Arizona Wildcats catcher Dejah Mulipola to return for senior season

The Arizona Wildcats got a huge boost to their 2021 roster with two simple words: I’m back. 

NFCA All-American catcher Dejah Mulipola announced Thursday that she is returning to the desert for her senior season after redshirting in 2020 to play for the U.S. Olympic Softball Team in its “Stand Beside Her” Tour. 

Mulipola redshirted the 2020 season while she prepared to play for Team USA in the Summer Olympics. The coronavirus forced the games to be pushed to next summer. Muliopola said Thursday that will rejoin the Olympic team after the Wildcats complete their 2021 season.

Mulipola, the 2019 NFCA Catcher of the Year, is the seventh UA senior softball player to announce she’s returning for a final season. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, Reyna Carranco, Jessie Harper, Alyssa Denham, Malia Martinez and Mariah Lopez all took advantage of the NCAA waiver granting spring-sports seniors to return in 20201.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak led to the cancellation of all NCAA spring sports, the No. 4-ranked Wildcats were in the midst of another stellar year with a 22-3 record and an 11-game winning streak. 

Mulipola’s return only bolsters an impressive roster for next season which will feature the aforementioned senior class as well as what’s anticipated to be a top-5 recruiting class.

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The UA standout was an instrumental piece in helping the Wildcats clinch a birth in the 2019 Women’s College World Series — the program’s first WCWS appearance since 2010.

Mulipola posted a .311 batting average, 23 home runs and 55 RBI’s in her junior campaign. Her home run mark in 2019 was good for second in the Pac-12 behind teammate Jessie Harper (29) and fourth overall in the NCAA. 

"It's such a blessing that I not only get to return this upcoming year to play my last season with some of my best friends, but also that I get to train for the 2021 Olympics in addition to it all," Mulipola said in a message posted by the UA softball Twitter account.