- February 1, 2025
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It has been a tough two years for Matanzas High senior softball pitcher Leah Stevens, but her offer from the University of Florida to play softball for the Gators next year couldn’t have been more serendipitous.
“I am beyond excited,” she said Friday, Jan. 31, one day after announcing her commitment to one of the top college softball programs in the country. “I’ve wanted to go to Florida since I was little.”
Stevens already had been accepted into UF’s University Research Scholars Program. She plans to major in aerospace engineering and hopes to eventually become a rocket scientist.
“I want to go into propulsion and designing rocket systems and things like that,” she said. “The University of Florida is really good with research, so I'll be in some research opportunities and networking that are really amazing. They have a really good aerospace program. I'm really excited because Florida is kind of the epicenter of aerospace. It’s the best of both worlds. It’s everything I wanted in my college experience. I’m going to a great school for softball. It’s a great academic school. It’s close to my parents; they can come to my games. So it's just everything I wanted.”
Her academic opportunity came with no surprise.
“She is a student first,” Matanzas softball coach Sabrina Manhart said. “She is one of the smartest kids on our campus.”
But the softball offer seemed like an impossible dream just five months ago. Stevens missed her sophomore softball season after suffering from a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a type of stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain's venous sinuses which prevents blood from draining out of the brain. Stevens was on blood thinners and blood-clot dissolving medications for over a year. She was told she may not be able to play softball again.
But she returned last year and had an outstanding junior season. While still recovering, she compiled an 11-4 record in the pitching circle with a minuscule 0.87 earned run average and 196 strikeouts in 88.2 innings pitched — she struck out more than two batters per inning.
Their coaches are amazing. The team’s amazing, everyone’s so nice. I’m excited to be around that culture. I thought it was a long shot for me, especially with the delay in my recruiting. Once they were interested. I was like, if they offer me, I'm going there. No doubt, no doubt.
— LEAH STEVENS, on committing to Florida
However, her year out of softball put her behind in the recruiting process. She was supposed to play fall ball for an elite travel team from out of state that would have given her great exposure, Manhart said, but that team disbanded.
“She had to guest play which made it difficult to find her way into big tournaments where the power five schools were recruiting,” Manhart said. “We discussed the possibility of walking on, because with her high academic standing she could probably be accepted to the schools she was interested in on her own.”
But with new NCAA Division I roster limits next year, teams can no longer expand their rosters with walk-ons.
“We kept high hopes, knowing every college needs a good pitcher,” Manhart said.
Manhart spoke to a friend who coaches softball at a major college school up north. She suggested that Leah get her pitch spin rate data from a Rapsodo device that uses radar technology and a camera to track the flight of a ball. She would able to share those numbers with college coaches and get Stevens on the recruiting radar. Manhart had a feeling the numbers would be pretty good.
“Leah throws hard,” Manhart said, “But more so than how hard she throws is how much spin she has on her ball.”
Since Manhart did not have access to the device, she called up Florida softball coach Tim Walton in September just to ask for his Rapsodo rep’s contact information. Walton said the Gators were hosting a camp that weekend and if Stevens attended they would test her there. He added, “No pressure, but we haven’t signed a 2025 pitcher yet.”
After the camp, UF’s coaches watched Stevens pitch in a big tournament. Then they invited her to another camp in January where she would see better hitters. By the end of the month, she received the offer.
“At every point, Leah handled the pressure, knowing this was her big shot,” Manhart said.
It turned out that Stevens’ spin rate was comparable to the Gators’ top pitcher, Keagan Rothrock, who was the 2024 Southeastern Conference freshman of the year and the nation's leader in wins, complete games and innings pitched.
Stevens' interest in UF goes back several years. She first attended a Gators softball camp when she was 12 years old after her family moved to Palm Coast from Virginia.
“My dad’s from Florida, and he’s a big fan of their football team,” she said. “So when we moved down to Florida when I was in middle school, I was like, I really want to go to their camp because they have a really good softball team. I've just always admired how amazing their team is. They just have a great culture. Their coaches are amazing. The team’s amazing, everyone’s so nice. I’m excited to be around that culture. I thought it was a long shot for me, especially with the delay in my recruiting. Once they were interested. I was like, if they offer me, I'm going there. No doubt, no doubt.”
Stevens said effects from her ailment are behind her and she’s back to feeling like her old self.
“I’m feeling great now,” she said. “I’m back to normal and I’m excited for this season.”
“I'm so happy for Leah,” Manhart said. “She is going to thrive under (the Gators’) coaching and be surrounded by like-minded students in her academic arena as well. I'm so thankful it all worked out because she is a special person and player, and her amazing journey will continue.”
