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Sophomore standout earns national recognition for third straight month.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photo By Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy
NASHVILLE – On Monday, Softball America released its first batch of player power rankings ahead of May. The publication recognized its top players at each position group through nearly three months of the season. The release included five two-way players, recognizing the best athletes that both pitch and hit at an elite level. NM State’s Desirae Spearman was ranked the fifth-highest player on the list and finished as one of two stars from mid-major programs. Softball America placed Spearman behind 2025 Aggie opponents Jordy Bahl of Nebraska and Devyn Netz of Arizona in addition to North Florida’s Allison Benning and Ole Miss’ Aliyah Binford.
Spearman has led the Aggies across nearly every offensive category this season, while also pitching 100.1 innings. The second-year standout is coming off a freshman campaign in which she was named Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year by CUSA. In the first three months of 2025, she has already belted 18 home runs and racked up 41 RBIs while hitting .440. In the circle, Spearman is 10-7, tossing eight complete games with a 3.63 ERA and one save.
In their preseason player rankings, Softball America nabbed Spearman as the 83rd-best player in all of Division I. In a similar release, D1 Softball slotted her 64th overall as the fourth-best pitcher/utility star. Through one month of the 2025 campaign, the former publication recognized the Hanks High School product’s remarkable showings with another distinction, tabbing her as the third-best utility player in the country. Last month, the El Paso native was named as the third-best two-way player in the nation behind just Bahl and Netz.
On Sunday, the second-year Aggie earned the start in the circle and tossed a complete-game, two-hit victory. As she held down the Middle Tennessee bats, she also showed out for her offense, notching three hits including a leadoff home run. The Crimson & White prevailed 9-1 in five innings, securing a sweep of the Blue Raiders and vaulting back into fifth place in the league standings with three regular-season contests remaining.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Spearman leads NM State in both batting average (.440) and ERA (3.63), making her the only player in the league atop her team in each statistic.
- The two-way star paces Conference USA in the following categories: home runs (18), OPS (1.591), runs scored (48), slugging percentage (.983), walks drawn (46) and on-base percentage (.608).
- Remarkably, the sophomore has performed at an elite level despite ranking 58th in the league with 116 at-bats.
- This season, only 12 other players in Division I hold more than 18 home runs. Of the dozen such student-athletes, just five are from mid-major programs.
- Spearman is among the nation’s top 15 in seven different statistical categories, ranking third in walks drawn, on-base percentage and walks per game.
- Elsewhere, the El Paso native is seventh in all of Division I with a .983 slugging percentage and sixth in OPS.
- In 2024, Spearman was tied for the team lead with 43 RBIs. This season, she is on pace to surpass that total before the start of the CUSA Championship.
- Similarly, 18 home runs match her total during a true freshman campaign that paced both the team and conference a season ago.
Up next, Spearman will lead the Aggies into the final week of the regular season. NM State is set to visit Kennesaw State this weekend for a three-game series as the Aggies vie to secure a spot in next week’s CUSA Championship. The first-ever clash between the two programs will begin on Friday, May 2 at 4:00 p.m., MT (6:00 p.m. local). The Crimson & White will be the final team to face off with CUSA’s newest member as the Owls (11-39, 2-22) hold their Senior Weekend. All the action will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatesports.com.
For complete coverage of NM State Softball during the 2025 season, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of the Aggies – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Softball), Twitter (@NMStateSoftball) and Instagram (@NMStateSoftball).
