During Wednesday's National Signing Day for most college sports, Arizona softball and its new head coach Caitlin Lowe signed its first recruiting class as the program ushers in a new era.

The class is comprised of five signees with four from California players with infielder Tayler Biehl, catcher Olivia DiNardo, outfielder Dakota Kennedy and pitcher Sydney Somerndike and the fifth player is local product infielder Logan Cole to round out the class.

This class, I'm proud of it, proud that it's our first. It's very well-rounded. I think a whole lot is brought to the table offensively, we've got some speed, good power, and a pitcher who can really spin the ball, so I'm excited about her too.

Biehl is from Folsom, California and plays for the Lady Magic club team located in northern California. She is the niece of former Arizona player Jenae Leles, who was a teammate of Lowe during their playing days.

""Biehl is a left-handed hitting infielder. What impresses me most about her she's always on base anytime I watch her play. Truly a table-setter and a catalyst for her team. Her softball IQ is very high.

"She's a really a tireless worker I remember on September first which is the day we can contact them. I told her to let me know a good time to touch base, and she said, "okay, well. I've got class hitting lesson, a throwing lesson, running lesson, and I'm in the weight room," and I was like well, what time can I talk to you? And she couldn't give me a time that said you know what, you just call me," said Lowe on what Biehl is like as a player.

Cole is a local product from Salpointe Catholic high school and is a two-time 4A State Champion and plays for the Suncats club team, who in years past had Arizona players Carlie Scupin and Izzy Pacho on their roster.

"Logan Cole is really like a hometown hero and goes to high school right up the road at Salpointe. She is an infielder and left-handed hitter.

"You're going to look at her size and stature and be like "slapper all day" she's not. She's a hitter, singles, doubles, gap-to-gap and hits for average with occasional pop, which is surprising for her stature, so very excited about her," said Lowe about Cole and what she brings to Arizona.

DiNardo is a power-hitting catcher from San Mateo, California and plays for the West Bay Warriors; she is the only catcher of the class for Arizona.

""Really excited to invite this young lady Olivia DiNardo to campus and she made me work. She made me work really hard. But really, just a pure hitter. Very excited about her offensive capabilities.

"I'm just so impressed with someone her age to step in the box in all situations and just have a calm presence. I am very excited about that because, as you know, with our 3,000 fans in the stands, it gets a little crazy in games and she steps in and I think she gets better in those situations," said Lowe on what type of player DiNardo can be.

Kennedy is Arizona's most highly-touted recruit, who plays the outfield position and is from Sacramento, where she plays for the Lady Magic club team. She is teammates with infield signee Biehl, who plays on the same club team.

"Dakota Kennedy is really just an athlete; I mean all around. She brings speed, she brings power, she's going to steal bases, and she's going to track balls down in the outfield and comes from a very athletic family.

"And really, I think most impressively is when I go to watch her play. She impressed me with her own play, but she really raises the level of energy and passion within her team," said Lowe on the type of athlete Kennedy can be at Arizona.

Somerndike is the only pitcher Arizona signed. She is from Villa Park, California, where she played for Firecrackers Rico club team. She was also named California Gatorade Player of the Year during the 2021 high school softball season.

"Sidney, who comes from kind of where I grew up, goes to Villa Park High School. She burst onto the scene super late. One of our last to sign or to verbal, spins the heck out of the ball. And I followed her from pretty early on and she had signs of greatness.

"So you keep following someone and really, during COVID, she just exploded onto the scene and it was really hard during that time because from our perspective, from the coach's perspective, we couldn't go out and watch them play in person. It was all on live stream. So you kind of check yourself right; you're like looking at a computer and you're watching the ball jump and you're like, "I think that looks really good," but I when I finally got to see her in person, very impressed at how she had grown within six months. And the cool thing about that for me is that when she gets in the bullpen with Taryne (Mowatt) and when she gets in the weight room and develops a regimen, I just think the sky's the limit for her, said Lowe on how Somerndike has developed since the beginning of her recruitment.

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