Rylee Holtorf Ready To Make Impact On College, World Stage

Rylee Holtorf is a name that college softball fans are going to hear quite a bit over the next few years. An Arizona native, Holtorf is headed to the University of Washington this fall and is the No. 2 player in Softball America's 2021 Top 100 Recruiting Rankings.

A Washington commit since her freshman year in high school, Holtorf finished her senior season with a .471 batting average, a .663 on-base percentage and 21 RBI. As for travel ball, she's played with the Arizona Mizuno Storm since her 12U days.

As she prepares to head off to college at Washington, she has clear goals heading into her time with the Huskies.

“My goal for my collegiate career would be to win the last game in Oklahoma City,” Holtorf told Softball America.

And Washington isn’t the only new team Holtorf is committed to this year. This summer, she became a member of the U.S. junior women's national team, with whom she joined after a successful tryout.

“Making the junior national team was such an honor,” Holtorf said. “At the tryout, I was surrounded by very, very talented girls and met so many awesome people.”

As for this year’s U.S. junior women's national team tryout, Holtorf was not only competing among top incoming college freshmen, but also college freshmen from the 2021 NCAA season. Due to COVID-19 causing a disruption to the schedule for the 2020 Olympics, invites were extended to players who would have been eligible for the team last year.

Having already proven herself among some of the top players in the softball world, Holtorf feels grateful to have had the chance to compete with many of the game's best young players.

“Without this opportunity, I would not have crossed paths with the majority of the people on this team,” Holtorf added. “I think it is so cool to be able to compete for a gold medal alongside some great people.”

The U.S. junior women's national team will compete at the World Baseball Softball Confederation World Cup Aug. 28 through Sept. 5. The World Cup will be held in Lima, Peru. The Junior Pan American Games will then take place Nov. 25 through Dec. 5, and will be held in Barranquilla, Colombia.

“I hope that young girls can watch me play and see a player filled with love and drive for the game and for my teammates as well,” Holtorf said.

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