Hempfield catcher Emma Hoffner picks Ohio

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, October 21, 2019 | 12:01 PM

Emma Hoffner is a junior at Hempfield, but she already has been through the college recruiting process twice.

The softball catcher committed to St. Francis (Pa.) last year, but a coaching change prompted her to decommit and open her recruitment.

In the meantime, other schools entered the picture after following her travel ball career. After taking a few visits, Hoffner found a program she liked and made a verbal commitment Sunday night to Ohio University.

She also considered offers from Robert Morris, Lehigh and Bucknell.

“After going to Ohio U, I knew that I didn’t need to go to any other schools,” Hoffner said. “The philosophies that the coaches have and just the coaches in general are incredible. The school is beautiful, and I can truly see myself there.”

An all-state player, Hoffner has been a key part of Hempfield’s championship runs of the past few seasons. The Spartans have won five straight WPIAL championships and own a PIAA three-peat (2016, ’17, ’18)

Last year, she hit a team-leading .519 with 10 doubles and 27 RBIs. Hempfield was stopped short in the state semifinals.

New NCAA rules, which went into effect last spring, prevent student-athletes from taking official visits or having contact with college coaches until Sept. 1 of their junior year.

Hoffner visited Ohio last month.

“It was a very stressful and exciting experience to go through,” she said. “I visited some amazing schools with great coaching staffs, but Ohio U truly stuck out to me. I knew on the car ride home from that visit that I loved it there and wanted to be a part of a place like that.”

Hoffner said Ohio has been following her travel team, Ohio Outlaws-Hoffner, for some time. Two of her teammates also committed to Ohio, Yasmine Logan (Penn Hills) and Annalia Paoli (Albert Gallatin).

committed!!???????? so excited to go to the best school with the most amazing coaches, thank you to everyone who has helped me get to this point!! @OhioBobcatSB pic.twitter.com/QcBuh2LQDt

— Emma (@emma_hoffner) October 21, 2019

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield