TOWSON, Md. – Three student-athletes have joined the Tiger softball team for the 2012-13 season, Towson head coach Lisa Costello has announced.

Outfielder Maureen Hepner and utility players Noelani Kakalia and Courtney Johnson will compete for the Tigers when the season begins.

“They will all compete,” Costello said. “We have a pretty big class of newcomers joining us and they will need to contribute.”

Hepner, a transfer from Radford University, will be a junior for the upcoming season, retaining two seasons of eligibility for the Tigers.

Hepner was a vital part of the Highlanders during her two seasons, appearing in 61 games while scoring 16 runs and helping Radford to two consecutive Big South regular season championships in 2011 and 2012.

A native of Medford, N.J., Hepner starred at Shawnee High School where she was a four-year letter winner who batted .409 as a senior. She holds the school record for career home runs, runs batted in and triples.

Kakalia, a Citrus Heights, Calif., native led the Golden Empire league in batting average (.632) as a junior for Mesa Verde High School, driving in 23 runs and scoring 26 times. She participated in the 2012 Evening Optimist High School All-Star game, a charity game featuring the area's top players. She was selected as one of 20 players to watch by The Sacramento Bee.

Most recently, Kakalia competed for the NorCal Patriots 18U club team.

A teammate of Kakalia's on the NorCal Patriots, Johnson starred at Woodcreek High School in California for coach Arthur Banks. A two-time Golden Glove award winner in 2009 and 2010, Johnson was an SFL All-League honorable mention pick in 2011 and a first team representative in 2012, batting .295 with five doubles and a pair of home runs.