All-American Arianna Rodi on playing for South Carolina: 'A dream come true'

The chance to continue to play for her former head coach while competing in the SEC? Simply too much for All-American Arianna Rodi to turn down.

Shortly after former Charlotte head softball coach Ashley Chastain was named the new head coach at South Carolina, her star player entered the transfer portal.

After a visit to Columbia to take an in-depth look at the program, Rodi announced a commitment to the Gamecocks last week before signing with the program on Wednesday.

“The two main factors that led me to choosing South Carolina were the coaches and the level of competition,” Rodi told GamecockCentral. “Having the entire coaching staff coming along made the transition a lot easier. It allowed me to take a step back and relax a little throughout the whole process. I trust this staff wholeheartedly and I would run through a brick wall for each and every one of them. The competitive nature of the SEC is something that I have always wanted to experience. It’s the best conference for softball and a dream come true.”

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Rodi, listed as a “utility” player by South Carolina, gives Chastain and the new staff an instant impact bat in the lineup as they look to move the Gamecocks up in the pecking order in the ruthless SEC, the top conference in softball.

Rodi, a Cranston, R.I. native, was a Softball America First Team All-American as a first baseman this past season after she hit .353 and slugged .788 with 22 home runs and 55 RBI with the 49ers.

The Oklahoman ranked Rodi as the No. 3 overall prospect in the transfer portal.

The rising junior’s totals were the second-most RBI, fourth-best slugging, and fourth-best on-base percentage in school history.

After excelling under the tutelage of Chastain and her staff at Charlotte for two seasons, Rodi couldn’t see herself playing for anyone else.

“It means so much to be able to play for Coach Ashley for another two years,” she said. “Her and the entire staff have placed so much trust and confidence into myself as a player and a person over the last two years. From the moment they took a chance on me my junior year of high school, I knew that playing for Coach Ashley was the best decision for myself and that I would do everything possible to play all my collegiate career for her. The people mean more than anything to me, and having these people with me for this next chapter makes me so happy and alleviates a lot of nerves starting at a new place.”

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Also helping alleviate those nerves is that Rodi will be joined by several other former teammates in Columbia.

Catcher Lexi Winters and right-handed pitcher Sam Gress, also former Charlotte standouts, committed to South Carolina a couple of weeks ago. Earlier this week, rising sophomore right-handed pitcher Kadie Becker joined the Charlotte to Columbia pipeline.

“It means the world to be able to play with them again,” Rodi said. “… At Charlotte, all of us were so close because of the culture that Coach Ashley instilled. Being very close off the field made the chemistry on the field so much better and I believe it led to a lot of the success we had.”

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