They reportedly are taking advantage of a loophole in the system that allows third parties to contact prospective players before they go into the transfer portal. The Texas Tech NIL collective, the Matador Club, and Nathan Nelson, a well-known travel ball coach, are supposedly doing the dirty work long before the players declare that they are entering the portal. From the story: "A parent of a player who was contacted by Nelson spoke with Softball On SI in exchange for anonymity and said they received a phone call in April with a six-figure offer to transfer to Texas Tech. “I know for 100 percent fact that there were kids in April, and even earlier than that, signed. Nathan Nelson told me before April 7, they were signing kids from other schools while they were playing with other teams to go to Texas Tech in 2026.” "Ten sources confirmed with Softball On SI that Nelson or The Matador Club also contacted Taylor Pannell, Isa Torres, Dakota Kennedy, Reese Atwood, Kasidi Pickering, Maci Bergeron, Dez Spearman, and Tori Edwards. "Pannell entered the transfer portal on Thursday with a do-not-contact tag and was reportedly in Lubbock with instructions not to appear in any photos because she wasn’t in the transfer portal, according to an additional four sources." I suppose "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying" now applies to softball.