The softball star of Merced High School – Madilyn Nickles will play for the national softball team of the USA this summer. She was selected in the senior squad after a tryout in Irvine. Nickles is unique, because she was the only high school player to be invited to the tryouts (40 players were invited). Most of the called players were seniors in different colleges. There have also been graduated people among the players.
‘It means a lot to be able to play for Team USA again while I’m still in high school. The fact that they are still interested in me representing the country is pretty special. It also means that if softball is back in the 2020 Olympics, they are looking at me being eligible to play on that team. That’s always been a dream of mine,’ said Nickles, who was excited after the call-up.
She spent the last summer playing for the Junior National Team of the United States. Nickles travelled around the country and led her team to the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation Junior Women’s World Championship in Oklahoma City.
17-year-old Nickles’ biggest success so far is being named for Sun-Star Softball Player of the Year the past three seasons. She was the key for her teams’ successful matches and that’s why she is the youngest called softball player in the national team. The USA Junior team went unbeaten (10-0), scoring (119-6).
‘It’s unlike any other opportunity you can have. She gets to play with the best players in the country. You’re not going to get that experience anywhere else, and she’s the only high school kid on the team. That’s pretty good. Obviously, we’re excited for her. She’s worked hard, and she deserves it. She knows she’s pretty fortunate to be playing at this level,’ Merced softball coach Bart McAfee said.
Madilyn Nickles is quite happy with the atmosphere in the national team: ‘All the girls are super nice. It’s awesome being around some of the best softball players,’ added the youngest softball player in the team.
The young star was pretty nervous, as she said, in the very beginning, but now she is getting on with the situation: ‘I was able to keep up with everybody. I knew I had a lack of experience and confidence, but that was the same for a lot of the girls.’
In conclusion, UCLA has offered Nickles a softball scholarship before she played a high school game. She was named a first-team All American by flosoftball.