2026 Softball Roster
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OF
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OF
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INF
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UTL
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OF
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INF
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OF
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P
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INF
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Jersey Number 23
Des Rivera
- Position:
- Catcher
- Bats/Throws:
- R/R
- Class:
- Senior
- Height:
- 5-6
- Hometown:
- Chino, Calif.
- High School:
- Bishop Amat Memorial HS / Oregon State / Iowa
Awards / Honors
2026ย NFCA All-America Scholar-Athleteย
2025 | Senior
Played in 61 of 64 games, starting 56 at catcher or designated player โฆ batted .257 (37-for-144) on the year โฆ tied the MSU single-season record with five sacrifice flies โฆ was the last remaining SEC player without a strikeout this year and had just two โฆ picked a runner off first vs. Wichita State (2/6) and later provided a sacrifice bunt to move the tying run over โฆ hit a sacrifice fly vs. New Mexico (2/7) โฆ homered and doubled against Southern Miss (2/10) โฆ went 2-for-2 with a walk and run scored against Rutgers (2/14) โฆ drove in two runs against Belmont (2/21) while recording a season-high 15 putouts โฆ hit a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly against Delaware State (2/21) โฆ homered at Georgia Tech (2/25) as part of a two-hit day โฆ picked up a pair of doubles in the win at No. 25 Clemson (3/1) โฆ caught a runner stealing at UAB (3/4) โฆ hit a sacrifice fly at South Alabama (3/6) โฆ doubled vs. Samford (3/7) โฆ went 2-for-2 with two RBIs in the first game of a doubleheader against Southeast Missouri (3/10) and added a sacrifice fly in the second game โฆ finished a double play off against No. 1 Tennessee (3/13), tagging the go-ahead run out at the plate in the seventh inning to force extras โฆ caught a runner stealing against the Lady Vols (3/14) โฆ recorded a season-high 15 putouts against UAB (3/18) โฆ went 2-for-3 off the bench at No. 15 Georgia (3/20) with a double and an RBI โฆ tied the MSU single-season record with her fifth sacrifice fly against the Bulldogs (3/22) โฆ caught a runner stealing against No. 23 South Carolina (3/28) โฆ posted her eighth multi-hit game of the year at No. 5 Florida (4/4) along with a double โฆ doubled in the win over No. 8 Arkansas (4/10) โฆ reached base in every game of the series at No. 12 Texas A&M (4/17-19) โฆ doubled at Ole Miss (5/1) โฆ tagged out two runners at the plate in the Super Regional at No. 2 Oklahoma (5/22-24) โฆ was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double and a homer in the series opener against the Sooners (5/22) and picked a runner off first โฆ started the first Womenโs College World Series game in school history vs. No. 4 Texas Tech (5/28) at catcher โฆ caught a runner stealing vs. No. 6 Texas (5/29).ย
2025 | Redshirt Junior (at Iowa)
Played and started in 52 of 53 games at catcher โฆ batted .290 (40-for-138) on the year, which was fifth on the team โฆ led the Big Ten and ranked No. 18 nationally with 15 runners caught stealing โฆ ranked third on the team in doubles (9), hits and total bases (55) ... fourth on the team in slugging percentage (.399), on base percentage (.404) and multi-hit games (8) โฆ ended the year on a team-leading 16-game reached-base streak โฆ drove in a career-high-tying three RBIs vs. Abilene Christian (2/14) while homering and walking twice โฆ picked up her first multi-hit game of the season at East Texas A&M (2/14) โฆ doubled and walked to score two runs vs. Abilene Christian (2/15) โฆ walked twice and scored a run at Lafayette (2/22) โฆ collected 11 putouts vs. Illinois (3/2) โฆ went 2-for-4 at Indiana (3/15) to open conference play โฆ added a two-hit game against No. 5 UCLA (3/23) โฆ doubled twice against South Dakota State (3/25) โฆ walked and hit a home run at Wisconsin (3/28) โฆ went 2-for-2 with a double against No. 20 Nebraska (4/4) โฆ doubled and drove in a pair at Maryland (4/12) ... recorded 1seven putouts and caught a runner stealing against Penn State (4/21) โฆ had two hits and three RBIs vs. Penn State (5/7) in the Big Ten Tournament.ย
