Penn State Behrend Softball has had a lot of success the last two seasons. They have won back-to-back AMCC titles in my time as a student at Behrend, and that is not by accident. It is easy to see why Behrend Softball has had great success when people see A.J. Nichols on the field. This girl can really play, and her versatility really helps set her apart from many other collegiate players. While A.J. has had tremendous success on the softball field, she also has great success as a student as well, being a double major in accounting and finance. A.J. has found tremendous success at Behrend, and it easy to see why when we talk about how she got to this point.

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A.J. was a 2015 graduate from Shaler High School in Pittsburgh, and much like in college, she found great success both on the field and in the classroom. She was a three year letterwinner in softball, and she was also a WPIAL Champion in her junior season. Her high school team made it to the state playoffs all three years she played; she was an All-Section Catcher as a junior and an All-Section Pitcher as a senior. Her high school academic achievements include Math Honor Society, National Honor Society, and 19 college credits. Commenting on this, A.J. said “Attending private elementary and middle schools truly helped me in the long run more than I realized because of the great student to teacher ratio at those schools.” This truly helped her succeed in mathematics she believes, and it even has shaped her career path as an accounting and finance student.

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One person she believes has made the biggest impact on her life and admires the most is her father Joseph. Joseph, in his own right, was a very talented baseball player, and he spent three years in the minor leagues for the Cincinnati Reds organization, after being drafted out of Central Catholic High School. “He has always been there for anything softball and just for anything I ever needed in general. He has always worked super hard for every opportunity he has gotten,” said A.J. about her father. The apple doesn't fall from the tree it appears, because A.J. is a great talent on the field, and she works just as hard in the classroom.

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A.J. mentioned that Dr. Chuck Brown has been one of her biggest supporters since she came to Behrend. Dr. Brown is an Accounting Professor and a Behrend Athletics Advisor. Nichols and Brown have a great relationship both inside and outside of the classroom, and she says she is someone she strives to be more like. “He always has such a heavy load of work to do, but he always finds a way to get everything done.” In addition to Dr. Brown, Behrend Softball Head Coach Ashley Gruber has been a great mentor to Nichols. She mentioned how she is always there not just for her, but all of her players. “She has made me a significantly better player in my time here at Behrend,” A.J. said. “She has made me a better player while also being very understanding of the workload my majors require.”

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If there were two memories that she treasures the most so far in her Behrend playing career, she said that they would be experiencing Behrend’s first ever NCAA Tournament victory last season against William Paterson, as well as her first collegiate home run against Mount Aloysius. Her favorite part about softball, outside of playing, is taking the trip to Florida for Spring Training each season. She expressed how for just a week, there are no classes and it is just fun to play softball and hang out with all of her teammates and coaches at the beach.

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Some of A.J.’s accomplishments, aside from winning two AMCC titles, include being an AMCC Newcomer of the Year, a two-time All-AMCC Selections, the AMCC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, batting over .400 last season, and NFCA All Region Honors. She finished last season with a .411 batting average, which was good for 63rd in the nation amongst Division III players.

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One last thing that I believe really showcases the kind of player and even the kind of person A.J. is when she told me “...there is truly no success story to tell you if it wasn’t for my coaches making me better and my teammates producing around me too”. Nine players hit over .300 last season for Behrend, and this truly helped her drive in runs and score a lot of runs.

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A.J. Nichols is truly one of the most humble, talented, and hardworking athletes at Penn State Behrend, both on and off the softball field. Her success is only beginning. She will be one of the best players in the AMCC again this season, and she will likely be the ace pitcher on the team. With A.J.’s work ethic and talented team around her, she easily could be on her way to another All-AMCC Selection as well as being a key contributor again for a team that looks to three peat as AMCC Champions.