Raquel Reyes, a Biola graduate student from Placentia, California, started her softball journey at the age of five, playing t-ball. She worked her way up the ladder, playing in the PYL League Placentia Yorba Linda (PYL) League and travel ball. Fast forward to her high school years, she was recruited by Columbia University. Though she never intended to be far from home at all, she accepted the invitation to tour the school and New York. Falling in love with the environment and the team, Reyes committed to the school during her junior year of high school.
Because of COVID-19, her freshman year season was canceled and she was barely able to attend the university her freshman spring. Academics proved tough, but through Columbia’s resources and learning how to balance, she excelled.
During this time, she was also team captain with her roommate, Jaden.
“I had ups and downs throughout our team, but my junior year, we did well and we went to the conference tournament,” Reyes said, “I was second team all league and then I made the all-tournament team.”
COMING TO BIOLA
Figuring out what to do after Columbia was the next – but exciting – challenge. Reyes was recruited by Biola in high school, but ultimately wanted to go to a D1 program. At Columbia, you are only allowed to play for the four years, now allowing Reyes to do a fifth year like many athletes do.
“I had to go somewhere else and so I entered myself into the transfer portal, and I kind of had an idea that I wanted to come back home and play. So I emailed a few schools close to home and I had always heard of Biola,” Reyes said.
With the motivation to come back home and be in a Christian environment, Biola was a no-brainer. She was pushed to grow at Columbia and gained experience that has facilitated her journey at Biola.
“I really learned how to become mentally tough there as well. I really matured there in all aspects, because I was a Christian in an environment that wasn’t very Christian at all, and that really helped me to lean into my faith as well more and grow my faith independently, outside of my family,” Reyes said.
Growing in your faith surrounded by people who do not share in your beliefs allows you to mature in ways that a like-minded environment, like Biola may not necessarily support.
FAITH
At Columbia, Reyes was one of the few Christians on the team. Her faith made her stick out like a sore thumb. She had to push through and learn to be around different views very quickly. Her sophomore year, she began Columbia Christian Athletes, where the Christian athletes at Columbia can gather in community, have Bible studies and host events to grow in faith with each other.
“Before my sophomore year, there were no Christian and athletes combined at all there, and so I think that helped having it was maybe just like 10 girls or 10 people there, having that environment really shaped my junior and senior year there,“ Reyes said.
Luckily, Reyes was not the only player of faith on the team. Her roommate and catcher helped her through difficult seasons.
“[My catcher] was starting to grow in her faith, and she came to CCA as well. And so the three of us kind of started to implement that faith into our softball,” Reyes said.
Being one of the odd balls out did not stop her from forming a community of faith. Columbia prepared Reyes well for balance and that includes her faith. On a campus where the Lord was not prioritized, Reyes made sure that He was made known. Dealing with the highs and the lows of pitching and hitting, she noted the mental struggle.
“The Lord already knows the outcome of this at bat as well, and so it’s going up there and giving it to him instead,“ Reyes said.
The easy way out is to let your sport performance define who you are, but Reyes keeps her eyes on the cross.
Living everyday life in New York, away from family and friends, allowed Reyes to grow as a person on and off the field.
“I started to rely on the Lord more in my junior and senior years of having that phrase of ‘it is already written,’ because the Lord already knows the outcome. And so I’ve taken that and brought that here to Biola,” Reyes said.
Having this mindset can still feel isolating when everyone around you is seeking the validation of their sport, but it is the most valuable perspective to take on.
“I’ve further grown in my faith through having my teammates who are devout Christ-followers and who live out their faith. I think that the environment of having teammates who celebrate you for you, and encourage each other through their talents, has really helped me grow on the field as well,” Reyes said.
Having even the coaches implement faith into their practices and games is a game changer for Reyes. She is joyous to explain that bringing the love of Christ and softball together has been eye opening for her and such a fun experience. Biola Softball has allowed her to do just that.
CAREER AND HOPES
In this last stretch of the school year, Reyes’ time at Biola Softball must come to an end. Winning the Pacwest championship and having a solid year to help push the team past the finish line has been the ideal situation for her. Finishing her fifth year, Reyes is getting her multiple subject credential, in hopes to teach elementary school. She is contemplating taking another year to receive her single subject credential, so she can teach up to middle school as well. All of this comes with the support from important people in her life.
“My pillars, I’d say my family are very supportive of everything that I do and will do,” Reyes said.
She notes of her boyfriend and teammates who are always leading her back to Christ and making practice fun. Working hard all season, winning the championship and making history with the softball team was always the goal in mind. Her two most memorable moments in her softball career were her first collegiate home run and the Pacwest Championship win.
“That’s something I’ve always wanted to do as a little kid,” Reyes said, “This whole year has just been a whole full circle moment of winning the conference.”
For Reyes, perseverance, grit and determination are her words to describe her softball career up until this point.
“The Lord has blessed me to be able to stick through it and to find the joy, again,” Reyes said.
She says with a smile on her face, “The sport doesn’t define who you are. You’re so much more than your sport.”
Reyes loves drawing, Disney and her dog. She is also an Ivy League graduate, Pacwest Champion, a relentless softball player and a soon to be elementary school teacher. While this is her last season of softball ever, collecting accolades and accolades, the Lord continues to provide. Her guiding verse is Psalm 139:16 which says,
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
