For Ava Papaleo, becoming a softball star was always something she envisioned. As a kid, she was inspired by her brother, who played baseball, and her sister, who played softball. Growing up around the sport, she says she was always holding a softball or baseball and practicing with it.

To develop her skills as a softball player, Papaleo began training with Velo University in seventh grade. Her father introduced her to the program and to Cassie Reilly-Boccia,  and she began taking hitting lessons with her. Before her eighth-grade year, she started training at the facility full-time, with one-on-one lessons from several other coaches.

The aspect of her game in which she feels she has grown the most during her time with VeloU is the mental side of softball. “I’ve had a lot of failure and struggle, but I’ve been able to come out on the other side of that and trust myself. My mental game has grown the most,” she said. She said that growth includes being able to predict what type of pitches are coming and staying calm even when things aren’t perfect.

Now, she is a standout softball player at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle. Papaleo was recently named the 2025-26 Gatorade New York Softball Player of the Year, recognizing her as the top softball player in the state. As a senior, she recorded 31 RBIs, 37 runs, eight home runs and a .548 batting average.

As she said, her journey to get to this point has been met with a lot of adversity, as she has had to deal with two major surgeries during her high school career.

The first surgery came the summer before her sophomore season, when she tore her left labrum during a tournament game in which she hit three home runs and played from start to finish despite the injury. She missed the rest of her summer tournaments and most of the fall tournaments but returned for the regular season.

The other injury caused her to miss her entire junior season. She got an MRI, which revealed that she had torn her UCL.

The early part of recovery was rough for Papaleo, who knew how much it temporarily changed everyday life. “I was like, ‘I seriously can’t go through this again,’ because having surgery is a lot. You go from being able to do everything to not even being able to do simple things like brush your hair. You need help with everything.”

During both recoveries, she rehabbed with VeloU, getting the proper strength treatment needed to return to competition.

Another aspect of earning the Gatorade Player of the Year award is excelling academically and contributing to the community. In the classroom, Papaleo achieved a 4.30 GPA. She also volunteers with KIDFITSTRONG, a fitness and wellness program, participates in fundraising campaigns benefiting children’s cancer and breast cancer research, and coaches youth softball.

“If people can look at me as a leader and someone who’s there for others, that’s more important and successful to me than stats being posted everywhere,” Papaleo said.

Even though her team lost in the semifinals, Papaleo said her senior year was very fulfilling, especially after missing her entire junior year. 

Papaleo is set to play Division I softball for the University of Virginia this fall after being recruited by other top schools, including Boston College, Georgia Tech and South Carolina. Her decision to attend Virginia came down to her feeling that the school set her up well for success on the field and in the classroom, and she noted how at ease she felt during her visit.

Her journey has had highs and lows, but the biggest thing Papaleo has gained from all her different experiences is perspective. “I’m grateful for every little moment on the field because I know what it feels like to not have that and struggle,” Papaleo said. “It truly did suck going through the surgeries, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I got to overcome it, and I trust in myself more, and nothing bothers me because that was such a low.”

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