FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University softball head coach Darren Mueller announced the addition of five Bison, who signed National Letters of Intent to join the NDSU program on Wednesday, November 10.
 
Ava Chavrria (C/1B), Ella Claus (OF), Bella Dean (SS), Zoe King (C/1B) and Piper Reed (P) have all signed NLIs on National Signing Day and will join the softball program for the 2022-23 academic year.
 
Primarily playing as a catcher and at first base in her prep career, Ava Chavrria joins the Bison from Chula Vista, California, where she is a two-sport star for Eastlake High School and also plays for the Orange County Batbusters Lara/Portesi. Chavrria was selected for the Mexico Junior National Team this summer. In October, Chavrria helped OC Batbusters claim the Triple Crown Sports Ocktoberfest 18 championship. During the Ocktoberfest event, she hit .538 with three home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs. Chavrria is the daughter of Jennifer and Mike and intends to major in Sport Management with a Business and Pre-Law minor.
 
Ella Claus joins the Bison from Redmond, Washington where she plays outfield for Redmond High School. In a shortened junior season, Claus helped lead Redmond to a 10-0 record last season, hitting .655 with a .697 on base percentage. She had 14 RBIs and 16 runs scored. For her career at Redmond, she is hitting .509 with a .577 on base percentage. Originally from Ottawa, Ontario, Claus was selected to play for the U19 Canadian Junior National team program this summer at the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup before the COVID-19 pandemic caused a postponement to the event. At the travel ball level, Claus also plays for California Suncats-Jimenez. She is the daughter of Kelli and Richard and has a sister, Grace, and brother, Mac. Claus intends to major in Exercise Science.
 
Shortstop Bella Dean will come to Fargo from Sherrard, Illinois as the 139^th overall prospect in the 2022 signee class ranked by Extra Inning Softball. Dean, who played for Sherrard at the beginning of her high school career and earned team MVP and first-team all-conference honors as a freshman, has been a key middle infielder for the Iowa Premier travel ball team. Dean, who is also the No. 60 ranked middle infielder by Extra Inning Softball, has led Iowa Premier to several placing finishes at national events, including a top five finish at the Premier Girls Fastpitch nationals and 11^th overall at the Alliance Nationals. In her freshman season for Sherrard, the only complete high school season she has played, Dean batted .479 with eight home runs, seven doubles, one triple, 32 runs and 29 RBIs. Dean is the daughter of Marisol and Matthew and has one sister, Abby, and one brother, Chase. She intends to major in Exercise Science.
 
Zoe King, a catcher and first baseman from Westminster, California, joins the Bison after playing alongside fellow signee Piper Reed for the Firecrackers-Rico based out of Huntington Beach under the direction of Tony Rico. King and Reed helped Firecrackers-Rico win the 2021 Triple Crown Sports Nationals U18 championship in July, going 10-0 to sweep pool and bracket play. King is the 19^th ranked catcher and 53^rd overall prospect by Extra Inning Softball and has played three seasons for Marina High School in Huntington Beach. King has a .306 career batting average, including .315 last season when she was named Marina's offensive player of the year and first team All-Sunset League as a junior. As a freshman, her only full season of high school softball, King helped lead Marina to a Sunset League Championship. King is the daughter of Emily and Kraig and has one sister, Ryan, who played softball at Middle Tennessee State University, wrapping up her career in 2021. King intends to major in Sport Management.
 
The final signee for the Bison on National Signing Day is Piper Reed, a 6'4" pitcher out of Rancho Santa Margarita, California. As mentioned earlier, Reed plays at the travel ball level alongside King for Firecrackers-Rico and the duo helped Firecrackers-Rico win the TCS U18 national championship in July. Reed signs with the Bison as the No. 32 ranked pitcher in the freshman class by Extra Inning Softball. Reed, who attends California Preparatory Academy, pitched for Tesoro High School as a freshman and sophomore, earning first team all-league honors both seasons. Reed had a 1.53 earned run average in 2019, ranked in the top five for best ERAs in Tesoro softball history. She is the daughter of Kim and Andrew and has one sister, Riley.
 
North Dakota State softball has won eight Summit League regular-season championships and advanced to 10 of the past 12 NCAA Division I tournaments, including an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2009. The Bison are set to begin the 2022 season in February, although a season schedule has not been released at this time.