The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
2023 Softball Roster
Roster
Alyssa Popelka
- Position:
- OF
- Height:
- 5-6
- Class:
- Junior
- High School:
- Westwood
- Hometown:
- Austin, Texas
- Major:
- Physical Culture & Sports
2023
Pushed her career games played mark to 161 after making 50 total appearances for the Longhorns throughout the 2023 season ... was one of three different Texas softball student-athletes to make at least one start at each of the outfield positions: left field (24), center field (6) and right field (1) ... slashed .361/.403/.361 in 72 official plate appearances to go along with 29 runs scored and nine stolen bases ... finished the season with a .974 fielding percentage in 39 defensive opportunities ... had at least one hit in 23 different games played ... turned in a season-high three hits in three at bats at Iowa State (4/8) ... opened the 2023 season with at least one hit in 10 of her first 12 games, including a two-hit contest against Virginia Tech (2/25) ... was credited with one hit in each of Texas' regional wins over Seton Hall (5/19) and Texas A&M (5/20 & 5/21) ... recorded her lone outfield assist in the Longhorns' first game at Tennessee (5/26) in the NCAA Knoxville Super Regional ... hit .400 (8-20) when leading off an inning ... batted .395 (15-38) with runners on base ... finished the season with a successful advancing runners rate of .550 (22-40) ... three of her five runs batted in (RBI) came with two outs ... scored a season-high three runs against Omaha (2/18) ... scored at least one run in nine of the Longhorns' last 13 games ...
2022
Played in 64 games with 37 starts, hitting .348 overall with 32 hits, 27 runs scored, two triples, 16 stolen bases, 12 walks and seven runs batted in (RBI) ... posted 10 multi-hit and two multi-RBI performances ... managed at least two hits in six consecutive contests over a stretch from 3/26 - 4/3 ... came off the bench to score single runs during Women's College World Series (WCWS) match-ups against No. 5 UCLA (6/2), No. 6 Oklahoma State (6/6) and No. 1 Oklahoma (6/9) ... singled and crossed the plate during Texas’ NCAA Seattle Regional-opening 6-0 win over Weber State (5/20) ... credited with a RBI on a groundout in the 10-6 triumph at Baylor (5/6) ... batted at a .600 clip (3-for-5) with a walk, two steals and two runs scored during the series sweep at Texas Tech (4/29 - 4/30) ... went 2-for-2 with a tally in the 6-4 victory over Houston (4/20) ... was one of the stars for Texas during its multiple comeback-filled series sweep of Iowa State (4/1 - 4/3) by batting .700 (7-for-10) overall with six runs scored ... posted a 2-for-3 effort with two steals in the 6-5 (8 inn.) loss to Louisiana (3/30) ... hit .500 (4-for-8) during the series sweep at Kansas (3/25 - 3/27) ... went 2-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs in the 7-0, Bevo Classic victory over Drake (3/13) ... knocked in two via a second-inning triple to right center during the 8-2 win at North Texas (3/9) ... led the Longhorns in batting average over the Texas Classic by hitting safely in all five games with a .583 (7-for-12) mark, two multi-hit efforts (versus Tulsa & Texas State), four runs scored and a RBI ... walked twice in the loss to Notre Dame during the final game of the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational (2/20) ...
2020
Earned playing time in 20 games for the Longhorns, batting .500 (2-for-4) with 12 runs scored, six stolen bases and two runs batted in (RBI) ... walked and scored twice as Texas blasted past Texas Southern (3/7), 13-5 (6 inn.) ... came off the bench to score the eventual game-winning run during the 2-1 victory over No. 10 Louisiana (2/25) ... was 1-for-1 with a RBI single in the 12-0 (5 inn.) win over Lipscomb (2/21) ... crossed the plate during the second inning of the 11-0 (5 inn.) rout of No. 12 Tennessee (2/14) at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico ... picked up her first career hit as part of a 1-for-1 effort with a walk and two runs scored in an 18-2 (5 inn.) thrashing of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2/9) ... managed her first collegiate run and RBI during the 17-0 (5 inn.) rout of Maryland (2/6) ...
Travel Ball
Popelka played travel ball with the Wildthings, Texas Stix & Texas Premier Fastpitch Gold (head coach Mark Short) ... she played in the 2019 PGF High School All-American Game and participated in PGF Premier Nationals, ASA/USA Gold Nationals, WFC Nationals, the TCS Texas State championship and the TCS SW Summer Nationals ...
High School
Another local product out of Westwood (TX) High School, Popelka is coming off a senior campaign that saw her hit .495 with 33 runs scored, five extra-base hits, 12 runs batted in (RBI) and 26 stolen bases on the way to earning Austin American-Statesman All-Centex First Team, All-District 13-6A First Team and Westwood H.S. MVP honors ... as a junior Popelka batted .592 overall with 45 hits, 29 runs scored, nine extra-base hits and 30 stolen bases in being tabbed as TXSWA All-State 6A Third Team, Austin American-Statesman All-Centex Second Team, All-District 13-6A First Team and Co-Offensive Player of the Year ... as a freshman, she was chosen TXSWA All-State 6A Honorable Mention, second team Austin American-Statesman All-Centex and first team All-District 13-6A after hitting at a .342 clip with 27 hits, 26 runs, 28 steals and a .453 on-base percentage (OBP) ...
Personal
Daughter of Drew Popelka and Jennifer Smith ... has two siblings, Haley and Dakota ... was a multi-time Academic All-District 13-6A choice, a National Honor Society member and earned numerous Westwood H.S. 4.0 Academic Awards ...
