Sierra Joy Romero (born March 19, 1994) is an American professional

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

player for the Volts of the

Athletes Unlimited Softball League The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is a women's professional softball league in the United States, founded in 2024 and run by Athletes Unlimited. History On June 4, 2024, Athletes Unlimited announced a new softball league, that w ...

(AUSL). She previously was a volunteer assistant softball coach for the

Oregon Ducks softball The Oregon Ducks softball team represents the University of Oregon in NCAA Division I college softball. The Ducks compete in the Big Ten Conference and are led by head coach Melyssa Lombardi. Oregon plays their home games at Jane Sanders Stadiu ...

team. She played

college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...

for

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

from 2013 to 2016, where she set numerous records and was a four-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n. She holds the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

career Triple Crown, along with the

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

and

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

records, simultaneously leading all of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

in runs scored and grand slams. She was the inaugural winner of both the espnW Softball Player of the Year in 2015 and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2016, when she also took home the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

Softball Player of the Year and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards. She is one of nine NCAA players to hit .400 with 200 RBIs, 50

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and an .800 slugging percentage for her career and was named the #5 Greatest College Softball Player.

Early years

Romero was born in 1994 and grew up in

Murrieta, California Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, ma ...

. She attended

Vista Murrieta High School Vista Murrieta High School (VMHS) is a comprehensive, four-year high school located in Murrieta, California, United States. It is operated by the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. It opened in August 2003, relieving the overcrowding at Mur ...

and was ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the United States by ESPN.com. She graduated from Vista Murrieta in 2012.

University of Michigan

2013 season

As a freshman in 2013, she was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, along with National Fastpitch Coaches Association Second Team All-American honors. Romero started all 64 games for Michigan at the

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

position and set a Michigan single-season record with 23

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and ranked top-5 in RBIs and walks. She also set Big Ten Conference single-season records with 12 home runs and 34 runs scored in conference games. She was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of The Week seven times. For the NCAA, she ranked top-5 in RBIs, homers and walks for the year. Debuting on February 8, Romero went 1/4 with a two-run

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

in defeating the

Marshall Thundering Herd The Marshall Thundering Herd is the intercollegiate athletic collection of teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which are memb ...

. Romero led the Wolverines to the

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

and on June 1, 2013, she hit a home run to best the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

in a 2–0 victory as their only win at the series. Michigan softball coach

Carol Hutchins Carol Sue Hutchins (born May 26, 1957) is an American former softball coach. In 38 years as the head coach of Michigan Wolverines softball, (1985–2022), she won more games than any other coach in University of Michigan history in any sport, ma ...

at the time said of Romero: "The one thing she gives us is swag. She's got swag like no other."

2014 season

In 2014, Romero once again earned honors from the NFCA (a first-team selection) and the conference. She appeared in 62 games for Michigan and compiled a career high and school best batting average and top-5 marks in home runs, bases on balls, on-base percentage (the latter two both career bests with the walks leading the NCAA) and 30 extra base hits; the overall

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

total was also the best of her career. Along with these stats, Romero's RBI total also helped her earn a Big Ten Triple Crown. Romero collected three singles and hit a grand slam vs. the

ULL Ragin' Cajuns The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The college has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams. Nickname The unive ...

on February 15 for a career highlight for base knocks.

2015 season

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Romero, captured her third all-season honors, including the inaugural ESPNW's National Player of The Year. Romero appeared in 68 games for Michigan and achieved a career highs in RBIs (Big Ten record), slugging percentage and stolen bases, while ranking top-5 in school batting average, on base percentage, home runs, bases on balls, runs, with 35 extra base hits. She also amassed a second conference Triple Crown. For the NCAA, she ranked top-5 in RBIs and on base percentage. On February 28, Romero drove in six RBIs with a three-hit, two-home run performance to defeat the

Binghamton Bearcats The Binghamton Bearcats are the NCAA Division I athletics teams at Binghamton University located in Binghamton, New York. United States. They are one of four Division I programs in the State University of New York, SUNY system. A member of the Ame ...

for a career high. Romero hit two home runs on March 6 vs. the San Jose State Spartans to reach her career 50th, the milestone hit off Berlyn Rippentrop. The next month on April 18, Romero tallied her 200th career RBI on a two-run homer to help defeat the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. On May 8, she set a new NCAA record with her tenth career grand slam home run. The Wolverines entered the WCWS as the No. 2 seed and advanced into the championship series against the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. In the finale, Romero batted in the only run in a 4–1 loss. She was named to the All-Tournament Team.

