Makayla Stephens joins Auburn softball for senior season

AUBURN, Ala. – Adding depth to the pitching staff, Auburn softball co-head coaches Chris and Kate Malveaux announced the addition of senior right-handed pitcher Makayla Stephens for the upcoming 2027 season.

A veteran in the circle, Stephens joins the Tigers after three seasons at Georgia State and is coming off a standout junior campaign that saw her earn NFCA All-South Region honors.

“Makayla brings a ‘dawg’ mentality and is known as a fierce competitor,” said Chris Malveaux. “She has nonstop energy and brings leadership to our pitching staff. Experience and strikeouts are two big things that she will add to the rotation going into the fall. She’s a great person and is bringing a great family to Auburn.”

Grateful. Blessed. War Eagle! 🦅@AuburnSoftball pic.twitter.com/scjQZIqFeo

— Mak Stephens (@mak_stephens) June 16, 2026

Hailing from Kennesaw, Georgia, Stephens anchored a Panther pitching staff that recorded the program's most strikeouts since 2008. She recorded 225 of the team’s 317 total strikeouts.

Posting career-best numbers across the board, Stephens closed her junior campaign with an 18-13 record and a 2.61 ERA across 195.2 innings of work. She tossed 19 complete games with four shutouts to her credit while holding opponents to a .200 batting average.

She finished in the top five in four Georgia State single-season categories, including wins and strikeouts. Stephens led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked fifth nationally with a 6.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She also led the SBC in strikeouts per seven innings with an average of 8.0. She closed the season with All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team honors.

Across her three seasons at Georgia State, Stephens recorded 23 career victories and 356 career strikeouts across 354.2 innings.