G Guerrieri and the Fightin’ Texas Aggie soccer team return to Ellis Field on Thursday to open the 2025 season with a rivalry matchup against Baylor. We’re looking ahead to the upcoming campaign with our 2025 Texas A&M Soccer Preview Series.
With Texas A&M soccer’s first game of the 2025 season just days away, the Aggies recently welcomed 10 new transfers to the roster. These transfers will use their experience and skill to not only strengthen themselves but the A&M program.
Through the combination of their skills defensively and offensively, these additions will add something prominent and noticeable. As the Aggies competitively battled their first two exhibition matches of preseason, they created positive energy, a bonded culture and excitement for what this upcoming season will hold.
“Wanted to be a tougher defending team,” head coach G Guerrieri stated as a goal for this upcoming season. “And how the new players were going to fit in with the players who had been here all spring, because we did have a great spring.”
The Aggies return to Ellis Field on Thursday, Aug. 14, to open their 2025 season vs. Baylor.
Defenders entering Aggieland
#4 Bella Yakel - Senior Defender - Portland
Yakel traveled a long way from her hometown of Long Beach, Calif., after playing three seasons for the University of Portland.
As a freshman, Yakel made her first start on Aug. 21, 2022, vs. Eastern Washington, and in the same season, she scored her first goal vs. Saint Mary’s, which led to a Pilots' victory. Throughout her time as a Pilot, Yakel played in 57 games, starting 49 of them. As a rookie in 2022, she made impactful contributions, such as providing an assist for a game-winning goal vs. Arizona State, which later gifted Portland an NCAA Tournament victory for the first time since 2013. She earned a spot on the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team (2022).
As a sophomore, she played in 16 games, starting in 10 and was named College Sport Communicators Academic All-District (2023, 2024). Her last season with the Pilots saw Yakel start in all 20 matches. Aside from creating five assists on the season, she helped significantly with the team's defense, as the Pilots posted a 0.85 goals against average. Yakel's season high was playing the entirety of the game in 11 matches. She has tallied eight career points.
#14 Hattie Patterson - Junior Defender - Ole Miss
A Texas native, Patterson comes to Aggieland to represent her home state after two seasons as an Ole Miss Rebel.
Throughout her time in Oxford, Patterson played in 36 games, starting in 29 of them. As a freshman, she made an impactful assist in the game on Aug. 26 against Southeastern Louisiana and played 70-plus minutes in three games, including all 90 vs. Alabama that October. With her contributions, Ole Miss posted a 1.18 goals against average in 2023.
During her second year as a Rebel, Patterson started in 18 matches and appeared in 19 total. Her season highs included playing the entity of 11 games and having two shots against Lipscomb on Sept. 15.
#17 Mia Scranton - Junior Defender - California Baptist
Entering the backline from California Baptist University, Scranton is one of the five defensive players that the Aggies are welcoming this fall. Coming from Temecula, Calif, Scranton played in 13 games during her rookie season at CBU. As a freshman, Scranton assisted CBU in five clean sheets. She gained her first career point with an assist against UTEP on Aug. 31.
Following her rookie season, Scranton made her first collegiate start vs. USC. She played in 19 total games with 14 starts, seven of which resulted in shutouts. She played all 102 minutes in a match at UCLA. Additionally, she had two assists vs. Southern Utah and another vs. Utah Valley. Aside from her athleticism, Scranton was awarded Fall Academic All-WAC at the end of her sophomore year.
#27 Hayden Wilson - Sophomore Defender - Oregon State
Another west coast transfer on defense, Wilson hails from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and spent her freshman season at Oregon State.
As a rookie, she played in all 18 matches, starting in 17 and making her first appearance in the season opener against Montana. Her first start came against Idaho State, where she played for the full 90 minutes. Further, Wilson appeared to play the full 90 minutes in nine of the 10 league games, as the Beavers allowed just 10 goals in conference to finish tied for the second-best defense in WCC. Wilson scored two goals as a freshman, the first coming on Sep. 15, 2024, vs. South Dakota. Oregon State posted three shutouts and a 1.00 goals against average that season. Wilson ended her time at Oregon State with four career points and was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team.
