Oregon adds All-SEC talent Amari Harper for third transfer addition of offseason

After landing a pair of transfer hitters in the portal last week, Oregon softball head coach Melyssa Lombardi has continued to stay hot, announcing the signing of Texas A&M's Amari Harper on Thursday afternoon. Harper is the third transfer to land with the Ducks in this portal cycle, joining Cal's Elon Butler and Notre Dame's Addison Amaral.

Harper will enter her senior season with Oregon after a career year that helped lead the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament's top overall seed, hitting .421 with eight home runs and 51 RBIs to blow away her previous bests. The All-SEC Second Team utility player will give Lombardi another versatile piece in the field as well, having manned first base, second base, and right field last season in College Station.

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"Amari is a proven, left-handed hitter out of one of the best conferences in the country," Lombardi said in a statement released through the team on Thursday. "She possesses the ability to clutch up and deliver in tough situations. She's a very disciplined hitter. She has power; she can hit for average – she can do it all. In the game's biggest moments, she wants to be at the plate."

A three-year starter for Texas A&M, Harper made great strides at the plate as a junior, adding more power to her contact-heavy approach. After hitting .335 with just a single homer across her first two seasons, Harper crushed eight long balls while also setting a career-best with 11 doubles to raise her slugging percentage by over 200 points. Those hard-hit balls also helped her already-high average, which climbed to over .400 for the first time.

Harper was able to raise her power to the next level despite continuing to make improvements in her plate discipline, walking more times than she struck out in 2025 for the first time in her career. She's upped her walk-rate year after year, and was able to reach base at a .536 clip last season that ranked third in the SEC, only behind her teammate Mya Perez and USA Softball Player of the Year Bri Ellis.

Harper's primary position with the Ducks is still yet to be determined, but there's no doubt that her versatility will provide immense value to Lombardi's lineup. Oregon entered the offseason with its biggest question marks at middle infield and corner outfield, and answered two of those with Butler, a utility player who will most likely fill a corner, and Amaral, who can play either spot up the middle. This most likely projects Harper to the other outfield corner, with Rylee McCoy locking down first base and Kaylynn Jones available for either middle infield position.

Lombardi set a new standard for her program last season with her first conference title and Women's College World Series appearance, a stage she will be looking to return to in 2026. With their moves in the portal, the Ducks' lineup continues to only get longer, and could look to threaten the program record of 491 runs that they set this past season.

"The deciding factors on choosing to attend Oregon were the coaching staff and the opportunities that the university provides for my long-term career aspirations," Harper said through the school. "I was most impressed by the academic resources and the faculty that they have to help their students succeed, as well as by the programs and groups within the athletic department that allow for inclusivity and diversity across all boards."