Former University of Utah softball All-American pitcher Mariah Lopez has officially signed a contract with the New York Rise of the Association of Fastpitch Professionals, it was announced on Tuesday evening.
Lopez becomes the 11th former Ute to earn the chance to compete professionally, a list that includes coach Amy Hogue, who played for the Durham Dragons in 1994, as well as Lopez’s former teammate Julia Jimenez, who inked a deal with the Coastal Bend Tidal Wave earlier in June.
During her four years in Salt Lake City, Lopez collected a list of accolades too numerous to mention, including putting together a 2023 campaign in which she finished in the top three in the Pac-12 with 23 wins and 206 strikeouts, was named first-team all-conference and all-region, won the Pac-12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award and earned a spot on the NFCA All-American Third-Team.
Lopez followed up her spectacular junior season with a senior year also worthy of First-Team All-Pac-12 and First-Team All-Pacific Region honors. Her 22 victories tied for the league lead, her 203 strikeouts placed her second in the conference and she racked up more innings pitched and complete games than anybody in the Pac-12. The Arizona native became the first Ute to win 20 games in back-to-back seasons in over a decade and also finished third in school history in career strikeouts with 582.
