Softball Announces 2024 Signing Day Class

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Softball Head Coach Larissa Anderson and her staff announced Friday the Tigers’ 2024 Signing Day Class. 

Abbie Wilhelm, Jordyn Thurman, Saniya Hill, Kadence Shepherd, Courtney Donahue, Madison Uptegrove, Nevaeh Watkins and Sophie Smith will join the team this upcoming fall ahead of the 2025 season.  

Abbie Wilhelm

Abbie Wilhelm, a 5-6 middle infielder from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, helped lead Blue Springs South High School to a Missouri State Championship her junior year and a third-place finish at her sophomore year. 

The four-year letterwinner was named first-team all-conference her sophomore and junior seasons and second-team all-conference as a freshman. She holds the school Missouri single season record for RBI and was named the infielder of the year during her junior campaign.   

Wilhelm has also earned first-team all-region, first-team all-state, and all-state tournament team honors. She batted .421 during her junior campaign and was sitting at .400 this season. 

She competes for the Top Gun club team based out of Kansas City, Missouri, who have been named to the Hot 100 list each of the past three seasons. Wilhelm posted a .487 batting average with 66 RBI and 14 home runs this past season.  

Abbie Wilhelm’s mother, Cari Wilhelm, played college softball at Kansas City (UMKC), while her father, Brent Wilhelm, played college baseball at Kansas.   

Jordyn Thurman 

Jordyn Thurman, a 5-7 outfielder from Mexico, Missouri, heads to the Tigers after earning first-team all-conference honors each of her four seasons at Mexico High School.  

Thurman has excelled in various positions on the diamond, starting as a pitcher her first two seasons before moving to the outfield as a junior and shortstop her senior year.  

She is a two-time all-district selection and also earned all-region laurels as a junior. Thurman was also selected to the academic all-state team.  

At the club level, she competes with the Top Gun club team with Abbie Wilhelm. Thurman batted .471 with 15 runs, 27 RBI and a .906 slugging percentage (.435 on-base plus slugging) with the St. Louis Chaos in 2022. 

Her relative, Andrew Jurgesmeyer, plays baseball for Iowa Wesleyan. 

Thurman is a member of the National Honors Society and ranks 16th in her graduating class with a 3.89 GPA. 

Saniya Hill  

Saniya Hill, a 5-7 third base and utility player from Godley, Texas, holds the all-time batting average (.457) for Godley High School. She is the 19th ranked player in the 2024 class, according to Extra Innings. 

Hill is a two-time second-team all-conference selection and was named to the first team as a sophomore. 

She was also included on the 2023 Alliance FastPitch Early Watch List for juniors on the rise. 

Hill competes for the Texas Glory softball club, which was ranked fifth in the nation. Hill batted .487 during the 2023 club season.  

Saniya Hill’s father, Joseph Hill, played football at TCU (Texas Christian University).

Kadence Shepherd 

Kadence Shepherd, a 5-7 infielder from Blue Springs, Missouri, heads to the Tigers after earning first-team all-district, all-region, all-conference and all-state honors during her junior season at Blue Springs High School.  

Shepherd was also named first-team all-district, first-team all-conference and second-team all-region as a sophomore. 

During her freshman campaign, she earned second-team all-conference and all-district. 

Shepherd competes for the Louisville Sluggers softball club. During her 2023 club season, she batted .480 with 10 home runs.   

Kadence Shepherd joins her brother, Korbin Shepherd, at Mizzou. Korbin Shepherd is currently a redshirt sophomore on the Tigers wrestling team. 

In the classroom, Kadence Shepherd earned Academic All-State NFCA High School Athlete of the Week this past September. She is also a National Honor Society inductee and is a three-time academic all-state selection with a 3.9 GPA. 

Courtney Donahue 

Courtney Donahue, a 5-8 pitcher, transfers to Mizzou from Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). 

