Former Arizona pitcher Madi Elish returns home, lands at Purdue

The rumors always start when a player decides to put her name into the transfer portal. Was she unhappy over playing time? Former Arizona pitcher Madi Elish was no different. While that might have made sense for other former Wildcats who chose to transfer, in her case, it didn’t. Elish pitched meaningful innings against top competition as a freshman. So, the rumors shifted. Maybe it was really because she didn’t get to pitch in the postseason.

In the end, it looks like it came down to something few schools could offer to her. Elish will return to her home state of Indiana and pitch for Purdue. The announcement was made on social media, but Elish has her accounts set to private now.

Elish spent summers playing for OC Batbusters, which is headquartered on the West Coast, but her hometown is Crown Point, Indiana. The Boilermakers offer her the chance to play just over an hour from home in West Lafayette.

At Arizona, Elish got early experience as the Wildcats tried to piece together their pitching staff during the season. She made starts against heavyweights like UCLA. She finished the season with 31 appearances including seven starts. She went 8-3 and had a 4.34 ERA.

Elish has an opportunity to make her mark on a program that does not have a great deal of softball tradition. Purdue went 24-31 last season. The Boilermakers’ season ended with an opening-round loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament. They have not been to the NCAA tournament since 2009 and have only made two appearances in program history. They have never been to the Women’s College World Series.