NEW YORK — Columbia softball head coach Jennifer Teague announced the program's 2020-21 incoming class on Tuesday. For the second straight year, the Lions will welcome six newcomers to campus, which includes Maddie De Leon, Jaden Hill, Lauren Osborne, Raquel Reyes, Maddy Rifenberick and Hunter Travers.
"Our staff could not be more excited about these six students coming to us this fall," said Teague, who enters her seventh season at Columbia. "As a class, their softball IQ is through the roof. Many of them are utility players that bring a powerful punch to our offense. We are excited to see how they integrate with our already talented returning team. The spring of 2021 should be pretty exciting yet again!"
Columbia, which was selected to win the 2020 Ivy League Championship in the preseason poll, went 5-5 in its COVID-19-shortened campaign. It included victories in its final two games over Drexel and Ball State at the UCF Invitational. The year prior, the Lions went 24-21 overall with a 15-6 Ivy League record to finish in second place and qualify for the Ivy League Playoff Series. Columbia bested the program record for Ivy League wins for a second consecutive season and put together its first back-to-back winning seasons since 2001-02.
Maddie De Leon – 1B/3B – R/R – Glendale, Calif. / Crescenta Valley High School
A four-year member of the Crescenta Valley High School softball team, Maddie De Leon is one of four Californians in this year's class. A three-time Pacific League champion and a member of Crescenta's 2019 CIF-SS Div. III championship team, De Leon is one of several powerful offensive weapons being added to the Columbia roster. The three-time all-league selection hit north of .335 all four years, including .465 with a 1.400 OPS and 35 RBI in 2018. She went 6-for-6 at the dish in that year's Pacific League Championship to secure her team the title. Her travel ball experience includes a combined 41 home runs between the OC Batbusters and Bownet-Peek/Menefee. De Leon hit .465 with a 1.710 OPS and team-leading 14 home runs in the fall of 2019. The four-year scholar-athlete also spent two years on Crescenta's basketball team.
Teague on De Leon:
"We are excited to have Maddie in our program as she will provide us depth in the infield and a huge bat in our lineup. After overcoming a knee injury her senior year, Maddie has rebounded and we are excited to get her to New York."
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Jaden Hill – UT – R/R – Laguna Beach, Calif. / Jserra Catholic High School
Jaden Hill comes to Columbia from Jserra Catholic High School on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles. A four-year letterwinner for the Lions, Hill earned first team all-league honors as a sophomore after batting .407. She went on to hit .444 as a junior and was hitting .461 her senior season before the pandemic. The four-year scholar-athlete was an integral part of a standout travel ball team, Monarchs Gold, where she helped them to the 2018 TCS OnDeck Organizational Challenge Championship, as well as the 2018 and 2019 TCS Fireworks NIT Championship. The 2019 season also saw her team win the PGF 16U Platinum National Championship.
Teague on Hill:
"Jaden is a player to keep an eye on. She is dynamic to watch and comes with a lot of speed and power. She provides more depth in the infield and outfield and is a true utility player. With experience playing on a highly competitive travel ball team, Jaden should be exciting to watch for four years."
Lauren Osborne – UT – R/R – Los Gatos, Calif. / Leigh High School
A four-year dual-sport athlete, Lauren Osborne joins the 2020-21 Columbia roster from Leigh High School out in San Jose, California. Osborne was a standout on both the softball and field hockey teams, earning all-league honors three times in softball and twice in field hockey. Her four-year totals in softball are impressive, graduating as Leigh High School's all-time leader in batting average (.514) and OPS (1.358), while ranking second in home runs (14). In her last complete season in 2019, she hit .525 with 23 runs scored and 28 RBI. Her athletic prowess is not to be outdone by what she achieved in the classroom, earning the Central Coast Section Scholar-Athlete Award in both field hockey and softball all four years. She was also a 2019 National AP Scholar and earned Leigh's Principal's Top Scholar Award all the way through high school. Osbrone has played for Cal Nuggets Woods Club Softball since 2017. She led her team to the championship at the USA Softball NorCal Championships, pitching a two-hit shutout while also going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Teague on Osborne:
"Lauren is a utility player who has spent a lot of her time playing middle infield, but will likely see time in the outfield this coming year. She is very consistent at the plate hitting for average and power, which we are excited about."
