RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Alyssa Pinto, who signed with Ole Miss on Monday after transferring from Oregon, has won her share of softball championships and the Rebels hope that winning streak continues.
A military child who lived in Washington, Texas, Colorado and California before graduating in 2018, Pinto won back-to-back state titles at Cherokee Trails High in Aurora, Colorado and Incarnate Word High in San Antonio, Texas before finishing her high school career at Lodi High in California.
She played for several of the top travel ball organizations in the country as well including the Beverly Bandits, Texas Bombers, Firecrackers and California Cruisers.
With the Tony Rico-lead Firecrackers, the lefty helped her 18U team capture the 2016 PGF Premier National Championship and in the summer of 2017 win the Canada Cup and the Colorado Sparkler tournament. She finished her club career with the Cruisers which finished 3rd at PGF Nationals.
Alyssa earned All-American and All-State honors in high school as she played outfield, first base and catcher and was noted for her ability to hit for a power as a lefty while also having speed to play small ball. Extra Inning Softball editor Brentt Eads rated her a top 100 player in her class at one point during her club career.
Representative of her all-around ability was her junior year when she batted leadoff and led her 5A state title-winning team with a .451 average, 17 doubles, nine triples, 34 RBIs, a .518 OBP, .757 SLG and 19 stolen bases. She was also a defensive standout with a .971 fielding percentage.
Pinto didn’t compete for the Ducks in the fall and will be eligible to play immediately in the spring with all four years of eligibility remaining.
“We are excited to add more depth to our outfield with a top-100 player in Alyssa,” said Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Smith after Pinto’s signing became official on Monday.
“She brings championship experience and success. Alyssa is a hard-nosed player that loves the opportunity to play in the SEC and become one of the best in the country. Alyssa is another piece of the puzzle to help us become one of the elite teams in the nation.”
Pinto put her name in the transfer portal in early November and told Extra Inning Softball on Tuesday: “I am glad that this whole transfer process is done. It was stressful going on school visits, doing research on all of the schools and going on official visits, in the middle of preparing for my final exams.”
She explained that the decision to leave a place she had grown to love, in large part because of the friendships she built even prior to heading to Euguene.
“It was hard leaving Oregon because of the relationships that I built with the girls on the team and other athletes from the other sports.,” she explained.
“It’s tough reading all the comments that people are making about all of the transfers, but they are not the ones here. When Coach (Mike) White and his staff left (to the University of Texas), I had a ton of emotions going through my head. I kept in touch with the other freshman and also received text messages from the upperclassmen at Oregon and we decided to stay together and give Oregon time to find a coach.”
“When Coach (Melyssa) Lombardi was hired, we were excited and decided to stick together and see how things were going to go. No one jumped ship and left the team right away. As the Fall season went on, I just felt it was a different culture from what I was expecting under Coach White and his staff and my family and I decided it was time for me to make a change.”
The freshman explained that Ole Miss was a leader early on among the many colleges that pursued her.
“Once my name was in the transfer portal,” Pinto continued, “I received a lot of interest from schools. When I got a message that Ole Miss was interested, I was really excited. I spent time living in the South when my dad was stationed out there with the Army. I spent a few weeks keeping in touch with Coach Smith and talking about the Ole Miss program and their culture. I knew that I had to go on a visit.”
It didn’t take long for the lefty outfielder to know the SEC school would be her future home.
“When I pulled into Oxford I was so excited,” she added, “and when I arrived on campus I fell in love with it. As I started my visit with all of the coaches and got to know them over a couple of days, I was sure this was the coaching staff and school for me.”
Having relocated all over the country and playing for four different high schools in three states as well as top-level travel ball teams, Alyssa felt the transition to another university would be easier for her than most.
“It is a little easier for me to make a change in the middle of the year as I have dealt with change many times in my life as a military kid. I had some great times in high school and I had a chance to play for Tony Rico’s Firecracker team where I learned a lot about the mental toughness of the softball game, which I believe really helped me through this process. I finished my club career playing for Mel Sievers and his Cal Cruisers team and I was able to sharpen my softball skills playing multiple positions.”
With the past behind her and a new year just weeks away, Pinto can now enjoy the holidays as she gets ready to play in the SEC.
“I am really excited to start my next chapter as an Ole Miss Rebel,” she concluded. “Hotty Toddy!”