Strong, Truett heading to ECU together
Nov. 18—As far as Rylynn Truett can remember, she and fellow senior Abbey Strong have been playing softball together for the last decade.
For the last 10 years, the Ada pair have gone from softball field to softball field — whether it be school ball, travel ball or summer ball — and have pretty much been attached at the hip. So it only made sense to stick together when their college careers begin after graduation.
Truett and Strong signed letters of intent to play college softball at East Central University and held their signing ceremony together inside the Cougar Activity Center.
"We just kind of decided we wanted to play together, and we wanted to stay close to home, so we thought East Central would be a good place," Strong said.
Truett said they made their decision pretty quickly during the whole recruiting process.
"It really didn't take long. We've always wanted to play together. It was just a matter of getting an offer," she said. "This is the one that kind of pulled on our heartstrings the most."
Strong said they felt right at home after getting to know East Central head coach Destini Anderson and her staff and current players.
"They were all so nice and welcoming. They made it feel like it would be a good place to call home," she said.
It wasn't like Strong and Truett negotiated a "package deal" with ECU. Anderson simply liked what both players brought to the table.
"Throughout the process of recruiting these players, I have been impressed by many different aspects of both their game and who they are as people. I feel that we are very fortunate to be able to add them to our program and keep their talents here at home," Anderson told The Ada News. "Each one of them will bring many positive attributes to our program and I'm looking forward to them making an impact right away."
The two Lady Cougars weren't the only area kids Anderson snagged up. Latta senior standout Jaycie Prince also inked a letter of intent to join the Lady Tigers next fall.
"Individually, they all bring different strengths of their game with them and as a whole, they bring versatility to our lineup," Anderson said.
Truett has always been considered one of the top catchers in the region and Anderson took notice.
"Rylynn has one of the best arms at the high school level that I've seen. That, along with the way she receives the ball, is going to make her a difference maker to our team defensively," she said.
Anderson loves the versatility Strong brings to the softball field every day.
"Abbey is a very intelligent and skilled defensive player who can impact any position that she is playing. She will also be bringing key consistency to the offensive side of the lineup," she said.
Anderson said Prine has shown a great knowledge of the game to go with her talent.
"Jaycie is a young player who has an impressive softball IQ and uses this to command the field. Between her leadership abilities, determination and perseverance she is the type of player that every team needs," she said.
Anderson feels like she hit the local softball jackpot.
"These three incredible young people are all exceptionally worthy additions to our program and I'm looking forward to seeing the mark that they leave on Tiger softball," she said.
