NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State softball head coach Jenny Fuller announced the addition of another Division I transfer pitcher ahead of the 2026 season on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Erin Kirkland – RHP – 5-6 – R/R – Sr – Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada – Tisdale Middle and Secondary School / Iowa Western / Longwood
 
Prior to NSU
Kirkland played her first two years of collegiate softball at Iowa Western, a junior college in Council Bluffs, Iowa, before spending the 2025 season at Longwood University in Farmerville, Va.
 
Longwood
She had a 2-4 record in five starts and 19 total appearances for the Lancers during her junior season with 35.2 innings of work and 29 total strikeouts…she did not allow an earned run in back-to-back 3.0+ inning outings against Charleston Southern in mid-April…gave up just one run on five hits with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work across a pair of elimination games for the Lancers in the Big South Tournament.
 
Iowa Western
In her two season at Iowa Western, Kirkland went 14-11 with a 4.91 ERA in 181.0 innings with more than a strikeout per inning across both seasons…during her sophomore season she produced a 10-5 record with 119 strikeouts, producing an 8.77 K/7 rate for the season and a nearly 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio…she struck out 11 batters in a five-inning no-hitter against Southwestern Community College on 58 pitches, missing perfection by two walks and an error…threw a seven-inning shutout where she allowed just three hit with seven Ks against Crowder College, retiring 10 of the final 11 batters of the game, to win the Midwest District Championship and earn a trip to the NJCAA DI Softball World Series…in the World Series she did not allow a run in 7.2 innings of work across three games… threw a run-rule shutout in an elimination game of the tournament against Connors State.
 
High School
Two-sport athlete in softball and hockey at Tisdale Middle and Secondary School…on the diamond she played multiple years for Team Sask (Saskatchewan) in the Canadian Summer Games…on the ice she was a forward for three seasons with the Prince Albert Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female 18U AAA Hockey League…finished third on the team with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in her final season in Saskatchewan's highest level of 18U hockey.
 
Personal
Daughter of Sherrie and Brad Kirkland…has three siblings, brothers, Tanner and Brayden, and sister Mackenzie…majoring in sociology and wants to become a police officer…life's ambition is to, "attempt challenging things, work hard and never give up."

Fuller on Kirkland
"We are thrilled to add Erin to our pitching staff," Fuller said. "Her talent and experience will definitely be an asset to our program. She pitches with high velocity and is extremely competitive in her approach to pitching. She is going to make an immediate impact on our program."
 

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Kirkland is the second Division I transfer pitcher to join the Demons this offseason, joining Louisiana Tech transfer Mattison Buster, and the fourth pitcher in the class with freshmen Grace Birk (Burlington, Kan.) and Natalie Moreaux (Mansfield, Texas). Fuller and the staff have 13 total signees in the class