Grace Uribe grew up about 95 miles north of SDSU Softball Stadium in Huntington Beach, California. Despite being born in Glendale, Arizona, Uribe played her club and high school softball in SoCal.
Her club team, Firecrackers TJ, was coached by former NFL wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh. Uribe touched on the competitive mentality she picked up from her past head coach.
“If you know anything about him, he is the most competitive person on Earth. He is a character,” mentioned Uribe. “In travel, we went out and we played like, ‘No shot you’re beating us.’ If I’m pitching and you got a hit I’m like, ‘Yeah you got lucky that time.’”
Uribe’s success in both club and high school softball allowed her to play her first three years of collegiate softball for the Texas A&M Aggies. She pitched and patrolled the outfield during her time in College Station. Uribe shared her thoughts about playing college softball at the highest level.
“A&M had some of the nicest facilities,” said the senior star. “I feel like the SEC has that big-stadium feel.”
When Uribe’s fourth and final year came around, she knew that competitive softball in College Station was not on the docket for 2024.
“I really wanted to graduate from A&M. I got the opportunity to still graduate on scholarship so I took that opportunity to stay and focus on school,” said Uribe. “I knew that I was going to play softball again eventually, I just wanted to graduate first.”
Instead of donning an Aggies uniform, she paid a small rent fee at a travel softball and baseball facility in College Station. Uribe used the facilities’ equipment to stay sharp and ready for when her competitive nature called her back to the diamond.
“I would pitch about four to five times a week and I would hit four to five times a week, [which is] pretty much the same as what I would do in a normal season.”
In addition to independent training, Uribe honed her skills in the circle with former Texas A&M two-way star Megan Gibson in order to “keep up and [for her to] give me a second opinion.”
As summer began, Uribe participated in the American Collegiate League’s Golden Bay Collegiate League. Not only did she participate, she took home Pitcher of the Year honors. Since it was a newer league, there were some roster and scheduling hurdles, but Uribe was glad to be back on the diamond.
“We faced pretty much the same people every single day, but there was collegiate experience there and it honestly was great just getting to see a ball pitched at me for the first time in a year.”
Uribe’s passion both in the batters’ box and in the circle was reignited; she was ready to return to college softball. Her love for the game was at an all-time high thanks to her ability to contribute both as a pitcher and as an outfielder.
“I don’t think I would love softball as much if I didn’t get to do absolutely everything. I told the coaches too that even if I don’t get to play outfield in a game, I’m going to practice it,” Uribe shared. “I love the competitive edge of pitching, I love to swing a bat and like I said, [run] around and [stay] conditioned in the outfield.”
The multi-faceted pitcher and outfielder almost always hits near the middle of the lineup, even when she is pitching. Uribe’s unrelenting passion for success never wavers, even in the big moments. So far this season, she drove in multiple game-winning runs and recorded various key outs with her arm and glove.
Putting her best foot forward while representing the Scarlet and Black, especially at SDSU Softball Stadium, means a lot to Uribe. She loves to play for her coaches and teammates, but also for her nearby family and friends.
“When I was at A&M, my family only got to come to one home game a year… I [now] get to have my family [at my games]… Them being able to come for my final year to pretty much every game has been awesome.”
The balance of competitive fire from her youth coaches and passion from wanting to show out for her family and friends has fueled a great start to Uribe’s 2025 campaign. She has appeared in all 15 games in the circle and has yet to record a loss. Uribe also boasts a sub-3.00 ERA. Offensively, she has started every game in the batting lineup and has a .255 batting average to go along with six RBIs and four doubles.
Uribe’s key contributions in all aspects of the game have the Aztecs riding high with a 12-3 record and a four-game winning streak. SDSU upset both (at the time) No. 14/12 Alabama and No. 16 Missouri in Clearwater, Florida, and almost won all five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California.
Pre-conference and regular season wins are very important to both Uribe and the Aztecs’ morale, but the ultimate goal is postseason success.
“All of us on our vision boards have the College World Series on our minds. I don’t see why we couldn’t make it there. There’s not a team, I think, that we can’t beat.”
