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Senior pitcher Jalen Adams (14-4) transferred to Arizona after three seasons at Iowa, and sophomore infielder Sereniti Trice moved to Arizona after one season at Iowa State.

Cold temperatures and rain in the forecast for Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State (21-13, 3-6 Big 12), led to the rescheduling of the three-game series from Thursday through Saturday to Easter and Monday. ISU hosts the No. 13 Wildcats (27-8, 9-3).

Adams is from Fort Dodge, Iowa.

“I'm really excited, I hear it's supposed to be kind of cold, which I'm not looking forward to, but it'll be really cool to play in front of that many people that have kind of followed me all throughout my career,� Adams said before the delay. “So I'm just really excited to be surrounded with a bunch of love.�

Trice, who is from San Diego, was the Cyclones’ lead-off hitter for all of their games except five, batting .354 and leading Iowa State in steals with 14.

Trice said she still talks to the Cyclones.

"Yeah, I was actually trying to figure out if I can meet up with some of my teammates and maybe go to a dinner,� Trice said before the delay. “Super excited to go back and see them, great relationship with the coaching staff, I haven't seen them in a while, so it’s gonna be fun.�

Adams has a 3.16 ERA and threw a no-hitter in her first game as a Wildcat, an 8-0 win over Southern Utah. Trice is hitting .465 with a .505 on-base percentage. She’s second in the Big 12 in hitting and fourth in on-base percentage.

Trice, the usual second hitter and UA lead-off hitter, junior utility Regan Shockey, have helped the Wildcats to second in the Big 12 in batting. Shockey (.420) is fifth in batting in the league.

“Just super impressed with their continued progression throughout the year,� said UA head coach Caitlin Lowe about Trice and Adams. “I mean I think we knew we were getting a lot of talent and at the same time they've done nothing but kind of put their heads down and work and Sereniti's been one that it's been so cool to see her and Regan grow together in that relationship, as far as like kind of being similar, but being totally different at the same time, they feed off each other and it's definitely an iron sharpens iron situation, so it's been cool to see them growing that way.�

Adams had a 2.26 career ERA and 45 wins for Iowa. She went 25-6 record with a 2.18 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 2025.

Adams had 20 complete games at UI, the second most in the Big Ten and was third in the league with a 2.18 ERA. Her 25 wins last year was eighth in the country, and she was second team NFCA All-Midwest last season.

Adams was the 2022 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and also played basketball, swam and was on the track and field team at Fort Dodge High. She was first-team 5A CIML All-State four times and led Fort Dodge to the 2021 state championship.

High school softball in Iowa takes place during the summer.

“She's a competitor in whatever she chooses to do,� Lowe said of Adams. “I’m a hypocrite because I didn't play multiple sports growing up, but I think it's huge for athletes these days to kind of compete at different things and help their athleticism grow, but yeah, ultimate competitor Jalen.�

Last year, Iowa State and Iowa met twice in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. ISU won in Ames 9-5 without Adams pitching, and Trice went 2 for 4 with a run.

“Sereniti was definitely the toughest out on the team, I don't know if I did get you out, actually,� said Adams to the media and Trice. “Sereniti was tough then and I'm really, really happy that we're on the same team now.�

Then, in Iowa City, the home team won 5-0. Adams got a complete-game, two-hit win with seven strikeouts. Trice went 1 for 3.

“Basically she gave us a rough time last year," Trice said. "Just seeing it translate here is awesome to see. But like she said, it's great to be on the same team and playing against each other last year.�

Extra bases

– The Wildcats are batting 1.000 when it comes to having weather issues on road trips.

Arizona dealt with rain at the DeMarini Invitational at Stanford (in addition to the Cardinal’s stadium not being ready) in February. Then, in its other Big 12 trip so far in March, high winds led to a doubleheader on the second day of its Texas Tech road trip.

– UA freshman infielder Kez Lucas won Big 12 Freshman of the Week for the second straight session.

She’s the first Wildcat to get back-to-back conference FotW honors since Shockey in the Pac-12 in 2024.

Lucas hit .571 (8 for 14) with a double, a home run and 3 RBIs last week. She had an .800 slugging percentage and a .563 on-base percentage and is in a six-game hitting streak.

Lucas was limited until the spring semester due to a knee injury suffered in high school.

“The growth has been incredible and I think being thrown into it that fast in January, I think her head was spinning a little bit and now I think you're starting to see her kind of settle into who she is and I think the sky is the limit, honestly, because she's getting better week to week,� Lowe said. “I think she's starting to settle in at first base, which was a different position for her, but yeah, just excited to see the growth and the confidence build with every weekend.�

– Arizona remained the same in three of the four rankings.

The Wildcats are No. 13 in the USA Softball poll, 14th according to the NFCA coaches, No. 13 in the D1 Softball rankings and 14th according to Softball America, the rankings where they dropped a spot.

Arizona is No. 12 in the RPI as of Friday afternoon. Iowa State is 73rd.