Dejah Mulipola was walking off the Hillenbrand Stadium field on her way to the UA clubhouse Wednesday night when she stopped to sign an autograph for a young fan.
Mulipola, a catcher, is already among the best to ever wear the “block A” — which says a lot, given the players coach Mike Candrea has produced. Wednesday, however, she wore dark-blue sweats and not an Arizona uniform. She won’t be wearing the “A” for a while.
Mulipola was named to the United States Olympic softball team Sunday, fulfilling a dream she’s had since she was little. Mulipola plans to redshirt this season as she prepares for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
The Olympic selection caps a run of accolades that is unique even among Arizona greats. Mulipola made the Pac-12 all-freshman team in 2017 and the all-defensive team as a sophomore. Last year, Mulipola crushed 23 home runs, the second-most on the team behind teammate Jessie Harper and fourth-most in the country. She was named the Johnny Bench and NFCA Catcher of the Year.
This summer, Mulipola played for a Team USA squad that brought home gold medals at the Pan American Games and Japan Cup.
Still, the Olympics are “like none other,” Candrea said. He knows: Candrea coached Team USA to a gold medal in 2004 and a silver in 2008. Softball is returning to the summer Olympics for the first time since the 2008 games.
Dejah Mulipola ran the 40-yard dash and played eight games in four days as part of the Olympic tryout.
“I can’t even describe it. Putting on the uniform, being in the Olympic Village with all the great athletes (from) around the world,” Candrea said. “No matter what, if you are fortunate to bring home a medal, it’s something you will take with you in your lifetime … no matter what color it is. It’s like a national championship here. You win a national championship, and it automatically makes that team feel very close for the rest of their lives.”
Mulipola wasn’t the only Wildcat invited to try out for Team USA. Teammate Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza went to Oklahoma City last week as well, but was not invited to the Olympics. Palomino-Cardoza said she was “surprised and grateful” to be invited.
“I think my biggest takeaways were just to continue to play the game,” she said. “I watched (stars) Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott still play like that little girl. They still play the game and let it come to them with ease and not be in their heads. Yeah, it’s my fifth year (at Arizona) and I’m a bit older, but I can still play and just let the game come to me. It was cool to watch. And then the feeling of the experience — to be on that field with a group of people who cared and wanted me to do well. I couldn’t pick out just one experience that was like ‘Holy Cow, I’m glad I’m here,’ because it was the whole entire time.”
While in Oklahoma City, the aspiring Olympians played eight games in four days. Their performance was only part of the equation that went into selecting the team of 15 players and three alternates. Coaches also looked at statistics, team needs and chemistry. The resulting roster includes just three college players: Mulipola and UCLA’s Rachel Garcia and Bubba Nickels.
Mulipola will join Team USA in January. She plans to lean on Candrea and UA associate head coach Caitlin Lowe, another Olympian, as she prepares for the Summer Games.
“They have a lot of great wisdom to share, so just getting that information from them, because I know they’re in my corner,” Mulipola said. “I don’t know what it’s like to be an Olympian. And I just gotta soak it up like a sponge. I want to play for Coach (Candrea) and Cait (Lowe), who we want to get a gold medal for (and) … just learning and enjoying the moment.”
Inside pitch
• Former Wildcats Danielle O’Toole and Taylor McQuillin will play for Team Mexico in the Olympics. Candrea is trying to set up an exhibition game between Mexico and the UA.
“It would be nice to have ‘Tooly’ and Taylor back here at Hillenbrand,” Candrea said. “Another exciting moment for two of our former players to get a chance to go to the Olympic Games. … I think it’s just a great tribute to our program to have three Olympians. I feel very honored and very blessed that they get a chance to continue to play.”
• Mariah Lopez, who transferred to Arizona from Oklahoma, will split time in the circle with Alyssa Denham this spring. Candrea said that Lopez throws extremely hard and up, while Denham throws extremely hard and down. Lopez has big-game experience, pitching in the WCWS for three straight years and winning the national championship in 2017. She went 51-2 with Oklahoma; last season, she posted a 1.25 ERA. Lopez said she picked UA over ASU because of the coaches and the players, nothing she’s played with many current Wildcats, including Denham and Palomino-Cardoza.
