Molly Graham is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Seton Catholic Preparatory for AZPreps365.com.

Seton Catholic (10-0)’s senior varsity softball captain Abbey Cota is a dedicated athlete, captain and scholar.

One of three team captains, Cota currently has a 0.385 batting average this season. Freshman third baseman Brooklyn Hess painted a picture of how her three captains have benefited the team this year.

“Brooke is such an amazing, religious, caring person,” Hess said. “Abbey, the same thing, makes everyone feel so welcome, and Scarlett is just the energy of the whole team.”

Hess said Cota helped teach her to stay focused both in the game and on her swing.

“Abbey is just such a positive person and a positive impact on the field,” Hess said. “She’s always talking, she’s always hyping us up.”

Sophomore shortstop and co-captain Scarlett Olivares said Cota’s a great captain because of her catching skills and overall energy on the field. Olivares said the three of them work well together.

“They’re really good role models for us, and I really appreciate them,” Olivares said. 

Cota committed to Scottsdale Community College for softball. As a future Fighting Artichoke, Cota said she plans to play while completing prerequisites for the nursing program.

Cota said a lot of colleges she looked into did not allow students to be collegiate athletes and nursing majors at the same time. Cota said that, while her goal is to study nursing in college, she did not want to give up softball to do so.

“I wanted to play college softball since I was 4 years old, 5 years old, when I started playing,” Cota said. She originally played baseball before her parents moved her into softball.

But no matter the sport, Cota said she knew she wanted to play at the collegiate level from the beginning. Currently, the senior is involved with sports medicine at Seton and has considered pursuing it in college.

Cota said if her two passions conflict, she’s prepared to pursue one over the other. Until then, Cota said she’s, “taking the best of both worlds right now.”

“It’s a matter of trusting God,” Cota said. “When the time is right, he’ll make it happen.

“What made me say ‘yes’ was the fact that Scottsdale was giving me the opportunity to at least play two years at the collegiate level and get my prerecs done,” Cota said. She said the campus facilities were beautiful and, after touring, she said, “it felt right.”

One of Cota’s previous club teammates, Hailey Estrella, is currently a freshman playing for the Chokes. 

“She tells me that Coach Romero and Coach Soph, they expect a lot out of the girls,” Cota said. “Like, there’s a lot expected, but they also love the girls.”

Currently, Cota is wrestling with saying goodbye to her girls and school. Cota said she’s having a rough time knowing her time at Seton is almost over.

Overall, Cota said she’s excited to play for the loving coaches and hardworking teammates that await her at SCC.