In a widely-expected move, Texas has officially announced the additions of Miranda Elish and Lauren Burke to the program’s 2019 roster.
Both Elish and Burke previously played for Texas head coach Mike White during his tenure as head coach at Oregon. White was hired to lead the Longhorns earlier in the summer.
Elish was a second-team all-American selection during the 2018 season and absorbed the lion’s share of the Ducks’ workload in the pitching circle during the Women’s College World Series. She began her career with a perfect 23-0 record that stretched across her first two collegiate seasons, as she did not record a loss until late March of her sophomore campaign. Elish joins Texas with a 37-2 lifetime win-loss record, a 1.42 ERA, and 347 strikeouts in her career to this point.
As a freshman in 2018, Burke served as a role player on the Oregon squad that won the PAC-12 title and earned the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Named to the conference’s all-freshman team, Burke finished the season with a .351 batting average and three home runs, to go along with fourteen runs scored and seventeen RBIs.
Speaking to Brentt Eads of Extra Innings Softball on Monday, Burke said, “It’s gonna be a big transition for me, moving halfway across the country, but I’m beyond excited. I’m forever a Duck fan, and I’m going to miss this university and my teammates so much. Our teammates have been so supportive of us and I feel lucky to have been a part of the Oregon Softball family. But like Miranda and I have said, it’s not our perfect fit anymore. I’m thankful that Miranda and I are sticking together and we cannot wait to bring a National Championship back to Austin. That’s the ultimate goal and we cannot wait to get to know our future teammates and reunite with our former coaching staff.”
Following the announcement of the pair’s transfer from Oregon, sources confirmed that both players had been granted full releases, allowing them to have immediate eligibility at their new destination. Both Burke and Elish are expected to officially join Texas over the semester break.
