College Park, MD – Maryland softball players, Keira Bucher, Bailey Murphy, and Sammi Woods have been named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, as announced by the conference Thursday.

Bucher made 19 appearances last season, pitching 63.2 innings in the circle. She compiled 33 strikeouts and finished with a 5.06 ERA. Bucher had a career-high of six strikeouts against West Georgia on February 22, only giving up one hit and no runs in four innings.

Murphy returns to College Park for her junior season. She led the Terps last season with a .326 average with two doubles, one triple, and eight RBI. The Chesapeake native played in 41 games making 39 starts. 

Woods started at shortstop for the Terps, starting in all 48 games last season. She had a team fourth best batting average (.294) with nine doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBI.
 
Maryland softball starts its season on Friday, February 6, in Orlando, Florida, at the Black & Gold Classic. The Terps will play Boston, Buffalo, CSU Bakersfield, and host UCF, with all games streamed on ESPN+

Watch out for these Terps!👊🏻🥎#FearTheTurtle pic.twitter.com/fNkYckvMEF

— Maryland Softball (@TerpsSoftball) January 29, 2026