LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head softball coach
Steve Johnson announced the signing of six student-athletes from three different states on Thursday.
Tess Bumiller (Redmond, Washington/The Bear Creek School/ai Bandits Breer),
Jaden Colunga (Colton, California/Grand Terrace HS/Firecrackers Brashear),
Grace Matej (Orangevale, California/Capital Christian HS/Lady Magic),
Hailey McLean (Sparks, Nevada/Spanish Springs HS/California Suncats),
Kya Pratt (Temecula, California/Great Oak HS/California Cruisers Gold) and
Sydney Saldana (Seal Beach, California/Los Alamitos HS/OC Batbusters Stith) have signed their National Letters of Intent to join the program next fall for the 2023 season.
"Overall, we are thrilled with this signing class," Johnson said. "We addressed all of our needs, especially at the pitcher position. We were able to get highly skilled and highly decorated players who come from very competitive teams and know how to win. Most importantly, though, we were able to get six kids with exceptional character who will lead this program into the future as we compete for the Mountain West championship."
Bumiller will come to Utah State from The Bear Creek School, a private institute in Redmond. The 5-foot-7 pitcher earned all-conference honorable mention honors following her freshman season as she helped lead her team to a KingCo league championship and runner-up finish at the district championships.
The daughter of Mark and Tami Bumiller also played club softball for ai Bandits Breer in Puyallup, Washington. This past summer, she had a 1.31 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched, helping the team finish runner-up at the 16U PGF National Championships.
In the classroom, Bumiller is a member of the National Honor Society.
"Tess came highly recommended to us from former Aggie great
Riley Plogger and former CSU-Fullerton standout Sophie Frost," Johnson said. "She is a spin pitcher who throws in the low 60's, hits her spots really well and throws at multiple speeds. She can really keep hitters off balance with her change of speeds and tight spins. She adds great depth to our pitching rotation and will be a great balance to what we already have."
Colunga will be adding a big bat to Utah State's lineup as the outfielder from Grand Terrace HS batted .562 during her junior season and has a career on-base percentage of .514, and a career slugging percentage of .741. She also has a career fielding percentage of .969.
The daughter of Mario and Thiem Colunga is a three-time all-league honoree, as well as a scholar-athlete. She has helped lead the Titans to three-straight league championships – Grand Terrace HS has won eight in a row overall – and a trip to the quarterfinals of the 2021 CIF Southern Section Softball Championships.
Colunga also played club softball for Firecrackers Brashear.
"Jaden is a power-hitting outfielder similar to current Aggie
Mazie Macfarlane," Johnson said. "She's a middle of the lineup-type hitter who, with her power, can drive in runs with gap power or the home run. Playing for the Firecrackers Brashear program, she has consistently faced the top teams throughout her career to be prepared for the next level. She tracks the ball well in the outfield and has a strong arm to gun runners down."
Matej, a catcher, has had a terrific career thus far at Capital Christian HS. She hit .420 with 25 RBIs and a home run as a freshman, .353 with five RBIs as a sophomore and .487 with a whopping 61 RBIs and 14 home runs.
The daughter of Jeffery Matej also played club softball for Lady Magic. During the 2021 fall season, she hit .391 with an outstanding .739 slugging percentage, cranking a pair of home runs in the process.
Academic-wise, Matej earned the ACED Scholarship this year and made the Academic Superior Dean's List as a junior.
"Grace is a decorated and highly-rated catcher we have followed for a long time," Johnson said. "Playing for both the Sorcerer and Lady Magic organizations, she has competed against the top teams in the country to prepare her for the next level. Behind the plate, she is a great receiver for her pitchers and has a cannon of an arm to keep runners at bay. As a hitter, she hits for both power and average, and will be a perfect fit for our offensive system."
McLean can pitch and play outfield, which has done well at both during her prep time at Spanish Springs HS. Following her junior campaign in 2021, she was tabbed the Gatorade Nevada Softball Player of the Year, becoming just the third Cougar to win that prestigious honor and first since 2010.
The 5-foot-8 right-hander led the Cougars (19-1) to the Class 5A Northern Regional championship in 2021 as she went 16-1 in the circle with a 1.01 ERA, striking out 174 and walking just 29 in 111.1 innings. McLean did not allow an earned run in her last 11 appearances of the season, a total of 61.2 innings pitched. The Northern 5A Region MVP also batted .509 with two home runs and 23 RBIs. The all-region first-team pitcher also led Spanish Springs HS to the 2019 league and regional championship.
McLean has also played club softball for Nevada Stealth and most recently the California Suncats. In the classroom, the daughter of Todd and JoDee McLean has garnered academic all-region honors.
"Hailey is a highly decorated player who was named the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior," Johnson said. "Not only can she pitch, but she can play the outfield and hit, as well. She's got great velocity and spin to go right after hitters. She is also an exceptional athlete who brings a great blend of power and speed in her offensive game that makes her a great triple threat-type hitter who can hit for average, hit for power and run."
Pratt will finish her prep career at Great Oak HS. Prior to that, the middle infielder/outfielder attended Lincoln (California) HS, where she excelled both academically and athletically, earning Scholar-Athlete Award accolades all three years.
During her junior campaign for the Fighting Zebras, Pratt garnered Foothill Valley all-league accolades and was named the Lincoln HS Defensive Player of the Year after helping lead her team to a conference co-championship. She batted .409 with a .459 on-base percentage, to go along with 10 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and 47 putouts from center field.
In only 10 games played as a sophomore, Pratt batted .600, had a .738 on-base percentage, drove in seven runs and swiped seven bases. During her freshman year, she hit .350 with a .450 on-base percentage, to go along with 15 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
During the fall club season in 2021, Pratt played for California Cruisers Gold and hit .333 with a .391 on-base percentage.
"Kya was the first commit in the 2022 class and brings versatility to our program," Johnson said. "Recruited primarily as an outfielder, she can also play middle infield if needed. She's another left-handed bat in our lineup who can hit for average or slap, putting tremendous pressure on the defense with her speed. She's a perfect fit for our offense with her speed and versatility to be a table setter or the power bats or an RBI machine with her hitting."
Saldana, a pitcher, will come to Utah State from Los Alamitos HS, where she made the Sunset Conference all-academic team. She helped lead the Griffins to the Sunset League titles in 2018-19, and Dave Kopps Tournament titles in 2019-20.
The daughter of Michael and Mia Saldana, who also played club softball for OC Batbusters Stith, has a career 2.61 ERA in 62 innings pitched at Los Alamitos HS.
"I've followed Sydney's career since she was a first-year 14U player and we are thrilled to have her join our program," Johnson said. "As a pitcher, she's an off-speed spin pitcher who really keeps hitters off balance, which is so important today. She plays on one of the best organizations in the country, so she faces the best hitters all the time. She is another pitcher who brings balance to our staff and can work well when paired with the higher-velocity kids to give a different look."
For more information on the Utah State softball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUSoftball, on Facebook at USUSoftball and on Instagram at ususoftball.
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