In a season full of twists and turns, the Arizona State Sun Devils have found their stride at the perfect moment—and they're bringing that momentum into the NCAA Tournament.
After barely sneaking into the eight-team Big 12 tournament with a 11-13 regular-season conference record, ASU shocked the softball world by storming through the bracket and knocking off top-seeded Texas Tech in the championship game. Now, the Sun Devils are set to open NCAA Regional play on Friday, May 15, in Bryan-College Station, with a 1:30 p.m. MST first pitch against McNeese.
The driving force behind this resurgence? Senior ace Kenzie Brown. The staff leader has been nothing short of dominant, posting a 15-6 record with a stellar 2.29 ERA and a jaw-dropping 238 strikeouts over 143.2 innings. Head coach Megan Bartlett didn't hold back when describing her star pitcher.
"She's epic," Bartlett said. "She has all the tricks. She's a great kid—loyal, proud Sun Devil. She graduated a year ago and could have left for the highest bidder, but she chose to stay. This is her home. This is her family."
And the bats have come alive to back her up. After an 11-7 upset over Oklahoma State in the conference tournament semifinals, the offense is firing on all cylinders. Junior infielder Katie Chester has been a force all season, hitting .356 with a team-leading 19 home runs and 64 RBIs. Her journey hasn't been easy—Chester battled through a chronic foot injury that plagued her during her time at Missouri before transferring to Tempe.
"I think she deserves Comeback Player of the Year," said sophomore outfielder Ashleigh Mejia, who has also been a key contributor with nine homers and 36 RBIs. "Everybody can see how much of a hard worker she is. The fact that she can come back this hard and this successful is very inspirational."
Junior catcher/infielder Emily Schepp has been equally vital, leading the Sun Devils with 64 hits and adding 45 RBIs. But it's senior infielder Brooklyn Ulrich who has delivered the clutch moments when it mattered most. In the conference tournament championship run—a 2-1 win over Arizona, an 11-7 slugfest victory over Oklahoma State, and a commanding 4-0 shutout of Texas Tech—Ulrich was the difference-maker.
Against Arizona, she drove in the game-winning run with a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning, finishing 3-for-3 at the plate. In the wild win over Oklahoma State, she ignited the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the second, then added an exclamation point with a blast in the fifth. This is a team that thrives under pressure, and with the NCAA Tournament now here, the Sun Devils are ready to keep their Cinderella story going.