The Ohio University softball program added five players during the early signing period, head coach Paige McMenemy announced on Thursday, Nov. 12, according to Ohio University’s athletics release at ohiobobcats.com. The class is headlined for southeast Ohio fans by Portsmouth pitcher Ava Rush, a two-time state champion at Notre Dame High School.
Joining the Bobcats for the 2027–28 season are McKenna Cassidy of Lakewood Ranch, Florida; Giana Chirpas of Bridgeport, Ohio; Breann Lipold of Lake Elsinore, California; Harlie Reich of Purcellville, Virginia; and Rush of Portsmouth, Ohio, according to the Ohio University release.
“We are excited to welcome our 2027 signing class to the Ohio softball family,” McMenemy said in the Ohio University release. “This group comes from four different states and brings a great combination of talent, character, and competitiveness. We are confident they will make a positive impact on our program, both on and off the field. We can’t wait to get them to Athens and officially welcome them as Bobcats!”
Rush has played four years at Portsmouth Notre Dame and is also a member of the swim team, according to the release. She is a three-time First Team Southern Ohio Conference and First Team All-District selection, was the conference’s Pitcher of the Year in 2025 and 2026, the 2026 District Player of the Year, and a 2026 First Team All-Ohio pick. She helped lead Portsmouth to Southern Ohio Conference and District championships in 2024, 2025 and 2026, Regional championships in 2025 and 2026, and the Division VII state championship in both 2025 and 2026, the release said. Rush plans to major in early childhood education.
The class’s other Ohio signee, Chirpas, is a three-sport standout at Martins Ferry High School in Belmont County, where she lettered all four years in volleyball, basketball and softball, according to the release. In softball she is a three-time OVAC First Team selection and two-time OVAC Player of the Year who holds Martins Ferry’s career records in runs batted in, home runs and batting average, and she has topped 1,000 kills in volleyball and 1,000 points in basketball. Chirpas plans to major in exercise science.
The out-of-state signees bring national pedigrees: Cassidy, an infielder from IMG Academy, was a Sarasota Herald Tribune Athlete of the Week in 2024 and plans to study psychology; Lipold, a pitcher, owns a career 2.67 ERA with 161 strikeouts at Elsinore High School and 728 strikeouts in travel ball, and plans to major in elementary education; and Reich, an outfielder from Loudoun Valley, was an Alliance Player of the Month in 2026 and plans to study exercise physiology, according to the Ohio University release.
What happens next: the five signees finish their senior seasons at their high schools this spring, then arrive in Athens ahead of the 2027–28 season. For Rush, that means one more spring in Portsmouth trying to extend a championship run that has already delivered back-to-back state titles.