TEMPE – Mary Peyton Hodge will start the 2026 NCAA Division I softball season with interest from national media as the Winston Salem, N.C., native was appointed to D1Softball’s D100 Freshman Watch List, the publication announced Monday. Hodge was one of 10 softball student-athletes around the Big 12 Conference selected to the list.
Hodge is a 5-foot-11, left-handed pitcher who was a three-time all-conference, all-district and all-state selection at Oak Grove (N.C.) High School, where she was also tabbed the conference and district’s pitcher of the year in 2024 and 2025. She also picked up the North Carolina 3A West Co-Pitcher of the Year honors in 2024 as well as being named the Mid-Piedmont Female Athlete of the Year in 2025. In 2024, Hodge was selected the NFCA All-Region Second Team.
Additionally, Hodge was named the 2024 High School OT Pitcher of the Year in North Carolina.
On the travel ball scene, Hodge was a member of the Birmingham Thunderbolts organization. During her time with the Thunderbolts, she helped her squad to a first-place finish at PGF Nationals in 2024 after third place finishes in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
In the classroom, Hodge was a member of the National Honors Society during her time in high school.
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