Utah Softball honored a pair of seniors, BreOnna Castaneda and Claire Feldman.
Castaneda, a Pac-12 All-Academic selection, was an All-American and 2015 New Mexico Softball Gatorade Player of the Year at Rio Rancho High School before arriving in Salt Lake City. She started 31 games as a freshman and made an impact in the NCAA Super Regionals, smashing a three-run homer at No. 6 Washington and forcing a deciding third game. As a sophomore, she finished second on the team in home runs and RBI and third in doubles and total bases. Last year, she started every game and emerged as one of the team's captains. During her shortened senior season, she was putting up strong offensive numbers. Castaneda was hitting .380 and second in the team with a .680 slugging percentage. She needed just one more home run and two doubles to surpass her career highs for a single season in both categories. BreOnna will graduate this simmer with a degree in health, society and policy and minors in psychology and health education. She will attend Utah for graduate school, enrolling in the public health program and continue to work for the Utes as a graduate assistant.
Feldman, an Easton/NFCA Division 1 Scholar Athlete, did not play during her freshman season after amassing 219 innings and 260 strikeouts as a senior at Newsome High School in Lithia, Florida. After winning Player of the Year honors en route to a state title, she entered Utah as the No. 38-ranked recruit in the nation. She finally saw action in her second season as a Ute, making her collegiate debut in a win over New Mexico, striking out the side. She would get her first win against Grand Canyon and then appeared in 17 games as a junior, including starts against nationally ranked foes Tennessee and Arizona. Claire will graduate this summer with a degree in business administration, specializing in accounting, and a minor in sociology.