Castanedo signs with Mississippi College

On Monday, November 16, St. Patrick softball athlete Emma Rae Castanedo signed with Mississippi College at an evening ceremony in the school cafeteria.

After committing prior to her junior year, Castanedo watched as her older teammates signed and went off to play college ball. Now, it’s her turn.

“This is the day I’ve been waiting for,” she said prior to Monday night’s ceremony. “Everyone talked about how you know when you step on campus. I thought there’s no way you just know, but I felt like I was home (at Mississippi College). I felt like I was walking around St. Patrick. I’m so excited.”

Castanedo, a member of the Sun Herald’s 2015 All-South Mississippi softball team is one of the more feared hitters on the Coast and shows five-tool potential. A three-time Class 3A state champion, Castanedo was among South Mississippi’s leaders as a junior last season in batting average (.507), homers (7), extra-base hits (18), RBIs (41) and stolen bases (10).

Her versatility will lend itself to the college game, where she could end up playing any number of positions, including shortstop, second base, third base or in the outfield.

Tommy Castanedo, Emma’s father and coach at St. Patrick, pointed to his daughter’s determination as the main reason she has risen to the top.

“She’s a great leader on our ball club. She leads from behind and pushes everybody,” he said. “She’s not going to be out front and she’s not going to drag people, she’s going to push people.”

“I knew I wanted to go to a small school, but not too small of a school; I wanted it to be close to home, but not too close; and I wanted it to be a community,” Emma said.