MEDFORD, MA (May 16, 2025) – Five Tufts University softball players made the 2025 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region I Team announced on Thursday.
Fifth-year pitcher
Sophia DiCocco and fifth-year 2B
Bela Jimenez are on the first team. Senior catcher
Keriann Slayton, junior 1B
Kaitlyn Perucci and sophomore 3B
Heaven Oliva are second-team selections.
This is the fifth All-Region honor for DiCocco, including her fourth first-team award. Jimenez (1st team 2023, 3rd team 2022) and Perucci (1st team in both 2024 and 2023) are All-Region players for the third time. Slayton is a two-time All-Region pick including her third-team award last year. This is Oliva's first time on the All-Region squad.
Head coach
Lauren Ebstein's Jumbos won the NESCAC Championship this spring. They are 29-13 overall while playing in an NCAA Regional at Rowan University this week.
DiCocco is 17-6 in the circle with a 2.36 earned run average and six shutouts this season. She plays outstanding defense at her position, as her 2.96 assists per game from her pitching position lead the region.
Jimenez has played Gold-Glove caliber defense at second base with just four errors in 164 chances for a .976 fielding percentage. She puts her bat on the ball in the lead-off spot (just six strikeouts in 41 games) with 46 hits leading to a .324 average and 28 runs scored.
Similar to Jimenez, Slayton has also been tough to strike out with just six in her 42 games. Handling almost the entire season's workload behind the plate, she's hitting .321 with 10 doubles and 25 rbis.
Perucci is yet another Jumbo who always puts her bat on the ball (also just 6 K's). She's sixth in the Region for total bases and seventh in hits, while leading the Jumbos in batting at .385 with 13 doubles and 27 rbis.
Oliva's nine home runs are third-most in the Region, while she's just outside the Top 10 for rbis (33). While providing excellent defense at third, she's hitting .310 and slugging .585.
Tufts' five recipients are third-most in the Region.
See the 2025 NFCA All-Region Teams
HERE.
--JUMBOS--
