Fort Myers High alumna Riley Ludlam wins National Championship with Oklahoma softball

Author: Zach Oliveri
Published: Updated:

When the final out was made at the Women’s College World Series, catcher Riley Ludlam and her Oklahoma Sooner teammates dogpiled on the field to start the celebration, after winning the national championship.

“The last four years of my college career I have watched the World Series from my couch,” Ludlam explained. “Now getting to be in it and experience it all and win it even better.”

Riley kept the celebration going when she saw her family on the field, with the emotions of the moment taking over.

“I was fine with the girls I was happy excited,” Ludlam recalled. “I get to my family and I just start absolutely crying. So that was cool. That was I think seeing them after such a big moment like that, it hit me like how many sacrifices they made as I was growing up and I’m so grateful to have them there. But I wouldn’t have made it there without them.”

The celebration with her family even continued off the field too.

“I was dancing with my grandfather on the dance floor,” Ludlam said.

When asked which song the two was dancing to, she responded, “it was Dancing Queen! Haha he had to bring out his 70s 90s moves I don’t know. He was doing a lot of snapping.”

The journey for Ludlam started here in Fort Myers. She was a standout catcher for the Fort Myers High School Green Wave. After spending four years at Furman, she transferred to Oklahoma, the then three-time defending national champions, for her final college season.

“I just wanted to be able to leave that program and say I gave it my all every day,” Ludlam said. “I showed up and worked hard every day. That’s all I wanted out of this season.”

Now Riley hangs up her glove as a national champion.

“It’s weird to think about even playing softball since what since I was 13, 14 and like it’s over but it ended in the best way possible around the best group of people,” Ludlam explained.

Riley’s time in softball isn’t over as she’s returning to Norman to be on the staff, learning analytics from the team’s director of player development.

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