A handful of former high school softball standouts from this area are playing this spring on college diamonds. 

In NCAA Division I, two locals are members of the Saint Louis University softball squad. 

Waterloo High School graduate Jane Kaniecki and Columbia High School grad Karen Jany are both doing well at the plate in the early going of the 2025 campaign for the Billikins (8-12).

Kaniecki, a senior, is hitting .297 with 13 RBIs and 10 runs in 20 games played for the Billikins (7-8), all of them starts. 

Jany, a sophomore, is hitting .325 with eight runs scored in 18 games (16 starts).

Also playing DI softball is Columbia’s Jaylyn Brister, who is a freshman at Northern Illinois University. She’s played in three games so far at NIU, which is 5-12 on the season.

In NCAA Division II, last year’s pitching standout for Waterloo’s IHSA fourth place state tourney squad is playing at Missouri S&T. Mia Miller is 2-5 with a 3.95 ERA in 12 appearances (seven starts) for the Miners (4-15). She has 27 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched.

A few locals are playing at the NCAA Division III level. 

Ava Khoury of Columbia is a senior who plays first base at Illinois Wesleyan University. She’s hitting .278 in six games for the Titans (4-2).

Another Columbia grad, Kaitlyn Bearley, is a junior at Mississippi College for Women. In eight games (six starts), she’s hitting .235 with two stolen bases for a team that is 8-4 on the young season.

At Greenville University, Gibault grad Melissa Bernal is a senior pitcher this spring. She’s 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in two starts for the Panthers (4-0), having hurled 11 innings. 

Another Gibault grad playing college softball is Emma Steibel. She’s a freshman catcher at Blackburn College, having played in two games for the Beavers (1-3). 

At the NAIA level, Payton Todd of Millstadt is junior infielder at Culver-Stockton College. In 16 games, she has six hits for a squad that is 3-13 on the season. 

One local playing at the junior college level is Valmeyer’s Aspen Schmidt. She’s a member of a Kaskaskia College squad that is off to an 11-5 start this spring. The sophomore pitcher is 4-2 in five starts with a 2.48 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 31 innings. She’s also 1-for-1 at the plate.