Bella Dayton

Personal: Dayton is the daughter of Alan and Denise Dayton and has four brothers. A three-sport athlete in high school, Dayton also competed on the basketball and track and field teams. She has a dog named Bud. She credits University of Texas assistant softball coach Kristen Zaleski as someone who has made a meaningful impact on her life. As a child, Dayton participated in a wide range of sports, including lacrosse, basketball, track and field, soccer, and volleyball. One of Dayton’s proudest accomplishments is reaching the NCAA Women’s College World Series three times during her collegiate career at Texas. Outside of softball, she enjoys photography and working out. She wears jersey No. 6, the number she was given when she transferred to Texas.

2025 AUSL All-Star Cup: Dayton secured a 20th-place finish after totaling 880 leaderboard points, including 700 win points and 140 stat points. She recorded five games with 100 or more leaderboard points, including three of her final four outings, and was one of eight players in the league to log 30 or more at-bats. She earned a starting assignment in all 10 games and compiled a .233 batting average with seven hits, including one home run, while scoring four runs. She registered at least one hit in five of her final six games, highlighted by a two-hit performance against Team Ricketts on August 25. She also earned Defensive MVP honors in a 3–2 setback against Team Ricketts. She gathered a season-high 190 leaderboard points after earning MVP 3 honors with a solo home run against Team Coffel on August 30.

2025 AUSL Regular Season: Dayton earned starting assignments in 21 of 24 games for the Bandits. She tied for ninth in the AUSL with 25 hits while posting a .347 batting average and contributed five doubles to claim a share of ninth place in league rankings. She added four stolen bases in seven attempts, scored 15 runs, and drove in five runs. She closed the regular season with a six-game hitting streak, including a pair of multi-hit outings with two doubles. She went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two doubles against the Blaze on June 21, added two hits against the Volts on June 13, and posted a 3-for-3 performance with a run scored against the Talons on June 18. She drove in two runs as part of a 2-for-3 effort against the Blaze on July 19 and went 1-for-5 with a walk in two games against the Talons during the AUSL Championship.

International Experience: Dayton competed for Italy at the 2024 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals, posting a .500 batting average with nine hits over five games, including one double and two triples. She recorded a 4-for-5 performance against Puerto Rico, including a triple and four runs scored. Dayton also played nine games for Italy during the 2024 WBSC European Championship, where she tallied a .520 batting average with 13 hits, including one double, one triple, and two home runs. She drove in seven runs and scored 13 times during the tournament.

College Experience: Dayton was a three-year letter winner at Texas after spending her freshman and sophomore seasons at Arizona. Over the course of her career, she appeared in 246 games with 192 starts, finishing with a .313 batting average and 160 total hits. Dayton also tallied 12 career home runs and 80 runs batted in. As a three-year starter for the Longhorns, she compiled a .330 average over 181 games, with 132 hits, including 18 doubles, six triples, and 10 home runs, while driving in 70 runs. As a fifth-year senior, Dayton started 61 of 62 games and boasted a .378 batting average with 56 hits. In the 2023 campaign, she hit .344 while starting 35 of 52 games and ranked third on the team with 38 runs scored. She also tallied eight multi-hit games. As a junior, Dayton posted a .276 batting average over 68 games, including 59 starts. She contributed 43 hits, including nine doubles, one triple, and five home runs, driving in 23 runs. Dayton was a member of the 2022 NCAA Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team after guiding the Longhorns to the Championship Series. She hit .350 at the Women’s College World Series, driving in three runs over seven games. Dayton appeared in 64 games with 37 starts over two seasons at Arizona, posting a .221 average with three doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBIs, including seven as a sophomore. She appeared in 44 games as a sophomore with 22 starts and saw action in 20 games with 15 starting assignments during the COVID-shortened freshman season. Dayton paced the Wildcats with 10 stolen bases in as many attempts and authored a .302 batting average with 13 runs scored.