On Feb. 5, sophomore Meghan Sheehan verbally committed to play softball at the University of South Florida. Sheehan played varsity last year as a freshman, starting at shortstop.

Sheehan visited USF this past weekend to meet coaches and academic advisors, touring the campus and the athletic department, and watching the team scrimmage.

“[The visit] was so amazing. It was so much better than I even expected, and I went in with pretty high expectations,” Sheehan said. According to her, she already knew the coach going into the visit and had already played on USF’s softball field. However, actually touring and talking to coaches made the experience better.

Sheehan said she loves the location of USF and everything about the softball and athletic programs, specifically the coaches and the complex. She still has three years of high school softball left, but she is already excited to play in college. “I’m looking forward to just playing at such a high level and becoming the best player I can be,” Sheehan said.

Sheehan’s original goal was to commit by the summer, something that has become quite common now among underclassmen athletes, so committing in early February relieves a great deal of stress. “Now I can just have fun with the [JC] team and not worry about who’s there to watch,” Sheehan said.

“Meghan is such a nice and talented player. She brought strong energy to the JC team and I have no doubt she will continue doing that at USF,” junior outfielder Gabby Centi said.

All in all, committing could not have come at a better time for Sheehan. “I couldn’t be happier with my decision, and I can’t wait to be a Bull,” Sheehan said.

Daniel Robinson is a Copy Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.