BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech softball head coach Pete D'Amour announced Friday that six prospective student-athletes signed their National Letters of Intent, confirming their commitments to join the Hokies starting with the 2021-22 academic year.
"We are elated that these six young women will be joining our program," D'Amour said. "The talent of this class is evident when you watch them play but their intangibles are just as important. These ladies are accountable, humble, studious, hardworking, respectful, eager to learn, want to win and have unique senses of humor. These traits are requirements in our program, and I am confident this class shares our values.
"As always, I would like to thank the ladies and their families for their confidence in Virginia Tech, our softball program and me. Go Hokies!"
Alison Carter
5'8" – Utility
L/L
Stafford, Va.
North Stafford High School
Virginia Unity
High School: Coached by Katie Barbarczuk at North Stafford High School… Played travel ball for Virginia Unity, coached by Scott Linder… Named to the Northeast Virginia All-Decade Team by the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star… First-team all-conference… Two-time first-team all-region… First-team all-area… Second-team all-state… Career .442 hitter for Virginia Unity with 21 home runs, 156 runs batted in, 38 doubles and 24 triples… Hit .556 for Unity team that won the 2017 NSA Fall Championship… Batted .545 for 2018 Unity team that won the Virginia state championship and placed 13th at USA Nationals… Homered in her first at-bat as a freshman… Also recruited by Stanford, Virginia, Longwood and Stony Brook… National Honor Society member… Yearbook editor… Currently in top 4 percent of her class.
Personal: Alison Riley Carter… Born May 12, 2003 in St. Petersburg, Fla…. Daughter of Amy and Jonathan Carter… Sister to Katelynn and Matthew… Father, Jonathan, played baseball at Sam Houston State… Mother, Amy, danced on scholarship at Blinn College… Planning on majoring in accounting and finance.
Rachel Castine
5'9" – Utility
R/R
Chesapeake, Va.
Greenbrier Christian Academy
Orion Hunter Elite
High School: Four-year letterwinner… Coached by Daniel Moore at Greenbrier Christian Academy… Played travel ball for Orion Hunter Elite, coached by Jeremy Kellogg… Named Female Athlete of the Year for the 2017-18 and 2019-20 seasons… Two-time team captain… Hit .500 during the fall 2019 season with four home runs and 11 runs batted in in 22 at-bats… Had seven home runs during the 2020 summer season with seven doubles and 26 RBIs in 25 games played…. Also played volleyball and basketball at Greenbrier… Four-year letterwinner in volleyball and two-time team captain… Three-year letterwinner in basketball and two-time team captain.
Personal: Rachel Elizabeth Castine… Born February 23, 2003… Daughter of Jill and Walter Castine… Sister to Andrew… Planning on majoring in human nutrition, foods and exercise and focusing in kinesiology with hopes of becoming an occupational therapist.
Emma Lemley
5'6" – Pitcher
R/R
Forest, Va.
Jefferson Forest High School
Starz Gold
High School: Four-year letterwinner… Coached by Gary Harris at Jefferson Forest High School… Played travel ball for Starz Gold, coached by Tom Bunn… USSSA All-American… Three-time USA Softball state champion… Seminole District Player of the Year… Two-time member of the All-Seminole District team… All-Timesland Team… All-News and Advance team… Four-year starter… Once threw a 20-strikeout game… Has a perfect game and a no-hitter on her resume… Holds a 0.80 ERA in high school, averaging two strikeouts per inning… Has a .408 high school batting average… Carries a 113-20 record in travel ball… Has thrown 1,204 strikeouts in 720 innings pitched… Maintains a 0.90 ERA for Starz Gold… 2019 JO Cup Finalist… 2017 Atlanta Legacy Finalist… Sports Illustrated Kid of the Month… Ranked as the No. 30 overall recruit in the class of 2021 by Extra Inning Softball… Also swam and played basketball at Jefferson Forest… Was also recruited by Georgia Tech… National Honor Society member… Accepted into the Central Virginia Governor's School… Recognized by the Virginia Junior Academy of Science… Is in the top 3 percent of her class.
Personal: Emma Claire Lemley… Born October 9, 2002… Daughter of Virginia and Bryan Lemley… Sister to Kate… Uncle, Sean Jackson, played basketball at Princeton and was named Ivy League Player of the Year… Planning on majoring in civil engineering with hopes of going into geotechnical engineering.
Bre Peck
5'10" – Utility
Royersford, Penn.
Spring-Ford High School
PA Strikers
High School: Coached by Timothy Hughes at Spring-Ford High School… Played travel ball for PA Strikers, coached by Camille Hayes… Two-time Pennsylvania 6A first-team all-state… First-team all-conference… Two-time first-team all-area… 2019 Mercury Player of the Year… First-team Extra Inning Softball High School All-American… Ranked as the No. 22 overall recruit in the class of 2021 by Extra Inning Softball… Named the No. 35 infielder in the country by Extra Inning Softball in the Class of 2021… Has a three-homer game on her resume… Threw a perfect game in the state quarterfinal… Also recruited by Syracuse.
Personal: Brianna Peck… Born February 21, 2003… Daughter of Jennifer Johnson and Brian Peck… Sister to Darrien and Marissa Johnson, and Brian and Madison Peck… Hopes to go into coaching or teaching after college.
Ari Wright
5'3" – Utility
R/R
Canton, Ga.
Creekview High School
Georgia Impact
High School: Coached by Jennifer Maloney at Creekview High School… Played travel ball for Georgia Impact, coached by Rick Jeffreys… Two-time first-team all-state… Two-time first-team all-region… Two-time first-team all-county… 2019 Cherokee County Region Player of the Year… 2019 Region 6A County Player of the Year… Hit .519 during the fall 2020 season with 15 home runs and 11 doubles… Principal's Honor List.
Personal: Ariana Nicole Wright… Born May 27, 2003 in Flowermound, Texas… Daughter of Reba and David Wright… Sister to David… Father, David, played defensive back at University of Central Florida… Planning on majoring in molecular biology with hopes of going into cancer research.
Catie Hopkins
5'11" – Infield
R/R
Woodbridge, Va.
Charles J. Holgan Senior High School
Stars National
High School: Coached by Jessica Cassidy at Holgan Senior High School… Played travel ball for Stars National, coached by Phillip Belfield… Contributed to Holgan's district championship… Named to the first team all-district… Also played basketball at Holgan… National Honor Society member… Science Honor Society member.
Personal: Catherine Reese Hopkins… Born September 29, 2003… Daughter of Stacy Blake and Philip Hopkins… Sister to Chase and Carys… Planning on majoring in childhood and pre-education with the hope of becoming an elementary school teacher.