By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
TURNER, Ore.– It seemed to be a tough moment to imagine for Cassidy Crabtree as she signed her Letter of Intent to play College Softball at Southern Oregon University on Wednesday afternoon.
Two years ago, she was on the mend from an ACL injury that sidelined her for much of her sophomore season.
But she then came back stronger than ever for her Junior season as Crabtree helped the Cougars go 24-3 overall and reach the 4A State Playoffs in 2024.
“No I didn’t think it was going to be my path, my future, but here we are. It was definitely changing for me and I’m glad it happened because I know I can get through it and get through anything really,” Crabtree said of the moment on Wednesday.
Crabtree joins a Raiders squad that has won NAIA National Titles in 2019, 2021, 2023 and this past Spring in 2025. Their latest title saw SOU wheel off seven-straight elimination game victories to bring home their fourth title. Speaking to the strength of their conference, the Cascade Collegiate Conference, two of their four title victories saw the Raiders defeat rival OIT from nearby Klamath Falls to win the National Bracket. Not to mention the league is catching up to both SOU and the Owls in recent years, a fun possibility for Crabtree as she joins the squad next school year.
“I’m super excited to play at the next level and have good competition and other good players that are going to push me and make me want to get better,” said Crabtree.
As for now, with her final season ahead of her in softball at Cascade High School, she’s hoping to fine tune the finer things offensively before she graduates.
“Offensively, just work on my on-base percentage and being smart and reading defenses and stuff like that,” said Crabtree.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
