as well as safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott. Will the Steelers pull the trigger on the blockbuster trade, or will the Dolphins corner be sent elsewhere? For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.


USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
Ohio State softball 2026 conference schedule unveiled
Looking forward to 𝐁𝟏𝐆 things in 2026.@OhioStAthletics | #GoBucks It was an overachieving year for the Ohio State softball team this past season. Despite losing a lot of key players, new head coach Kirin Kumar was able to lead the team to an offensive explosion in which the Buckeyes led the country in home runs, runs scored, and a few other categories. OSU ended up tying for third place in the Big Ten and found its way into the NCAA Tournament. Now, the trick will be to continue that momentum and continue the climb in the Big Ten and nationally. To do it, Ohio State will have to navigate a Big Ten schedule that now includes West Coast power teams like UCLA and Oregon. This past week, the Big Ten unveiled the conference schedule for the 2026 softball season, so we got a look at who the Buckeyes will play next season and where they will do it. Ohio State will host four home series in the conference and hit the road for four others. Here's how it'll all look next season. Ohio State 2026 Big Ten Softball Schedule March 6-8, 2026: Iowa (Columbus, Ohio)March 13-15, 2026: at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.)March 27-29, 2026: Michigan State (Columbus, Ohio)April 3-5, 2026: at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.)April 10-12, 2026: at Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)April 17-19, 2026: Penn State (Columbus, Ohio)April 24-26, 2026: at Oregon (Eugene, Ore.)May 1-3, 2026: Washington (Columbus, Ohio) It's still a long time before we see any of these games, but it's nice to see how everything will look next year. The nonconference schedule will be released at a later day. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.