Freshman infielder Tayler McCombs was named the Week 5 RMAC Player of the Week after the softball team swept Chadron State on March 1 and March 2.
McCombs had a .643 batting average, hitting 2 home runs and 10 RBIs on top of scoring 7 runs of her own against Chadron State. McCombs was the first freshman of the season to earn Player of the Week honors across the conference.
McCombs didn’t know she received the honor until a friend called her with congratulations. “I was like… what? She said, ‘You got player of the week’ My heart began to race. I was so excited,” McCombs said.
These achievements aren’t uncommon for McCombs. She won conference player of the year when playing for Eastmark High School in Gilbert, Arizona. “I was named first-team all-state, which is only 12 girls from the entire state,” McCombs said. In high school, her club team attended nationals every year.
According to McCombs, the biggest change from high school to collegiate softball is the workload. “For high school softball, you’re only in season for part of the year and don’t meet in the offseason. With college, we’re practicing four to five days [a week] in the off season,” said McCombs.
McCombs said the team environment makes everything worth it. “It’s a really cool environment, and you get to travel with your team all the time. You get to go to new places and have fun experiences like on the bus and in the hotels. I feel like you get to know your teammates in college on a deeper level.”
McCombs is a data analytics and systems engineering major. She said she opted for sports analytics as opposed to sports management to give her career options outside of sports.
Students can watch McCombs and her teammates play next in a 4-game series against Adams State at the Mountain Lion Stadium. The first game in the series will be held at noon on March 28.
Infielder #14 Tayler McCombs at bat against Fort Lewis. Archive photo by Logan Cole.