2016 season

In 2016, Romero was awarded her third conference Player of The Year and First Team All-American honors. She was named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the inaugural NFCA National Player of the Year, along with winning the

as the nation's best softball player in 2016. Romero appeared in 59 games with top-5 school batting average, on-base and slugging percentage, home runs, runs scored and walk stats. She ranked top-5 in NCAA categories for RBIs and home runs. Beginning on February 21, Romero began a career high 18 consecutive game hit streak against the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

and continuing to the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...

on March 26 (hitting .518 29/56 with 34RBIs, 4HRs, 3B, 62Bs, 12BBs, 4Ks and slugging .875%). In the conference championship game, she set a new NCAA record for runs scored by hitting a home run in the first inning in an eventual loss to the Minnesota Gophers on May 14. Later she became the first college player to score 300 runs. Romero was just the fourth player and the first not playing for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

to cross 300 career RBIs on May 20 vs. the

Valparaiso Crusaders The Valparaiso Beacons is the name of the athletic teams from Valparaiso University – often referred to as Valpo – in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. The Beacons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Divi ...

, with another first-inning homer. The Wolverines returned for a third trip to the WCWS with Romero but they were eliminated on June 5 by the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

, Romero was shut out at the plate managing only a walk in her final appearance. For her career at Michigan, the Wolverine set records for the highest career batting average in school history, 50 points ahead of Michigan's prior record holder,

Traci Conrad Traci Lynn Conrad (born December 17, 1976) is an American softball coach and former softball player. She is a coach with Select Florida Softball and previously served as an assistant coach at Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Notre Dame. She played pr ...

. She also claims the highest career slugging percentage, more than 200 points ahead of Michigan's prior record holder, Samantha Findlay; additionally ranking 20 home run, 76 RBIs and surpassing Findlay's career walks total of 155. For the Big Ten, Romero tops the same stats except walks, which gives her the conference career Triple Crown, a rare feat. In the NCAA, she ranks first for her career runs and grand slams and top-10 in RBIs, slugging (4th), total bases (6th), home runs (8th) and walks (9th). After the 2013 Women's College World Series, Romero played for the Team USA Junior Women's National softball team in the International Softball Federation Junior Women's World Championship. Romero started eight games at shortstop for Team USA, compiling a batting average of .500 in 22 at-bats with a .955 slugging percentage. She had ten RBIs, three doubles, two triples, and a home run in the tournament.

Professional career

Romero was drafted second overall by the

USSSA Pride The USSSA Pride is a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida, and a former member of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). Founded in 2009, they previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play their home ...

in the

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

2016 draft. Following her rookie year, Romero was named to the All-NPF team in 2017. Romero missed the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

due to a torn ACL sustained during a preseason exhibition game. On January 29, 2025, Romero was drafted in the twelfth round, 45th overall, by the Volts in the inaugural

draft.

Coaching career

On August 15, 2018, it was announced that Romero joined the

staff as a volunteer assistant coach.

Personal life

She is the eldest daughter of Michael and Melissa Romero. She has three younger siblings; her youngest sibling Sophia, is also an aspiring softball player, her brother Mikey was drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the first round of the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 MLB season standin ...

, and sister

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, is an infielder for

. She is of Mexican and Chamorro descent.

Statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Sierra 1994 births Living people American softball players American sportspeople of Mexican descent American people of Chamorro descent Michigan Wolverines softball players Oregon Ducks softball coaches American softball coaches USSSA Pride players Sportspeople from Murrieta, California Softball players from California Softball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in softball Athletes Unlimited softball players