Sophomore outfielder Riley Kuderca leaves Arizona softball program

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The speedy slapper had one at-bat in two years

Riley Kuderca is the latest player to leave the Arizona softball program, according to multiple sources. As of now, she is planning to remain at the UA as a student.

The speedy outfielder rarely saw the field in two seasons with the Wildcats. Kuderca missed the 2020 season with an injury after appearing in 28 games as a freshman, almost exclusively as a pinch runner. She tallied seven runs and one stolen base in her UA career. She singled in her lone career at-bat against UTEP on April 4, 2019.

A former top-100 recruit, Kuderca is the sixth player to leave the UA softball program this offseason, mostly a byproduct of the team returning all seven seniors as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Arizona’s roster now sits at 22 players heading into the 2021 season, still more than it had in 2020.

Before Kuderca enrolled at Arizona, she was a four-year letterwinner at Patterson High School in Patterson, California and a PGF Western Region All-American for the OC Batbusters. She hit .462 as a senior at Patterson and holds the school record for stolen bases in a season (41) and career (120).

“Riley is a quick kid with a lot of upside,” Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said when Kuderca signed her National Letter of Intent. “She hits from the left side and can hit away and can short game. She has above average speed and I think is going to develop into a really good outfielder.”

Arizona signed five players in the 2018 recruiting cycle, but only Tucson native Izzy Pacho, a designated player and backup catcher, remains with the Wildcats.

Marissa Schuld (ASU) and Vanessa Foreman (Louisiana-Lafayette) transferred this offseason, while utility Ali Ashner left the program in 2019 and eventually surfaced at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, where she hit .589 with six homers, 31 RBI and seven stolen bases in 2020.

With Kuderca gone, Arizona only has three players on its roster who are sophomores and juniors—Pacho and juniors Hanah Bowen and Peanut Martinez.

Arizona’s updated 2021 roster

Seniors (7)

• Jessie Harper, SS
• Reyna Carranco, 2B
• Mariah Lopez, RHP
• Alyssa Denham, RHP
• Malia Martinez, 3B
• Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, OF
• Dejah Mulipola, C

Juniors (2)

• Hanah Bowen, P/UT
• Peanut Martinez, OF

Sophomores (1)

• Izzy Pacho, C

Freshmen (12)

• Bella Dayton, OF
• Alayna Hicks, INF
• Janelle Meono, OF
• Sharlize Palacios, C
• Aris Carroll, INF*
• Sophia Carroll, INF*
• Carlie Scupin, 1B*
• Jessie Fontes, RHP*
• Devyn Netz, RHP/UT*
• Jasmine Perezchica, OF*
• Allie Skaggs, UT*
• Giulia Koutsoyanopulos, UT*

* incoming recruits

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