'They Paved the Way!' Texas Softball Seniors Leave Mark on Program

Four out of five of Texas Softball's seniors won't be returning for the program's debut in the SEC, but leave an impact on current and future players.

Texas’ Bella Dayton (6) celebrates her third base run against Oklahoma, Sunday, April 7, 2024, at McCombs Field in Austin. / Kaila Jones/Treasure Coast Newspapers /

For Texas Softball Head Coach Mike White, his five seniors can be credited for pulling the team together and making sure they are pulling everything in the right way at the same time.

“I think that they’re pushing each other, getting better,” White, who took over the program in 2019, said. “This is the closest team that we’ve had.”

Except for Joley Mitchell, who transferred to Texas from Notre Dame in 2023, this group has gone through two national championship series together and set the bar high for the team. Mitchell will return to Austin for her fifth year in the 2024-25 season.

Sophomore pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez could not stop tears from falling when talking saying goodbye to her senior teammates.

“They really changed this program," Gutierrez said. "Like, y’all may have not seen, like, all the behind-the-scenes, but they really have set the bar high for this program and for all the young girls coming in. They paved the way for us. I’m extremely grateful to have played for them and played with them.”

Captain Alyssa Washington, Jordyn Whitaker, Bella Dayton and Estelle Czech leave the 40 Acres with the program's first regular-season conference championship since 2010 and a historic Women's College World Series run.

"As I told the four seniors that are leaving, you always want to leave the jersey in a better place than you found it," White said. "And they've all done that, and they can be extremely proud of their efforts and contributions to the program and to softball as a whole."