Olivia Picciardo, Brown (brown photo)
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brown This week, college freshman utility player Olivia Picciardo made history by becoming the first woman in Division I baseball history to make a varsity baseball roster. Twenty women have made the college baseball roster, and to date, none have come from the Division 1 ranks.
According to Bears head coach Grant Achilles, Olivia’s accomplishments follow Brown’s fall workout, putting together one of the most impressive walk-on tryouts in program history.
“Each fall, we hold tryouts for students interested in joining our team,” Achilles said. “This is a common training exercise in baseball that allows you to assess both your athleticism and arm strength, as well as your offensive and defensive skill sets.
“Olivia put together the most complete walk-on tryouts I’ve seen from a player since becoming head coach.”
Proud to be a jack-of-all-trades type of player who can play both infield and outfield, Picchardo knows the game well. Standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 155 pounds, this player fell in love with her idea of playing baseball when she was 5 years old, and this summer she played for the U.S. Women’s Baseball Team. .
Currently, she is a member of the Brown University baseball team.
“It’s definitely a surreal moment for me because it’s what I’ve wanted since 8th grade,” Pichardo said in a school release. It’s kind of crazy to be there, so it’s really school.
“I’m really happy to see more female baseball players at the college level. It’s really good to see progress in any division,” she added. are also paving the way for them to have these goals they want to achieve.Now they know they can do it.”
A native of Queens, New York, Brown will begin the 2023 baseball season on February 24 against Georgia.
