SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis senior outfielder Sydney Littles has committed to play softball at Cal State East Bay and will sign with the Pioneers program on Nov. 14.
"I am excited," said Littles. "I have always wanted to play college softball."
Littles will join a Cal State East Bay program coached by Claire Sua-Amundson, a former two-time All-American and National Champion at UCLA. She has extensive coaching experience including 10 years at the Division I level with Cal Poly, Stanford and Cal State Fullerton.
"The coaches are really nice and the players are really welcoming," said Littles. "When I went on my official visit I was a little scared, the players recognized that and were really nice."
Littles has been a three-year letter winner for the Troubadours varsity program, playing 75 career games. She enters her senior season with a .357 career batting average with 71 career hits. She has recorded 10 doubles and nine triples in her three seasons.
"Before I started playing softball, I was really shy," said Littles. "It has helped me be more outgoing. I am 10 times more outgoing than I used to be."
Littles plans to study either economics or finance at CSUEB. She is excited about playing on the renovated softball facilities on the campus located in Hayward.
"The softball field is going to be revamped," said Littles. "It looks nice and they are adding new features and the dugouts are new."
Head Coach Kevin Warren is looking forward to seeing what Sydney can do for the Pioneers.
"Sydney will bring speed, athleticism and personality to the Cal State East Bay softball program," said Littles. "She is a confident slapper on offense and speedy base runner. I've enjoyed coaching Sydney the past 4 years because she supplies more than just athleticism to our program. Sydney is very compassionate toward her teammates, funny and has a great sense of humor."
Littles is a part of an exciting group of returning players, including collegiate commits Chloe Smith (Villanova) and Bella Valentine (Azusa Pacific).
"I have enjoyed the friends that I have made and gotten a lot closer to the girls on the team," said Littles.
The Troubadours are preparing for a much anticipated season in the spring.
"I am looking forward to playing with my teammates," said Littles. "I hope we can make it to the playoffs. We have the potential with the returning players and the younger players we have coming in. I think we can get farther than we have in the past."
Littles says the team chemistry is one of the leading characteristics of the program.
"I think it helps that we all get along and we can put things to the side and play as a team," said Littles. "It is a plus. We play as one and not individuals."
Littles will be among 12 Troubadours participating in the Fall Signing Day Celebration on Nov. 14 at 8:30 a.m. in the CLC. The event will be shown online on TroubieTV.