Mission Viejo’s Alicia Park was the recent venue for the prestigious college showcase, which resulted in several recruitments of local high school players to college.
The Pre-Thanksgiving College Showcase in late October spotlights high school softball players in the presence of college scouts who are looking to recruit players for their college softball teams.
“There are about 20 college showcase events around the country, but none have the reputation or attendance of Alicia Park,” said Dale Durham of Mission Viejo-based American Athletics Softball Club. “In the three days of this event this year, we had 150 college coaches in attendance. About 40 of them came to see my team, and all of my seniors received college scholarships.”
The event marks the end of the fall recruiting season, and players are offered scholarships the following week. A local shortstop signed with the University of California, San Diego for $30,000 per year, which will cover the cost of her tuition, room and board. A centerfielder received a $30,000 scholarship to Chapman University, and two juniors were invited to visit Boise State, while another was invited to Michigan State.
Alicia Park was the venue for one of the first college showcase events in the country. It started about three decades ago with about eight teams.
“Initially, this event was held exclusively at Alicia Park,” Durham said. “After about 10 years, the four eastern fields at Oso Viejo were added to the event. Now, we play at 50 fields in eight cities (Anaheim, Artesia, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo and Yorba Linda). And now there are 250 teams that participate each year in front of 300 college coaches.”
Alicia Park was recently dubbed the “best softball complex in Southern California” by Softball News magazine. The park is located at 23650 Via Linda.
