Former Fresno State ace Hailey Dolcini finds challenge she was seeking. Here’s her next stop
Fresno State softball ace Hailey Dolcini, who last season dominated the Mountain West Conference in a way that few pitchers ever had, has found the challenge that she was looking for back in September when entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Dolcini will transfer to Texas after graduating from Fresno State in December and take aim at a higher level of competition and a run at a Big 12 conference title and perhaps even a national championship.
“Ultimately, I was looking for somewhere that had a pitching coach that would grow my game in making sure that this past season wasn’t the top point of my career, and a chance to go compete for a national title is a dream come true for every softball athlete out there,” Dolcini said.
“I’m very excited to join their phenomenal bullpen staff and help achieve that goal.”
Texas last reached the College World Series in 2013, but has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in every season since 2004 with the exception of 2020 when it was canceled due to COVID-19.
Oklahoma won the national title last season and the Big 12 has had two teams in Oklahoma City for the College World Series three times in the past four tournaments with the Sooners and Baylor advancing in 2017 and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State making it in 2019 and 2021.
The Longhorns finished third in the Big 12 last season, going 43-14 and 12-6 in conference play. They return junior Shea O’Leary, who was their top pitcher, going 16-6 with an ERA of 1.82 in 34 games and 25 starts.
“It’s a great group of pitchers and a group that will get to push each other day in and day out and ultimately will get to grow together and make each other better,” Dolcini said. “Going in there an up-ball pitcher, they have some really great down-ball pitchers, we will all complement each other very well.”
Texas she said, just checked off all the boxes.
For Dolcini, Texas felt like the ‘perfect fit’
“I had a phone call with the staff after I was in the portal and it was just a great conversation and coach Mike White is one of the best pitching coaches ever, and to learn from him, it’s a dream come true, as well as to compete with the team they have got this year and the team camaraderie they’ve worked on building,” she said.
“It’s just a great environment and it just felt like the perfect fit.”
Dolcini’s game certainly will translate. The right-hander was 22-5 with an ERA of 1.12 and an opponents batting average of .175 last season, including 13-1 with an ERA of 0.89 and an opponents batting average of .161 in Mountain West games, and led the Bulldogs to a conference championship and their first NCAA Tournament since 2017.
Her ERA overall and in conference games ranked third in conference history, and her opponents batting average ranked fourth and first.
In the NCAA Tournament Los Angeles Regional pitching for the Bulldogs, Dolcini fired a two-hit shutout over Minnesota with 13 strikeouts and had allowed just one run in seven innings against No. 2 UCLA before the Bruins broke through and scored four runs in the eighth to win it.
“Like I said in my initial statement (when transferring), the Red Wave is one of the best fan bases in the country, in my opinion, and the support I’ve received here has been great,” Dolcini said. “Fresno has truly been home for me the last four years and I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Fresno and who knows, I might end up back here someday. But the support from the Red Wave for the softball program here and for myself has been just immaculate. I can’t put into words how much I appreciate all of the fans and people here.”