Usually when athletes join the University of Utah softball team, their freshman year is filled with ups and down as they try to adjust to life as a collegiate athlete, according to head coach Amy Hogue. Alyssa Barrera experienced something different though; she has managed to stay hot through her first year.
“Alyssa came in and has been consistent the whole year,” Hogue said. “She hasn’t had a lot of highs and lows, she has just been steady. She has been an every-game player for us and continues to learn things and get stronger but that is what really makes her stand out. She has all of the tools but it’s her consistency that really helps her rise above.”
Barrera is ranked third in the Pac-12 and she has scored 38 runs. She is also one of five players who has struck out five times in 115 at-bats. In her first 13 games, Barrera managed to reach the bases safely while opening her college career with an 11-game hit streak. At the Mary Nutter Classic, she had a batting an average of .438, a slugging average of .563 and scored four runs. Those efforts earned Barrera Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
“I think [my freshman year] has been going pretty good,” Barrera said. “It’s awesome just to be playing all these games, and be a part of new and different experiences. I learn something new every day and every time I play the game. I’m just growing my knowledge and getting stronger.”
Along with her many accomplishments in her first year at Utah, Barrera was named a finalist for the 2017 NFCA Freshman of the Year award along with 24 other student-athletes in the nation, including seven from the Pac-12.
Hogue said with Barrera being named a finalist, it shows the “type of noise” she is making in her first year, but according to Barrera, she had no idea she was even in the running.
“Coach told me I was in the top 25 or something but I had no idea,” Barrera said. “I wasn’t paying attention to it at all but it was pretty awesome.”
As far as wanting the award, Barrera said it was something that happened all on its own. Barrera doesn’t expect to get every award that it out there and she’s okay with that. She wants awards that are team-related, like winning the conference title or regionals but she still enjoys the personal recognition she is receiving.
“I was literally in awe,” Barrera said. “I didn’t know what to say, but it was so awesome to hear. Just to be a part of that and be considered for an award for what I do and how I play out on the field is amazing. It is really awesome to know that I’m being recognized in the game I love.”
The freshman of the year will be named on May 31 during a live ceremony where they will receive a trophy, but before then, the list will be cut down to 10 on Thursday, May 11 followed by the selected final three on Wednesday, May 24.
@emileewhiteee