When Anne Wallace was in sixth grade, on any given day her parents were likely driving her around Cache Valley to some type of game or practice, whether it was softball, soccer or basketball. The runaround was all pretty fun for Wallace, who liked them all and was good at all three.
Her parents had a different opinion.
“At one point my parents said I need to dumb it down a bit,” said Wallace.
Soccer was the first to go in the seventh grade, and then basketball season was cut short as well in seventh grade because of COVID-19. Softball naturally became the center of Wallace’s attention.
It proved to be a very smart decision.
Fast-forward six years and Wallace graduated from Ridgeline High School as the state’s all-time record holder in home runs and RBI. She’s a two-time state champ and she’s signed to play for reigning NCAA champion Texas beginning next season.
This from a player who, when she went to her first softball practice at age 10, said she wanted to be a “hitter” when asked what position she wanted to play.
She ended up excelling at hitting, catcher and third base for Ridgeline over the past four years and has been named the 2025 Deseret News Ms. Softball recipient, the 17th in the history of the award.
Despite all the accolades, she never cared much for the spotlight.
“She’s a kid who quietly and humbly goes about it,” said Ridgeline coach Michael Anderson.
When you smash a state-record 27 home runs as a sophomore, though, the spotlight naturally follows — which it uncomfortably did for two more seasons for Wallace.
“It kind of did distract me a little bit, because honestly I’m the type of person who doesn’t like the spotlight on me. I kind of like to see my teammates and their spotlight. So having that spotlight on me for the next two years was kind of hard,” said Wallace, who said she eventually just got used to it.
She finished her career with 62 home runs, 192 RBIs and a career batting average of .453. This season she hit a career-best .516 with 17 home runs and 58 RBIs. It was arguably her best season yet.
Who knows what might’ve happened had COVID-19 never canceled her seventh grade basketball season. Maybe Wallace would’ve become a star on the hardcourt like former teammate Emilee Skinner instead of just a role player who won state titles as a sophomore and junior off the bench.
Then again, maybe the fire wouldn’t have been lit for the grind of softball that she loves so much.
Several months after Wallace belted 27 home runs her sophomore season, she was playing in a summer tournament in Clinton that University of Texas assistant coach Steve Singleton made a special trip for, in order to see Wallace in person.
Thanks to some video sent by the Wallace family, Singleton had already seen her hit and play catcher on his computer screen, but he wanted to see her live.
In Wallace’s first at bat, she crushed a home run 285 feet. Her pop time as a catcher was as good as advertised, too. Meeting Wallace in person, Singleton could see she already had the frame of a college athlete with room to grow, as well.
She didn’t finalize her commitment to Texas for over a year, but she felt it was the perfect spot.
“I love the coaching staff there, they are the type of people to be family on the field and off the field, and being far away from home, I need some type of family,” said Wallace. “That will be great to have the type of coaching staff that will always love you for you and always be there for you outside of softball as well.”
For a player who doesn’t really like the spotlight, she chuckles knowing she couldn’t be going to a worse place than the defending College World Series champs. The spotlight will be there every game next season.
“I’m also very nervous cause that means there’s a target on our back when I get there. I basically have to have fun with it, play at 110%. I want to start my freshman year so my goal is to go in full throttle and take someone’s position,” said Wallace.
Wallace has a pretty good track record of succeeding when she sets her mind to something.
Heading into her sophomore season, she set a goal to break the single-season state record of 22 home runs. There wasn’t really an encore performance the next season, though, as coaches wisened up and pitched around Wallace as much as possible, limiting her to 11 home runs.
All of her offensive numbers dipped notably, but her walks (31) and on-base percentage (.588) increased.
After the frustrating junior season, Wallace decided to shift her mindset in the batter’s box her senior season.
Teams weren’t suddenly going to pitch to her, so she focused on controlling something she could control like batting average over power. She achieved her goal of hitting over .500 with a .516 average, and still found a way to hit from great power with 17 home runs, 10 doubles and 58 RBIs.
She took what pitchers were giving her and drove the ball to all areas of the field. A total of 28 of her 49 hits went for extra bases.
“If it’s time to game up, she figures out a way to do that,” said Anderson.
Wallace had to take on a larger leadership role this season as well, with teammate Brielle Gardiner, last year’s Ms. Softball recipient, missing half the season.
“I think she leads more in her competitiveness and her tenacity than she does through her verbal things. She just sensed it and picked it up,” said Anderson.
This summer, Wallace will be traveling out of state numerous times to play with her travel team, so when she arrives in Austin on Aug. 21 for the start of college life, she’ll be ready to compete for a spot in the lineup for the Longhorns.
Past Deseret News Ms. Softball winners
- 2024 — Brielle Gardiner, Ridgeline
- 2023 — Avery Sapp, Spanish Fork
- 2022 — Kaysen Korth, Riverton
- 2021 — Chloe Borges, Riverton
- 2019 — Huntyr Ava, West
- 2018 — Kapri Toone, Bear River
- 2017 — Cambrie Hazel, Spanish Fork
- 2016 — Breah Ava, West
- 2015 — Kimbri Herring, Stansbury
- 2014 — Janessa Bassett, Stansbury
- 2013 — Tatiana Su’e Su’e, San Juan
- 2012 — Jordan Theurer, Bear River
- 2011 — MaCauley Flint, Roy
- 2010 — Tori Almond, Bingham
- 2009 — Shelbi Tyteca, Viewmont
- 2008 — Tori Almond, Bingham