Arizona’s Dejah Mulipola is making a case for NCAA Softball National Player of the Year

As Arizona Softball passes the halfway point of the 2021 season, Arizona senior catcher Dejah Mulipola is the clear National Player of the Year Candidate.

Arizona Softball catcher Dejah Mulipola is a product of Hall of Fame Coach Mike Candrea’s system and the Team USA Softball (Olympic Team) training model, becoming one of the best Softball players in the country.

For most of her life, she has trained, toured, and played Softball, putting her into the enviable spot that she’s now. She even appeared with Team USA Softball on the “Stand Beside Her” Tour in 2019-20.

Arizona Wildcats

Dejah will return to Team USA after the NCAA season is over, but hopefully not before she makes a stop again in Oklahoma City.

So what makes her such a dominant player?

Mulipola’s Winning Characteristics

• Bearing & Discipline – Mental Toughness
• Leadership & Mentoring – Role Model for All
• Professionalism – Sets the example
• Excellent Teammate

Some of Mulipola’s Achievements & Honors in 2019-2020

• First Team All Pac-12
• First Team All Pac-12 Defensive Team
• NFCA First Team All American
• The Coveted Johnny Bench Award Recipient for Top Female NCAA Softball Catcher
• Team USA Softball Stand Beside Her Tour

Mulipola’s Statistics and Numbers in 2021 through 29 Games (22 games left to play) 

• Batting: At Bats – 73, Batting Average – .411, Slugging Percentage – .986, RBI – 40, Runs Scored – 29, On-Base Percentage – .556, and HR – 13.
• Behind Home Plate:  Number of Base Runner Steal Attempts:  6, Number of Put-Outs:  4, 67 percent.

One of Mulipola’s best games this season came against Florida State where she went 2-3 at the plate, including a Home Run, blasting a solo shot off of FSU pitcher Kathryn Sandercock. She also gunned down a runner at second base attempting to steal.

Every team fears Mulipola’s arm and fast speed behind the plate, she is an expert at her craft resulting in attempted base steals being low. Overall, her Arm Security is extremely advantageous to the team.

Her On-Base Percentage is possibly the most impressive to me because of her mature at-bats and patience at the plate, drawing a high number of walks as she leads the Pac-12 in walks.

Dejah consistently gets on-base for the team even if that means taking a walk. In doing so, she demonstrates that she is not concerned about individual accolades, but she is deserving of each.

On the other hand, equally impressive is her excellent Slugging Percentage of .986. Because of her experience as a Senior and also being a member of Team USA, Dejah knows how to hang tough at the plate, fighting off and fouling pitches until she gets the look she wants, or the pitcher eventually awards her 1st base.

Because of her patient and calculated approach at the plate, her high On-Base and Slugging Percentage are huge keys to teams’ success this year.

Coach Candrea has even used her as a pinch-runner, not because she is the fastest on the team, the reason is her experience and high-level softball IQ. She can handle various situations on the base paths.

In all of the above categories, Mulipola leads the team or is tied with one exception, being only behind Superstar Janelle Meono in Batting Average. Meono boasts a team-leading .466.

Unfortunately, there is no professional softball league similar to MLB, NBA, WNBA, NFL, etc. or Dejah would be a Top Three pick. Instead, she will represent the USA at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in July / August 2021.

Dejah entered Arizona as a freshman in 2017 and was shown the Arizona Softball way by many strong Seniors then including Katiyana Mauga, Danielle O’Toole, and Mo Mercado just to name a few.

That 2017 team came within one pitch of the Women’s College World Series, only to be upset by Baylor. Dejah learned from that experience and made it to Oklahoma City in 2019 where she smashed a famous “Dejah Dinger” off of Washington Ace pitcher Taryn Avelo in the 8th inning. The Cats won game one of the WCWS and advanced on Dejah’s Walk-Off Home Run.

Based on No. 8s stellar characteristics, achievements, honors, statistics, and experience she is most deserving to bring a 6th National Player of the Year award back to Tucson. She certainly has my vote. I imagine that in due time, she will become a member of the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

Former Arizona NCAA Softball National Players of the Year 

• Susie Parra, Pitcher, 1994
• Jenny Dalton-Hill, 2nd Base, 1996
• Nancy Evans, Pitcher, 1998
• Jennie Finch, Pitcher, 2001
• Jennie Finch, Pitcher, 2002

As always, Bear Down Arizona and GO Cats!