CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern softball and Head Coach Christi Musser added three new players from the transfer portal this fall, as Lorenzza Marcacci, Payton Smith and Mackenzie Rutkoff have joined the Buccaneers for the 2025 season.
 
Lorenza Marcacci is a rising junior who spent her first two seasons at UNLV. While at UNLV, she was a part of two teams that made it to the Mountain West postseason tournament. She is a native of Fairfield, CA, where she starred at Benicia High School. Off the field, she was a four-time member of the Honor Roll. On the field, she had a career batting average of .438 and won the 2022 Section Championship.
 
Coach Musser on Marcacci: "I couldn't be more thrilled about Lorenzza joining our Buc Family.  After losing 5^th year senior and second baseman Kendal Cook last year, we knew we needed more depth in our middle infield.  She is athletic with a very good glove, but more than that she is a perfect fit to our team Culture."
 
Payton Smith spent her first two seasons at Grand Canyon University, where the Lopes compiled a 50-13 (23-3 in conference) record, won the WAC Championship and made it to the NCAA Regional Finals in 2024. A native of Peoria, AZ, Smith played both softball and volleyball at Mountain Ridge High School and won Offensive Player of the Year in both sports. In softball, she was First-Team All-Region and was a two-time Honorable Mention in volleyball.
 
Coach Musser on Smith: "I have known Payton for a very long time, and the impact she will have on CSU softball will be immediate.  She will be able to help in many areas defensively, but mainly bring some much-needed power to our roster.  Look for her to be a force in the middle of our line-up."
 
Mackenzie Rutkoff joins the 2025 Buccaneer softball team after spending her first three seasons at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She is a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 53 career games for the Mountain Lions while tallying 93 career strikeouts. Rutkoff is a native of San Diego, CA, where she played for Ramona High School. As a team captain in 2021, she tallied 102 strikeouts in 130.0 innings and won 15 games.
 
Coach Musser on Rutkoff: "Having lost 3 pitchers from our roster after last season, I knew I wanted to bring in a pitcher with some experience. We are so excited that Mackenzie chose CSU to finish her softball career.  She is going to do amazing things and provide a different dynamic to the mound complimenting the rest of the pitching staff." 
 
Marcacci, Smith and Rutkoff will join a Charleston Southern softball squad that is coming off their second-straight top four finish in the Big South Conference. They will join four incoming freshman and 15 returners from the 2024 squad.