Ellis to Compete in MLB Home Run Derby X Finals

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. – Arkansas softball alum and 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Bri Ellis, is set to compete in the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby X Finals on Sept. 19-20 in Salt Lake City, Utah, inside the Ballpark at America First Square.

Ellis will be competing as part of the Kansas City Royals team in the event alongside three-time MLB All-Star and 2015 World Series Champion Mike Moustakas and four-time Women’s College World Series Champion and First-Team NFCA All-American Tiare Jennings.

A total of eight teams participating in the event will be battling it out for a prize of $200,000. The quarterfinal round will start Friday at 8 p.m., while the semifinal and championship rounds are set for Saturday at 8 p.m.

MLB Home Run Derby X is a new 3-on-3 baseball format built around power hitting and athletic catching. It combines the most exciting elements of the 9-inning game into a 30-minute format that’s fast, exciting, and a lot of fun to watch and play. Home Run Derby X is specifically designed as a co-ed format that allows male and female athletes to compete together.

HRDX is a team-based Home Run Derby with defense. A single game takes 30 minutes and features three players per team. Each player gets an at-bat of 2 1⁄2 minutes. During the at-bat, the opposing team is in the outfield. Teams earn offensive points for hitting home runs and defensive points for making catches. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

In 2025, Ellis completed her collegiate career with one of the greatest offensive seasons in NCAA history. She batted .440 with 26 home runs, 72 RBI, 146 total bases, 69 walks, and 68 runs scored while posting a 1.090 slugging percentage, a .639 on-base percentage, and a 1.729 OPS. Her 26 homers, 72 RBI, 68 runs scored, 1.090 slugging percentage and .639 on-base percentage were single-season program records. She also tied the SEC single-season record with 26 round-trippers. Ellis finished the regular season ranked second nationally in home runs per game (0.51) and walks per game (1.42), becoming the first player to finish the regular season in the top two nationally in both categories since Jen Yee of Georgia Tech in 2010. Through 58 games, the right-handed slugger homered once every 5.15 at-bats while walking once every 3.17 plate appearances. Her 1.729 OPS was the third-highest single-season mark nationally since the statistic was officially tracked in 2016. Ellis became just the sixth player in NCAA history to post a regular season batting average above .480 and hit 20+ home runs, courtesy of a .487 batting average and 25 home runs.

The Razorbacks are coming off a 44-14 mark in 2025, which featured their eighth-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and fourth NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history, all of which have come under head coach Courtney Deifel’s guidance.

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.