Top Catcher Riley Hull Signs With The Bulldogs
November 18, 2020 | Softball
Hull won Kentucky’s Gatorade Player of the Year honor in 2020 and was the top-ranked player in the state entering her junior year.
STARKVILLE – Riley Hull, who is ranked No. 38 nationally in the class of 2021, signed with Mississippi State last week. The catcher was ranked No. 19 at her position by Extra Innings Softball.
Hull won Kentucky's Gatorade Player of the Year honor in 2020 and was set to enter her junior year as the No. 1 player in the state according to MaxPreps before the season was cancelled. She was an All-State performer in 2019, batting .589 with a .953 slugging percentage, and she won the Johnny Bench Award as the best catcher in the state.
"Riley Hull is one of the top catchers in her class and is a great all-around athlete," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She is a left-handed hitter that can swing for power and average, and she plays the game with a high level of maturity and knowledge."
Hull's career at Pulaski County High School has been impressive. Her team won the district title her freshman year as she earned All-State honorable mention honors after posting a .520 batting average.
The following season she picked off eight runners and caught 10 stealing on her way to the Johnny Bench Award. She was a member of the award's first class of female athletes as the honor expanded to softball and was recognized on-field by the Cincinnati Reds. In addition to catching, she also plays the corner infield spots.
"I chose MSU because it felt like a home away from home," Hull said. "Eight hours is a long way to go, but when I am at MSU it feels like I have family all around me. That made choosing MSU so much easier for me. The coaches also made me feel so welcomed, as if they will take me in as one of their own, and that meant so much to me."
On the travel ball circuit, her club team won consecutive Junior Olympic Cup titles. In the summer of 2019, Hull batted .403 with 41 RBI and 16 doubles.
"Riley has been well-coached in the TN Mojo travel ball organization by Brooks Cherry where she has won back-to-back USA Softball Junior Olympic Cup Championships," Ricketts added. "We are looking forward to Riley working with our pitching staff and seeing her develop her leadership skills in our infield when she gets to Starkville."
Hull also spent time with the Birmingham Thunderbolts, and helped that club to a runner-up finish at the 2017 PGF Platinum Nationals.
After her junior season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hull enters her senior season at Pulaski County with 115 career hits and zero strikeouts in prep softball. Over her first three years of high school, she has compiled a 3.98 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. She intends to major in business at MSU.
Mississippi State softball signed five student-athletes on National Signing Day on Nov. 11. State's class was ranked No. 26 by Extra Innings Softball, and all but one signee was among the top 100 in the class. The Bulldogs will continue to release an in-depth look at each signee over the next four weeks.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Hull won Kentucky's Gatorade Player of the Year honor in 2020 and was set to enter her junior year as the No. 1 player in the state according to MaxPreps before the season was cancelled. She was an All-State performer in 2019, batting .589 with a .953 slugging percentage, and she won the Johnny Bench Award as the best catcher in the state.
"Riley Hull is one of the top catchers in her class and is a great all-around athlete," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She is a left-handed hitter that can swing for power and average, and she plays the game with a high level of maturity and knowledge."
Hull's career at Pulaski County High School has been impressive. Her team won the district title her freshman year as she earned All-State honorable mention honors after posting a .520 batting average.
The following season she picked off eight runners and caught 10 stealing on her way to the Johnny Bench Award. She was a member of the award's first class of female athletes as the honor expanded to softball and was recognized on-field by the Cincinnati Reds. In addition to catching, she also plays the corner infield spots.
"I chose MSU because it felt like a home away from home," Hull said. "Eight hours is a long way to go, but when I am at MSU it feels like I have family all around me. That made choosing MSU so much easier for me. The coaches also made me feel so welcomed, as if they will take me in as one of their own, and that meant so much to me."
On the travel ball circuit, her club team won consecutive Junior Olympic Cup titles. In the summer of 2019, Hull batted .403 with 41 RBI and 16 doubles.
"Riley has been well-coached in the TN Mojo travel ball organization by Brooks Cherry where she has won back-to-back USA Softball Junior Olympic Cup Championships," Ricketts added. "We are looking forward to Riley working with our pitching staff and seeing her develop her leadership skills in our infield when she gets to Starkville."
Hull also spent time with the Birmingham Thunderbolts, and helped that club to a runner-up finish at the 2017 PGF Platinum Nationals.
After her junior season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hull enters her senior season at Pulaski County with 115 career hits and zero strikeouts in prep softball. Over her first three years of high school, she has compiled a 3.98 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. She intends to major in business at MSU.
Mississippi State softball signed five student-athletes on National Signing Day on Nov. 11. State's class was ranked No. 26 by Extra Innings Softball, and all but one signee was among the top 100 in the class. The Bulldogs will continue to release an in-depth look at each signee over the next four weeks.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
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