SAN DIEGO – San Diego State softball head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz has signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. The three signees – CeCe Cellura (Glendale Calif./Louisville High School), Julie Holcomb (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos High School), and Christal Lopez (Clovis Calif./Buchanan High School) - join a program that has won a Mountain West-record eight regular-season championships.
Cellura, a dominant pitcher in the greater Southern California area, has excelled in the circle throughout her high school career. Cellura posted a 1.06 ERA in her junior season at Louisville High School, a 0.983 ERA in 2021 and a 2.10 ERA in 2020. During her dominant 2021 season she threw 57 innings, had 99 strikeouts, and only gave up eight earned runs en-route to a first-team all-Mission League selection and a L.A. Daily News Athlete of the Week honor. In that season she also helped lead Louisville High School to a CIF Division 3 quarterfinal appearance.
Head Coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz: "CeCe is the definition of a power pitcher and does an excellent job of keeping the ball down in the zone. The combination of her velocity and movement are special, and I expect her to only get better as she continues to hone her tools."
Holcomb, an outfielder from Los Alamitos California will join the Aztecs after excelling at the high school level in Orange County, California. Ranked No. 33 in the Extra Innings Elite 100 Holcomb hit .398 during the 2022 season. She also helped Los Alamitos High School to a CIF Southern Section Division 1 tournament final in 2022, and in the championship game she went 3-4 for the Griffins. A standout student in the classroom as well, Holcomb accumulated a 4.0 GPA in high school and earned Sunset League All-Academic honors in both 2021 and 2022.
Head Coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz: "Julie is a phenomenal athlete and competitor, and a true triple-threat. She covers a lot of ground in the outfield and has a solid arm. She has all of the tools and knows the game at a high level, and we expect her to make an immediate impact."
Lopez, another standout pitcher, has played and pitched on the varsity squad in all three years of high school to date at Buchanan High School in Clovis, California. During her first three years at Buchanan, she earned first team all-TRAC once and second team all-TRAC once as well. She also earned the team's defensive player of the year in all three years she was eligible to receive the recognition. In the circle, Lopez dominated the greater Fresno area as a junior when she posted a 1.50 ERA with 160 strikeouts, and in the 13 games she started she had eight shutouts. During her sophomore season she posted a 1.87 ERA with 15 wins and also racked up 157 strikeouts that season.
Head Coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz: "Christal is a gritty competitor not only in the circle, but she swings a big bat as well. As a pitcher, she throws with great poise and confidence, and isn't afraid to go head-to-head with any batter. We anticipate her making significant contributions right away."
San Diego State softball enters the 2023 season fresh off a return to postseason play and another NCAA regional appearance in 2022. SDSU finished the 2022 season with a 39-16 record (.709), the second-best record in program history, before falling to No. 8/5 Arizona State, 8-4, in the NCAA Tempe Regional final. San Diego State also captured its league-record eighth MW title with a 20-4 conference record.
The 2023 schedule will be released shortly.