Former Cougar shortstop Ashleigh Tavaska was not sure she wanted to play college softball. She stopped playing club softball in the middle of her high school sophomore year due to the physical and mental demands of being a high-level student-athlete.

Tavaska said her college softball recruitment was not exactly high. But she changed her mind, and her high school coach at Jackson Liberty was able to help her land at New Jersey’s Division II Caldwell University.

There, Tavaska was a four-year starter and picked up several accolades in her time at the college, including the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Player of the Year and D2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) East Region Player of the Year awards this past season after leading the conference in home runs (10), RBI (59), slugging percentage (838) and OPS.

Read full article at NY/NJ SportsWorld: Ashleigh Tavaska: From Being Burntout Student-Athlete to College Softball Star at DII Caldwell University.