BRISTOL—When Bristol Eastern softball coach Tyler Catlin looks at Emily Valentine, he sees a five-tool player who can do it all.
She is a center fielder who can hit for average and power, has speed to track down balls in the gap or steal bases, and has the defensive prowess and arm to change a game with a single play or a throw.
As such, it should come as no surprise that Valentine is taking her game to the Division 1 ranks after signing a National Letter of Intent to play at Stony Brook University. She committed to the Seawolves back in August.
“She’s a helluva outfielder. She’s a five-tool player,” Catlin said. “She’s adaptable. That’s my word for her. If you look at Stony Brook, she’s going to a team with players from all over the country, different sizes and heights. This is the cream of the crop she’s about to walk into, but if anybody can do, it’s her.”
Valentine said the connection she felt with the Stony Brook coaching staff and the team was a major reason behind her commitment.
“It was really the coaches, especially (head coach Megan Bryan),” Valentine said. “She welcomed me with open arms and she acts like a mom, she’s so sweet. All the girls were super nice and we connected really well. I mean I’m spending my next four years of my career with them, so I might as well as enjoy them.”
Since she was in eighth grade, however, Valentine wanted to compete at the highest level she could.
“I wanted to play Division 1,” she said. “That was my ultimate goal.”
Playing center field for a D1 school was a few years away back then.
After all, Valentine was taller than most of her teammates when she was younger.
“I’m on the taller side so they just said I looked like a first baseman,” she said.
Even with her height, however, Valentine could fly.
“I’m pretty fast and I get good reads on the ball,” she said.
Her awareness of the game makes her even more special a player, according to Catlin.
“She’s always making the appropriate decision,” Catlin said. “She’s got great instincts.”
Catlin said Valentine has the greenlight every time she gets on base, too.
She played multiple sports when she was younger, but softball quickly became her favorite sport.
“My dad got me into everything,” she said. “He played baseball and loved it so he taught me softball in like fifth grade and he was my coach and I loved that bond with him. I just knew I wanted to do this. I just had fun with everybody.”
After learning the game in the Bristol Little League ranks, Valentine began her travel journey.
She played for the CT Titans through her first year of 16U ball before switching to the Rhode Island Thunder Gold.
“They really focused on all the little things you had to do to get better,” Valentine said of her RI Thunder experience. “They teach you a lot about staying ahead of what is happening and they hold you accountable for everything.”
Before Stony Brook, though, Valentine has one more year left with her Bristol Eastern program and she’s hoping for the best.
“We have a really good group of girls and we’re all close,” she said. “We all understand the mentality that we want. We want to win CCC’s and at least make a good run in states.”
Valentine also has 91 career hits and is excited to surpass the 100-hit milestone in her career.
“We’ve moved her around,” Catlin said. “Her freshman year, we were stacked so she hit seventh, but the last few years she was our No. 3 hitter. We’ll move her lead-off this season. A walk is a triple at this point and she gets on base (60 percent of the time).”
Valentine hopes to major in business management at Stony Brook.
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