University of Georgia Athletics
Ray Has Proven She Belongs
May 14, 2026 | Softball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Natalie Ray needed to leave the SEC to come back to it.
The Georgia softball senior outfielder started her collegiate career in 2023 at Ole Miss, where she played in 23 games as a freshman. She then transferred to Division II North Georgia in search of a better overall fit. She also needed to get her injured shoulder right before resuming her career.
"Deep down, I knew something wasn't right (with my shoulder), and I think I needed to play at (the Division II level) to work my way back up into softball shape again," she said of her time at North Georgia. "I finally got there last fall."
Ray sat out the 2024 season after surgery to repair almost everything in her shoulder, going about 18 months between games, and then led the Nighthawks last spring with a .413 batting average. She was back, she was healthy, and she was ready to return to the SEC.Â
Once she hit the transfer portal, Georgia assistant coach Mike Davenport, the former head coach at UNG, reached out, and now Ray and the No. 10-seeded Bulldogs are preparing to face the College of Charleston on Friday night in the Athens Regional. "Coach Davenport was like, 'Now you're ready to go," Ray said.
Transferring to Georgia was "kind of scary," Ray said, because of the leap in competition from what she'd experienced and excelled against at North Georgia.
"Don't get me wrong, UNG, they're good, but this is a different level," she said. "Starting at an SEC school, going to UNG, and then going back to the SEC, it's an up-and-down cycle, and it was nerve-wracking — because everyone in the SEC is good."
Ray has proven to be quite good, too. Heading into Friday's game at Jack Turner Stadium, Ray is fifth on the team with a .383 batting average. She's played in 45 of the 56 games, starting 30, and she's driven in 32 runs on a balanced squad with nine players who have between 20 and 44 RBIs. Ray was also named the SEC Player of the Week at the end of March — and for good reason.
That week, in a game against Mercer and a three-game series at Kentucky, Ray hit .714, drove in 11 runs, hit two of her three home runs this season, and she got on base in 75% of her at-bats.
"I had a pretty good series (at Kentucky)," she said. "I think that was the moment when I was like, you can do it. I just needed one good thing to happen, and it did."
One at-bat stands out the most from the Kentucky series. Her 100th career hit came on her first career grand slam. She said that was her best moment ever on a softball field.
"Since I've been here, I've started to really love the sport again, and I needed that," she said. "Moments like that, if you look in the dugout, all the girls are running out to meet you at home, so it's unlike anything you'll ever experience in life, honestly."
If you want a sense of Ray's toughness, consider this: Ray said she thinks her shoulder injury occurred when she landed awkwardly while diving for a ball. She dislocated her shoulder and popped it back in herself, "which you're not supposed to do," she said.
"Yes, by far," she said when asked if it was the worst pain of her life. As it turned out, she had two labrum tears, a bicep tendon tear, and a rotator cuff tear. The rehab was long and challenging, but she's come out on the other side of it in a great place.
"Our coaches, they have a lot of knowledge; they know what you need. They know every little detail about the sport, and if you ask for help, they'll help you," she said. "Our coaches are always here to make you better, and I have my teammates around me that are always willing to do anything for you, too.
"These girls, they're not just my teammates, they're also my friends. That makes everything a lot easier, and it makes you excited to show up every day."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files
