LOGAN, Utah – The Mountain West Conference announced its preseason all-conference team on Thursday, a 12-player team that includes the Utah State duo of senior infielder Ariel Fifita and junior catcher/infielder Grace Matej.
Fifita, a native of San Marcos, California, enters her senior year after posting the best season of her career in 2024. Last season, she ranked second on the team and ninth in the Mountain West with a .383 batting average as she went 57-for-149 at the plate. She led the Aggies in both hits and at-bats with 57 and 149, respectively, scoring a team-best 36 runs while striking out just eight times on the year. Fifita also led the squad in RBIs with 25 and finished the year with a .564 slugging percentage and a team-best .469 on-base percentage.
Fifita has played 123 career games with 116 starts, totaling 104 hits in 342 at-bats. She has scored 70 runs with 57 RBIs while hitting 11 doubles and 13 home runs.
Matej, a native of Orangevale, California, earned NFCA Pacific Region and all-Mountain West second team honors after an outstanding sophomore campaign in 2024. She posted the fifth-best batting average in program history, hitting .405 at the plate with 54 hits in 131 at-bats, a batting average that ranked second in the Mountain West and 52nd in the NCAA. She also posted a team-best .580 slugging percentage and was responsible for 27 runs and 28 RBIs while playing 40 games and making 39 starts.
Matej has totaled 84 hits and 40 RBIs in 75 career games, making 66 starts for the Aggies. She has a career batting average of .370 (84-for-227). She has also been one of the MW's most efficient catchers, tallying 161 putouts and 23 assists with just two errors in her career for a .989 fielding percentage.
Additionally, the Mountain West announced its preseason poll with league head coaches picking the Aggies to finish seventh.
UP NEXT
Utah State officially opens its 2025 campaign with five games in College Station, Texas, February 6-9. The Aggies play Villanova and Texas A&M on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 10:30 a.m. (MT) and 3:30 p.m. (MT), respectively.
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For more information on the Utah State softball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter (@USUSoftball), Facebook (USUSoftball) and Instagram (ususoftball).
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