Selected to USA U-15 team, Melody Soto sets standard for softball in Rio Grande Valley

Edcouch-Elsa freshman is believed to be the first high school softball player from the RGV to be named to a USA team

Edcouch-Elsa freshman Melody Soto is the first high school softball player from the Rio Grande Valley to be named to a USA team. / Photo courtesy of USA Softball

It started with a misunderstanding.

Two weeks ago, while anxiously awaiting whether she had been selected for the USA U-15 women’s national team, Edcouch-Elsa freshman Melody Soto received a note that was initially disappointing.

“We’d gotten a message that everybody had received, and it came off the wrong way,” Soto recalled. “It was like, hey, you didn’t make the team.”

Soto’s mother, Julia, was upset, practically heartbroken. Soto herself was perplexed, almost in shock.

Until noon.

“Then I found out I made the team,” Soto said.

While it was ultimately a thrill, there was relief as well. This was something the 14-year-old had worked almost all her young life for. A goal she tirelessly aspired to, bypassing the typical life of a teenager for hours upon hours upon hours on the field, in batting cages or going to and from tournaments all around the country in an effort to establish her name and game.

Soto, who turns 15 in March, is believed to be the first high school softball player from the Rio Grande Valley, a four-county south Texas region of more than 1.3 million people, to make the USA team.

“It means a lot to make my community, my family and a bunch of my friends proud,” Soto said. “I think it’s only going to set my standard higher.”

Soto will represent the Valley for the United States’ junior women’s national team on an international stage, competing in events hosted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, including the U-15 American Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico, in March, and the U-18 World Cup finals later this year.

Being selected places Soto on track to earn a spot on the USA women’s national team.

“I’m excited to see how it is,” Soto said. “I’m expecting exposure as a player, and experience. I’m excited to go overseas (for the World Cup finals) because I’ve never been.”

Soto made the USA U-15 team as an outfielder, one of four Texans named to the 16-player squad.

“In the softball community, it’s a really huge accomplishment,” Edcouch-Elsa coach Stephanie Garza said. “I’m hoping because Mel opened that door in the Valley, other people are able to do the same. And because she is so humble, I think she can help other kids that have that goal to reach that.

“It’s cool that a 14-year-old can be a role model, especially in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Soto will play shortstop and pitch this year for Garza’s varsity Yellowjackets.

“Honestly, I think it will be easy for her,” Garza said. “I’m not worried about it because her skill level is so advanced. Her softball maturity and knowledge is advanced. It’s not going to be trouble for her fitting in.”

Garza, in her third year as a head coach, would know. She was a first-team all-state pitcher at Mercedes High—interestingly enough, Edcouch-Elsa’s longtime heated rival—and played NCAA Division I ball at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Garza first learned of Soto two years ago, when Soto led IDEA Elsa to the state championship.

“I was told there was a pitcher there that was absolutely amazing,” Garza said.

When she watched Soto for herself on the field late last semester, Garza saw why.

“She carried herself very well,” Garza said. “She was very competitive, and you could see she was very dedicated with what she was doing.”

Soto’s defensive range stands out most of all. She seemingly gets to any and every ball hit her direction with ease.

“Insane,” Garza said.

Soto was clocked throwing 65 mph at USA workouts in Florida last month. And Garza said Soto is unmatched as a hitter at her age.

“She has a strong will,” Garza said. “Her ability to adjust to a pitch and the aggressiveness on the plate is very mature.”

Much of that is due to Soto’s mental makeup, which belies her years.

“You don’t ever say, ‘I hope I’m going to hit the ball.’ It’s ‘I’m going to hit the ball,’” Soto said. “From there, you learn to adjust to where the pitch is thrown.”

Soto is a switch hitter, a skill she learned when she was 10 years old. From the right side of the plate, her preferred side, she is a dominant power slugger. From the left side, while she can also hit with power, Soto’s slap hitting is better and she is more of a threat with runners on base.

Edcouch-Elsa freshman Melody Soto was honored by her school last week for being selected to the USA U-15 Women's National Team. / Photo courtesy of Edcouch-Elsa ISD

Soto started playing softball when she was 3 years old. Her family has home videos of her pitching as a 6-year-old.

She plans to also play basketball, volleyball and run track (the 100-meter dash, and 4x1 and 4x2 relays) in high school.

But softball long ago stole Soto’s heart. She dreams of one day pitching or playing shortstop for the University of Texas or Texas A&M.

“Being under the pressure, knowing I can help my team and things will be OK, no matter what happens … one play is not going to define you,” Soto said.

Soto’s love of the game is fostered by Julia, who played softball at La Villa High, seven minutes from Edcouch-Elsa’s campus. While Soto’s father often stays home to work, Julia drives her daughter from tournament to tournament, which has included stops in Florida, Alabama, Colorado, California, Houston, Mississippi, Tennessee and Indiana.

“All over the country,” said Soto, who plays for a prominent travel ball club in College Station.

Soto’s drive also comes from Julia. It’s Julia who chastises Soto if she feels she’s not working hard enough.

“They’re catching up to you!” Julia will implore to her daughter of her peers.

Soto’s mental aptitude for the game comes in large part from Garza, even though they’ve only worked together a few months.

“With Coach, if you’re the best, you’re going to play,” Soto said. “She’s teaching me how to be a leader, even as a freshman, and she tells me she expects more out of me. She knows what I’m about to see and go through. Her building my mentality will only make me stronger.”

Soto is humble.

“There’s always somebody better,” she said. “Talent can only get you so far.”

And she embraces being someone others look up to. Not only because she is the first to be invited to represent her country. But also by being a freshman on varsity, the hope for any junior high or middle school athlete.

“It’s going to set an example for the upcoming eighth graders,” Soto said. “Like, ‘Hey, Mel did it. I can do it.’ It’s not impossible.”

Soto makes it all look easy. The game, the work, the newfound media attention. Her rapidly rising profile.

She's taken it all in stride, not quite overwhelmed or unsure by it all.

Garza wants to keep it that way.

“She’s a very young kid,” Garza said. “My job as her high school coach right now is to make sure she’s adjusting to things quick enough, mentally, and that the spotlight and things like that are not something she needs to worry about. I told her my job is to protect her so that nobody is putting too much pressure on her and she’s here to have fun.

“It’s such a cool experience to be able to see a kid so happy about a goal she accomplished.”