The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Add Mississippi's Van Schaik For 2015-16
11/21/2014 | Softball
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss continued to build for the future in softball adding catcher and Mississippi native Sarah Van Schaik to the recruiting class, head coach Mike Smith announced Friday.
Van Schaik (Petal, Mississippi) is the fifth announced member of the recruiting class for the Rebels. She joins Kylan Becker (Miami, Florida), Megan Harris (Whitehouse, Texas), Ashton Lampton (Decatur, Mississippi) and Kennedy Cline (Lumberton, Texas) and can begin competition in the 2015-16 academic year.
"Sarah plays for one of the top travel ball teams with the Birmingham Thunderbolts and I love the way she plays the game," Smith said. "She's a great blocker behind the plate and a great catch-and-throw type player. She will swing the bat for average and power, and has great pop time. She wants to get better every single day and is going to be a workhorse in the program. She has her sights on earning a starting job as a freshman."
Van Schaik has been a varsity softball player since the eighth grade competing at St. Patrick High School (Biloxi, Mississippi) before transferring to Petal High School (Petal, Mississippi).
The catcher was named the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A Player of the Year in 2012 and the Hitter of the Year in 2013 as she helped lead the Irish to back-to-back state championships. In that 2013 season, Van Schaik led the state in both home runs (13) and RBI (63) to help the Irish to the championship while hitting at a .466 clip.
She was an MHSAA All-State selection three times (2012, 2013, 2014). Van Schaik also earned a spot on the inaugural Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen team in 2014.
Van Schaik is also active in the community and in various student organizations, serving as sports editor of her high school's year book, and is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Mu Alpha Theta math honor society and The MOVEMENT club.
