Between her 2021 NESCAC Rookie of the Year award, two Rawlings Gold Gloves and now a top 30 honoree for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, Tufts graduate student Sophia DiCocco’s resume seems to grow limitlessly as she enters her fifth year as a Jumbo.
Regardless of what statistics you believe define a player’s talent, DiCocco has been undeniably dominant since her arrival to Medford. Posting a career 1.03 ERA, her accolades on the field are just the tip of the iceberg for this superstar athlete.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award highlights athletes that have showcased excellence both on and off the field. As much as DiCocco has displayed dominance on the mound, she has also been a stellar student and an uplifting member of local communities through the duration of her college career.
“Balancing a sport like softball with my academics was definitely a challenge at first, but I think it’s been key to my growth here at Tufts,” DiCocco wrote in an email to the Daily. DiCocco studies international relations, entrepreneurship and Italian, all while competing multiple times a week, sometimes hours away from the classroom.
Outside of playing softball, DiCocco has organized and led softball camps, seeking to uplift sporting opportunities for women. She has also volunteered for causes including the Borgen Project, which looks to reduce global poverty and aid in international affairs funding. To add to those noble acts, she has also worked as a horse caretaker for abandoned and abused horses in her home state of Connecticut.
“I’ve always pushed myself to keep raising the bar, both in the classroom and on the field,” DiCocco wrote, and the results speak for themselves. She graduated summa cum laude this year, and is a back-to-back Rawlings Gold Glove winner. Although she has always been an incredible ballplayer, she hasn’t taken anything for granted.
As an audience, it’s far too easy to focus on the outcome, but a battle is won or lost long before one sets foot onto the field. DiCocco wrote that she has “developed so much as a player” through her long hours of hard work. “The lessons from the field — like discipline, resilience, and focus — are things I’ll take with me long after I leave Tufts,” she wrote.
The traits that forged her as a person and athlete have taken the Tufts softball team all the way to the Division III NCAA tournament, a journey that DiCocco looks back on fondly. “[An] unforgettable moment was beating Salisbury in the Super Regionals,” DiCocco wrote. In that tournament, the Jumbos defeated one of the top teams in the nation to earn a spot in the College World Series.
When asked about her Gold Gloves, she wrote, “I take a lot of pride in my defense … receiving an actual Gold Gloves from Rawlings was insane … to actually earn one feels surreal.”
Hours devoted to her team, pursuing her academics to the fullest and giving back to the community have all earned her a trip to Nashville, Tenn., where the convention for the NCAA Woman of the Year award will be held from Jan. 14–17, 2025.
When asked how it felt to receive the honor and a trip to Nashville, she responded, “I’m really honored and grateful for this moment, to be recognized with this elite group of women who have distinguished themselves throughout their college careers.” And DiCocco is deservedly and undoubtedly one of those elite women.
By looking at her achievements, it may seem all too obvious that DiCocco would be up to receiving such an award, but when asked whether she expected this to come her way, she responded, “Not at all – I was completely caught off guard!”
Although the award is meaningful to her, it’s never been her end goal. “You put in the work because you love it and you’re committed to your goals, but you don’t necessarily expect this kind of outcome,” DiCocco wrote. That intrinsic motivation has allowed her to do so much in such a short time, and that is what will continue to drive her towards taking care of any unfinished business she has this season.
In her fifth and final year, DiCocco has her eyes on the most highly sought-after prize in the sport: a national championship.
After beating Salisbury in the Super Regionals, Tufts fought valiantly in the World Series, before falling to Belhaven University, the team that ended up coming second in the tournament.
Now a seasoned veteran, DiCocco wrote that “Leadership is about being there for others, communicating well, and putting the team before yourself.” Her implementation of those skills as a leader will hopefully take the team even further this year, giving them a chance to bring home the ultimate team accolade.
DiCocco has a busy year ahead of her. Kicking off the year with the NCAA Woman of the Year Award convention in Nashville, she’ll look to finish her season with a dogpile of teammates in Bloomington, Ill. at the 2025 Division III Softball World Series.
Using her extra year of eligibility, she’s going to make one final push to bring a national championship to Medford. Sophia DiCocco will leave quite a legacy at Tufts University, and she will surely face whatever lies ahead in life fearlessly and head on.
