By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Seeing Brissa Rivera sign to play college softball is like watching a family member take the next step in life.
That’s exactly what Porter strives for when it comes to its athletic department.
Rivera signed her letter of intent to play softball for NCAA Division II Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma.
The senior was the Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Pitcher of the Year and made District 32-5A’s first-team all-district list as a pitcher while helping lead the Porter Cowgirls to a playoff berth.
It was a no-brainer for Rivera, who’s had playing at the collegiate level on her list of life goals for a long time.
“It’s an awesome feeling because I worked so hard to get to this spot in my life,” Rivera said. “I’m blessed. I’m really blessed.”
The 13-hour, one-way trip to Goodwell is the longest she’s traveled in one sitting, but it was worth the trek.
Rivera says Oklahoma Panhandle State’s softball coach, Megan Mulcahy, worked her out on the field and had a little batting practice. The offer came after Mulcahy saw what the senior could do in the field and with a bat.
“She said I have a nice glove and since I’m a lefty it’s a plus for her because she needs lefty batters,” Rivera said. “She saw me hit and she was like, ‘You have a really nice swing.’”
It was after she worked out that Mulcahy offered her a scholarship to play for the Aggies.
First-year coach Ariel Arredondo, who played four years of softball as a catcher for Texas Southern University in Houston, encouraged Rivera to pursue her dream and play four more years of softball.
“I told her, ‘At the end of the day it’s always your choice,’” Arredondo said. “The colleges aren’t going anywhere, but the opportunity to play isn’t always going to be there forever. I told her, ‘If you’re not ready to give up, don’t because they memories you’re going to have and the memories you’re going to make when you’re playing at that next level there’s no replacing that.
“All the memories that I have when I played ball in college, nobody can take that away from me and they were some of the best years of my life.”
The signing comes two days before Porter’s graduation on Thursday, capping a successful school year in terms of collegiate signings.
Next year, Rivera and several other athletes from the Class of 2016 will compete in football, volleyball, soccer, track and softball on college campuses across the country.
“That’s what we’re striving to do,” said Porter athletic coordinator and football coach Tom Campos. “It’s been a process over the last three years. This class that’s signing all of these scholarships, we kind of inherited these kids the spring semester of their freshmen year. We’ve kind of been with them their four years. That’s what we as a coaching staff want to do; put kids at the next level and get a higher education.”
Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.