GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The youngest of five children, Jocelyn Erickson gravitated towards softball simply because her older sisters played. Both Emilee and Kaylee were catchers, so Jocey had to catch as well. The only issue, she’s left-handed. It’s strange to see a left-handed catcher in softball or baseball. The general consensus for years has been that it’s less advantageous for a left-handed catcher to make throws to second and tags at the plate, so if you’re left-handed you’d play in the outfield or first base.
Erickson wasn’t interested in the outfield or first base. So her father, David, who played baseball at BYU set out to find a left-handed catcher’s mitt.
“My dad was my catching coach and he wasn’t even a catcher. He was basically just like a YouTube videos and we would see different things and we would find what works for us,” Erickson told Florida Victorious. “As I grew up, I kind of just found my own style and what worked for me because obviously as a lefty, like you have to do things differently.”
She certainly figured things out. Erickson was named the TUCCI/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Player of the Year in 2024. She turned in one of the best individual performances as a catcher at UF in program history, setting the program’s new single-season record for RBI with 86. Erickson finished her first year with the Gators batting .382 (73-for-191), with 15 doubles, 15 home runs, 50 runs scored and 50 walks in addition to being 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts.
Erickson will lead the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators as they look to make a repeat trip to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series. Florida returns seven players from a team that went 54-17 and won eight of their 10 postseason games. They return Erickson, Korbe Otis (first-team All-American), centerfielder Kendra Falby (first-team All-SEC and ’24 Gold Glove recipient), infielder/slugger Reagan Walsh (first-team All-SEC), and workhorse pitcher Keagan Rothrock (SEC Freshman of the Year).
One on One interview with Tim Walton
Projected Opening Day Lineup
1 Kendra Falby CF
2 Taylor Shumaker RF
3 Korbe Otis LF
4 Jocelyn Erickson C
5 Reagan Walsh 1B
6 Kenleigh Cahalan 3B
7 Ava Brown DP
8 Mia Williams 2B
9 Rylee Holtorf SS
P Keagan Rothrock