#00 Erica Defferding - Junior Goalkeeper - Incarnate Word
The only goalkeeper being added to Guerrieri's 2025 roster, Defferding comes from Incarnate Word, where she was honored as the 2024 Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Year.
Through her two seasons at UIW, Defferding started in 21 games with an incredible goals against average of 0.90, indicating exceptional defense as the last defender on the field. Totaling 1,890 minutes of playing time, Defferding made 114 saves and allowed just 19 goals. She carries a career 0.90 goals against average into Aggieland.
Attacking additions to A&M’s roster
#7 Kaylee Noble - Junior Forward - Cal State Fullerton
The 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year, Noble appeared on the Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 Freshman postseason list at No. 93. She comes to Aggieland after two seasons at Cal State Fullerton.
Across 20 games as a rookie, including 10 starts, she recorded three goals and two assists. In 2024, she led the Titans with 45 shots, with 23 being on target. She scored six goals as a sophomore, two of which were game-winners against Nevada and Cal Poly.
At the collegiate level, she owns 40 caps to go along with 25 starts. To go along with five assists, Noble has scored nine times, including three game-winners.
#16 Trinity Buchanan - Junior Midfielder - UNLV
Buchanan started in all 20 games as a freshman in 2023 at UNLV and led her team with 13 points, 25 shots and six goals. Scoring her first collegiate goal vs. UC Riverside on Aug. 24, she later scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Weber State. Buchanan ended her freshman year with 13 points, scoring six times and contributing six assists.
She won the Mountain West Freshman of the Week award twice and received the Mountain West Academic All-Conference award.
In 2024, she again started in all 20 games and led the Rebels with 47 shots that season, 20 being on frame. Buchanan scored six more goals and contributed six more assists. Standout performances during her sophomore year include playing the full match vs. Eastern Washington and scoring two goals vs. New Mexico. She ended her career at UNLV having a 0.455 shot-on-goal percentage, three game-winning goals and a spot on the All-Mountain West Second Team.
Buchanan was invited to the U.S. Soccer College Talent ID Camp, which took place in June 2025.
#20 Leah Diaz - Junior Forward - Tulsa
Trading her Blue & Gold for Maroon & White, Diaz’s first season as an Aggie will be as a junior.
As a freshman at Tulsa, she played 18 games and started in 10 of them. Diaz played a total of 896 minutes in her rookie season, where she scored one game-winning goal vs. Central Arkansas. She also scored three other goals vs. UTEP, Temple and UAB. After her performances in the Central Arkansas and UTEP games, she was awarded AAC Offensive Player of the Week.
In Diaz's sophomore year, she played in all of Tulsa's games, starting in 19 of them. During her second year, she scored two game-winning goals in games against Central Arkansas and Texas A&M-Commerce. Additionally, she assisted on two game-winners, leading to victories against Arkansas Pine Bluff and Temple. In 2024, she ranked second in the AAC in goals and third in assists.
#25 Savannah Hutchins - Sophomore Forward - NC State
After starting her soccer career at NC State, Hutchins was determined for a change and landed at Texas A&M.
During her freshman year at NC State, the California native played in four games, making her first collegiate appearance against Appalachian State. With NC State, she played a total of 79 minutes, with her season high being 31 minutes vs. George Washington. In that match, she recorded her first collegiate shot.
In Thursday’s exhibition match vs. Rice on Tuesday, Hutchins played a terrific game, creating several changes in A&M’s 4-0 victory. She also scored a goal that night off an assist from Noble.
“I mean she brings a real spark,” Guerrieri said of Hutchins. “She's very passionate. She's a great goal scorer, but what she gives us is the ability to get behind people, and which, of course, stretches defense, and it gives more space for a midfielder to manipulate.”
While she did not appear on the scoresheet vs. UTRGV this weekend, Guerrieri again highlighted Hutchins for having another “super” performance along the wing.
#98 Shea Ryan - Sophomore Forward - Kansas
A California native described as “extreme” when playing, Ryan has come to prove that on Ellis Field.
Her college career began at Kansas last season. Ryan played in 22 games, made two starts and totaled 426 minutes of playing time for the Jayhawks. A season high for Ryan was playing 50 minutes in a game against South Dakota State on August 15. During her rookie season as a forward, she had nine shots, five on goal and two that found the net, including a game-winning goal against South Dakota State.