Raquel Reyes – P/OF – R/R – Placentia, Calif. / El Dorado High School
The lone pitcher in this year's class, Raquel Reyes rounds out the quartet of Californians as a four-year standout at El Dorado High School in the LA suburb of Placentia. A force at El Dorado from the start, Reyes went 6-2 in the circle as a freshman, making 16 appearances and striking out 76 in a little more than 61 innings pitched. She posted an impressive 2.84 ERA that season, but was even better as a sophomore with a 1.73 ERA, 73 strikeouts and five saves. A dual threat, Reyes can also hold her own at the dish, as evidenced by a .322 batting average through 59 at-bats in 2019. On the travel circuit, she has competed for Firecrackers TJ Houshmandzadeh since 2016. Reyes has been both a starting and relief pitcher for her club, which ranked as high as No. 9 nationally. Academically, she is a four-year distinguished scholar, four-year California Scholarship Federation Seal Bearer, and has earned awards in biology, physiology, chemistry and physics.
Teague on Reyes:
"Raquel is the only pitcher that we are adding in this class. She has a very refined skill set and should be able to come in and contribute right away. Racquel brings with her a wealth of high-caliber travel ball experience."
Maddy Rifenberick – C/INF – R/R – Wynantskill, N.Y. / Troy High School
Hailing from New York's Capital District, Maddy Rifenberick is the lone in-state recruit out of this year's class. A six-year letterwinner in softball and four-year letterwinner in soccer at Troy High School, Rifenberick brings even more championship experience to Morningside Heights. After helping Troy to the 2015 New York State Class 2A Championship Series in 2015, Rifenberick's team won both the section and the region in 2016 before going on to the final four of the state tournament. A starting catcher for the Flying Horses since seventh grade, Rifenberick is a four-time all-state catcher and was also named a First Team All-Area catcher by the Times Union. Her impressive statistics include hitting .448 with 26 RBI and 24 runs as a freshman, as well as .419 with seven home runs and 21 RBI as a sophomore. On the soccer field, she recorded a combined 867 saves in three seasons as the starting goalkeeper and was a three-time Suburban Council All-Area keeper. Rifenberick graduated as her class valedictorian and had a slew of academic honors.
Teague on Rifenberick:
"Maddy will add to a much-needed catching position and is our only player coming from the East Coast. After graduating a ton of power from our offense last year, Maddy will be able to help fill that void with a powerful bat."
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Hunter Travers – C/UT – R/R – Sparks, Nev. / Spanish Springs High School
Rounding out the Class of 2024 is Hunter Travers, who heads to the Big Apple from Sparks, Nevada – just outside of Reno. Entering high school as a third baseman before making the transition to catcher as a junior, Travers helped Spanish Springs High School to the 2017-18 and 2018-19 High Desert League Championships, as well as the 4A Regional title both of those seasons. As a sophomore, her squad also went on to win the 2017-18 Nevada State title. Travers is a two-time all-league honoree, including a first-team selection as a utility player her junior season, as well as an all-state honorable mention. She also earned her team's Defensive Player of the Year Award that year and hit an impressive .412 with a .991 fielding percentage. Travers most recently competed in travel ball for California Grapettes 18U Gold and West Coast Smoke 18U. She is a recipient of the 2019 SSHS Certificate of Skill Attainment in Sports Medicine.
Teague on Travers:
"Hunter will be able to be a utility catcher for us and, again, a much-needed catcher for this class. She also will provide consistency at the plate and we are excited about her potential growth."