In the program’s 24 seasons, Marist softball has produced plenty of great players.
None have been quite like Soleil Tate, though.
The junior is both one of the state’s best pitchers and best hitters. In leading the RedHawks to third place in Class 4A, Tate was 27-2 in the circle with a 0.95 earned run average and 249 strikeouts in 161 innings while batting .483 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs.
“We’ve had some extremely talented players come through,” said coach Colleen Phelan, who has led the RedHawks to eight state trophies since 2015. “She could be the best two-way player we’ve ever had.”
For her production as a pitcher and a hitter, Tate is the Southwest Regional Softball Player of the Year.
Like most kids, Tate played a variety of sports growing up.
She did a year of travel soccer, played travel volleyball for a while and did basketball, volleyball and softball in middle school,
“I also did a year of swim,” Tate said. “I gave it up, I didn’t have enough people to talk to under water.”
That joke rings true for Tate, whose upbeat personality shines through on the softball field, where she clearly has fun.
While some athletes have a game face during competition, Tate is usually smiling, laughing or encouraging teammates.
“She’s our cheerleader in the dugout,” Phelan said. “She’s a true team player.”
Being happy and vocal comes naturally, Tate said.
“I feel like when I get too serious … I don’t do as well,” she said, “because I’m playing all tight and not very loose. I try to just joke around with my (teammates) because maybe they don’t have the best game, but I still need them behind me.
“So I try to keep smiling, no matter how good or bad I’m doing. It’s more important that everybody’s up and cheering.”
Tate has had plenty of time to find the style that suits her best in softball. She started playing as a 5-year-old and progressed through the travel-ball ranks.
“I was always one of the bigger kids, so I always played up and just had fun with the older girls,” Tate said. “This is my fourth year of 16U, (people say), ‘Like when are you leaving?'”
But Tate, who is committed to Wisconsin, isn’t going anywhere. She’ll be back for one more season at Marist, which finished second in 4A when she was a freshman and was knocked out in the supersectional by Oswego in 2025.
“Next year, we definitely return a lot of girls,” Tate said, and the returners won’t forget the feeling of losing to Lincoln-Way West in the state semifinals this season.
The message: “You can work so hard but it can be taken away.”
Next spring, Tate added, “I think we all need to work with confidence. There’s a difference between being cocky and that you think you’re going to win, and (having) confidence, that you know you can do it (but have to work at it).”