The Dane, Wisconsin, native, logged 35 appearances in the circle in 2023, compiling a 16-3 record with six complete games and a save. She registered 134 strikeouts with a 2.91 ERA over 108.1 innings as DMACC finished third at the 2023 NJCAA Division II World Series.

She was selected to the second team all-region for her performance. In the classroom, Donahue secured NJCAA All-Academic honors. 

Donahue follows in the footsteps of Missouri assistant coach Molly Jacobsen McCargar, who also pitched at DMACC before transferring to the Power Five SEC level. 

Donahue had a decorated high school career, leading Marshfield High School to the Wisconsin State Tournament in 2022 and being named to the second-team all-state. As a senior, she represented her home state in the Senior All-Star Game against Minnesota. 

Donahue also was a member of the Central Wisconsin Edge softball club team. 

Courtney Donahue has several siblings who have also competed athletically at the collegiate level, including her brother, Jack (University of Wisconsin-Stout Baseball), sister, Megan (University of Wisconsin Softball), and brother, Cody (College of Lake County Baseball). 

Courtney Donahue’s father, John Donahue, also played football at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. 

Sophie Smith

Sophie Smith, a 5-6 middle infielder from Spring, Texas, is set to join the Tigers after graduating from Klein Oak High School. 

During her high school career, Smith was a three-time all-district selection and a three-time academic all-district selection.

Smith batted .519 with 10 home runs, to go with a .551 on-base percentage and 1.230 slugging percentage as a junior. She also registered 42 runs and 32 RBIs. 

Smith was also named Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) All-State Team, TGCA 6A Super Elite Team, and to the Texas Sports Writers Association All-State team, as well as district offensive MVP.

The four-year letterwinner led Klein Oak HS to the first round of playoffs in both her freshman and junior seasons.

At the club level, Smith competes for the Impact Gold 18U Jackson club team which was ranked 61st by Extra Innings. She earned TFL (Texas Fastpitch League) All-Tournament team honors with the club. 

In the classroom, Smith is a member of the National Honor Society and the National English Honor Society. She is also a Capstone Graduate and ranks 29 of 812 students in her graduating class.

Sophie Smith’s grandfather, Kip Hogan, wrestled collegiately at Oklahoma. 

Nevaeh Watkins

Nevaeh Watkins, a 5-2 center fielder from Rowlett, Texas, heads to the Tigers after earning 9-6A First-Team All-District and 9-6A Defensive Player of the Year at Sachse High School. 

Watkins was also named to the 2023 DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) Fastpitch All-Metro Plex First Team and the 2023 Star Local Media All-Area First Team. She hit .535 batting average with 145 hits and 88 stolen bases this past campaign. 

With the Texas Glory club team, Watkins was listed on the 2024 Alliance FastPitch Early Watch List for Juniors on the Rise. She helped Texas Glory finish fifth at the 2023 Alliance Tier 1 Tournament.

In the classroom, Watkins was named to the 9-6A Academic All-District team and is a part of the Beta Club.

Madison Uptegrove

Madison Uptegrove, a 5-5 infielder and outfielder from Columbia, Missouri, stays home after earning first-team all-district, all-region, all-conference and all-state honors during her junior season at Father Tolton Catholic High School. 

Uptegrove is a two-time conference player of the year as well as a four-time all-district, all-region, and all-state selection. 

She led the Trailblazers to a state championship as a freshman and district title as a junior.

Uptegrove knocked a Missouri state record 48 home runs over her high school career. 

She also hit .528 batting average with 192 RBI, 211 hits and 188 runs (second in Missouri) to rewrite the Father Tolton record book. Uptegrove holds the top spot for batting average, hits, runs, doubles (63), triples (17), home runs, RBI and total bases (452, second in Missouri).

She competes for the Select Fastpitch – Kansas City club team. Uptegrove batted .338 with four home runs, 18 RBIs, 21 runs and 11 stolen bases this past season.

In the classroom, Uptegrove is a member of the National Honors Society and has a 4.0 GPA.

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