Former Littlefield Lady Cat, Cali Saldana, signed on Thursday to continue her academic and softball career at The University of the Southwest in Hobbs, New Mexico.
“We’re excited for Cali to get the opportunity to go and continue playing Softball at the University of the Southwest,” Girl’s Coordinator Jarrod Thomas said. “It’s a great opportunity for her and she has worked hard to get to this point. She is a great insperation to all of our other kids here at Littlefield.”
Head Coach Ally Oyanguren, added, “It’s been a pleasure to coach Cali this year. This was my first year and she made it very special. Any of her teammates know that she is someone you want to be around always. I know this wasn’t always in your plan, but I just want to say how proud I am of you that you chose to do this and I know you will do a great job.”
Saldana signed during a small ceremony in front of the trophy case at Wildcat Gymnasium.
Saldana thanked everyone for always supporting her and pushing her to succeed.
“I want to thank God for putting me in this position and I’m excited to be playing softball for the University of the Southwest,” she stated.
Saldana is being signed as a utility player.
“It feels good,” she explained. “I’m really confident with where I’m going and I’m glad that I’ve finally signed so I can know where I’m going next.”
Saldana talked about the recruiting process, saying, “I had several schools reach out to me, but the distance played into my decision. The University of the Southwest really stuck out to me with how their program was. I fell in love with the school as soon as I went and visited.”
Saldana stated that she didn’t decide that she wanted to continue on to college softball until the end of her high school career.
“When I graduated, it wasn’t in my plan to play softball, but God was speaking to me and I think this is my journey and my calling for Him,” she said.
“I took an official visit and I fell in love with the campus and the community and that’s what led to me committing to their program,” she explained.
She added, “My contact with the coaching staff has been really good, I feel safe around them and very comfortable, so I’m excited to see where it goes.”
During her time as a Lady Cat, Saldana was a member of the Lady Cat volleyball team, basketball team, track team and softball team, as well as a cheerleader.
She also served as a team captain for volleyball, basketball and cheer, during her senior year.
“I feel like my coaches over the years have helped me both as a player and a person,” she said. “They’ve always helped push me to succeed and helped me to never give up.”
Saldana talked about what it has meant to her to be able to represent Littlefield over the last four years, saying, “It’s a bless-ing. I’ve always said ‘once a Wildcat always a Wildcat’ and I stand by that. It’s been a blessing to have played here the last four years.”
During her senior campaign, Saldana was an Academic All-District selection for cheer, volleyball, basketball, track and softball. She was a First Team All-District outfield selection, a First Team All-District selection in basketball and a First Team All-District selection for the volleyball team. “My favorite memory from my days as a Lady Cat was when I hit a homerun and all my teammates came out hollering and hyping me up. It was a good moment,” she recalled.
Angel Kincaid, Cali’s mom talked about what it means to her to be able to get to see her daughter continue her career at the college level, saying, “I’m so excited to see Cali pursue her dream of continuing to play softball, she’s been playing since she was three-years old. I’m so excited and blessed that God has put her down this journey. I’m just really excited to continue to get to watch her on the softball field.”
She added, “I’m excited that she is just two hours away. I’m still a little nervous, but we can drive and see her and watch her play anytime we want.”
Saldana will be majoring in Kinesiology.