2024 | Junior (at Iowa)
Did not see game action and redshirted.ย
2023 | Sophomore (at Oregon State)
Played in 34 games, making 32 starts โฆ hit .302 (26-for-86) on the year, which was third on the team โฆ led team in putouts (168) and caught eight runners stealing โฆ collected 10 putouts on Opening Day vs. New Mexico (2/10) โฆ drove in a run in the win vs. BYU (3/2) โฆ went 2-for-3 with two doubles at Utah (3/12) โฆ collected five hits in the series against California (3/17-19) โฆ went 3-for-4 with a double and 11 putouts in the series finale against the Bears (3/19) ... collected two hits, a walk and an RBI in the win over No. 9 Washington (4/16) โฆ picked up three hits with a double at Arizona (4/30) ... collected three hits and drove in three runs against Arizona State (5/6).ย
2022 | Freshman (at Oregon State)
Played in 48 games, making 45 starts ... hit .180 (22-for-122) โฆ finished the year with 10 runners caught stealing and 12 games of 10 or more putouts โฆ made collegiate debut and first career start vs. New Mexico (2/11) โฆ caught two runners stealing against No. 2 Alabama (2/12) โฆ singled and walked vs. CSU Northridge (2/26) โฆ hit an RBI double and scored a run vs. North Dakota State (3/6) โฆ plated two runs against Robert Morris (3/7) โฆ posted first multi-hit game vs. North Dakota State (3/11) and added a double โฆ tallied two hits and three RBIs at California (4/2) โฆ drove in a pair at No. 11 Washington (4/13) โฆ hit first career home run against No. 4 UCLA (4/22) as part of a two-hit day โฆ recorded a career-high 17 putouts against Utah (5/12) โฆ collected hits in both of OSU's games at the Women's College World Series vs. No. 14 Florida (6/2) and vs. Arizona (6/3).ย
High School
Attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School โฆ earned First Team All-Del Rey honors in 2018 and 2019 โฆ hit .345 as a freshman ... led the conference in batting average (.542) as a sophomore โฆ hit .462 as a junior โฆ finished her career batting .480 โฆ played in the SGV All-Star Game โฆ played travel ball for the OC Batbusters before joining Athletics Mercado โฆ Athletics Mercado won the Top Club National Championship in 2020 and The Alliance National Championship in 2021.ย
Personal
Born Desiree Rivera on Oct. 23 in San Gabriel, California โฆ daughter of Michelle and Steve Rivera โฆ has a brother, Brandon, and two sisters, Alyssa and Savanna ... majoring in interdisciplinary studies.ย
MSU Career Records (Through 2026)
1st โ Fielding Pct. (.994)1st โ Fielding Pct. - SEC play only (.989)
ย
MSU Season Records (Through 2026)
T-1st โ Sacrifice Flies (5, 2026)T-8th โ Fielding Pct. (.994, 2026)
T-5th โ Total Chances (477, 2026)
6th โ Putouts (442, 2026)
10th โ Putouts - SEC play only (177, 2026)
ย
MSU NCAA Tournament Career Records (Through 2026)
T-5th โ Doubles (2)5th โ Total Chances (66)
5th โ Putouts (57)
ย
Career Highs (Through 2026)
At-Bats: 5, at Arizona (4/28/23)Hits: 3, 4x, last, at Oklahoma (5/22/26)
Runs Scored: 3, at Oklahoma (5/22/26)
Runs Batted In: 3, 5x, last, Delaware State (2/21/26)
Doubles: 2, 3x, last, at Clemson (3/1/26)
Home Runs: 1, 7x, last, at Oklahoma (5/22/26)
Walks: 2, 6x, last, Rutgers (5/4/25)
Stolen Bases: 1, vs. Wofford (2/27/26)
Putouts: 17, Utah (5/12/22)
Assists: 4, at UCLA (4/8/23)
Hitting Streak: 8 games, Washington (4/15/23) to Arizona State (5/7/23)
Friday, May 29
Thursday, May 28
Wednesday, May 27
Sunday, May 24
