On March 22, senior Sairah Llano announced her commitment to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Softball team. Llano was the first member of the SPF Softball team to announce their commitment. For Llano, TCNJ offered her a chance to continue her academics while also competing in softball, two activities she values deeply.
“What led me to commit to TCNJ is the great engineering program and incredible athletics. I also really loved the campus and it felt like home to me,” Llano told The Fanscotian.
A public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey, TCNJ offers students programs like business administration, biology and psychology. The Lions compete against the likes of Oswego State, DeSales, Keystone and other schools in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). Competing on Dr. June Walker Field, the Lions have been successful the past few seasons, and Llano has plans to add on to this success.
“Being able to play at the collegiate level is an incredible honor and I hope to make lifelong friendships while getting to play 4 more years of the game I love,” Llano said. “Along with that, I hope to learn and grow as a player, person, and teammate.”
A strikeout machine, Llano has broken the 200 K’s mark as a Raider early in her senior year, and has averaged one strikeout per inning throughout her SPFHS career. Even though Llano is a dominant asset to have on the mound, her disciplined and strong approach at the plate allows her to be a problem for other pitchers. Batting over .420 her sophomore and junior seasons with two seasons of an OPS of +1.000 makes Llano a force to be reckoned with in the heart of the Raider order.
“I loved every moment of high school softball, but my favorite moment of high school softball was youth day,” Llano said. “I really loved getting to play with the team and beat a tough opponent, and after the game, we got to work with younger players from around town to share our love for the game with them.”
Llano has been accustomed to receiving recognition for her softball talents, racking up numerous awards throughout her four years as a Raider including: NJ.com’s “Top Sophomore in NJ Softball”, NJ.com Game Changer Award in Mentorship and Courier News’ All-Sophomore Team in 2022. Though awards show Llano’s greatness on the diamond, her leadership and mentoring skills cannot be measured.
Bonds and experiences shared with her teammates will stay with Llano forever, and will be what she misses most when she graduates this June.
“I’m going to miss my team and coaches the most. I think that we have a great team this year that plays really well together. I’ll also miss getting to play with my sister who joined the team this year,” Llano said.
Although she’ll soon be wearing a different jersey, Llano will still be representing the SPF community at heart, and will keep the lessons she learned as a Raider in mind.
