Lemont's Rylie Jay Signs to Play College Softball at Western Illinois University

Lemont High School senior shortstop Rylie Jay has signed a National Letter of Intent to play college softball at Western Illinois University beginning in 2016.

Jay is one of the most prolific offensive players in the history of the Lemont softball program, and she undoubtedly will play a significant role for head coach Christine Traina’s Indians in 2015. Over her three varsity seasons, Lemont has posted a 73-28 record, won two South Suburban Conference-Blue Division titles, and captured two IHSA Regional crowns. Jay is a career .500 hitter who has belted 22 home runs, driven in 145 runs, scored 133 runs, and been successful of 51-of-56 stolen base attempts.

Jay already holds school career records in home runs, RBIs, hits (164) and triples (11). She is just two runs scored shy of owning the career record in that category, and is on pace to shatter the school’s record for career batting average (currently .412, by Kimberly Senffner ‘87 from 1984-87).

She has more than twice as many walks (31) as strikeouts (14) in her career, and has struck out in less than four percent of her plate appearances, an astounding rate for a power hitter. She owns an .860 career slugging percentage and has reached base in much more than half of her plate appearances, compiling an on-base percentage of .541.

A three-time All-SSC performer as well as a two-time first-team Illinois Coaches Association Class 3A All-State selection, Jay also has earned All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association during her career.

Jay repeated as an ICA Class 3A All-State honoree as a junior in 2014 after batting .491 with seven home runs, 48 RBIs and a career-best 26 stolen bases. She led the team in RBIs, stolen bases and hits (55) for the third straight season, and set a school single-season record with her 49 runs scored. Jay also was second on the team in batting average, home runs, doubles (12), triples (4), slugging percentage (.857) and on-base percentage (.544). She tied a career high with 13 walks while striking out just twice in 125 plate appearances. The Indians were 23-11 and won an IHSA Regional title.

As a sophomore in 2013, Jay put together arguably the best season-long offensive performance ever by a Lemont softball player, batting .584 with 10 home runs and 51 RBIs. She set a school single-season record in batting average and tied the program’s season record for home runs, which was set by Cindy (Bromberek) Schuit ‘88 in 1988. Jay also fell just short of a school season record with her 59 hits. She led the team in batting average, hits, home runs, RBIs, runs scored (43), doubles (13), stolen bases, slugging percentage (1.050) and on-base percentage (.626).

Jay was rewarded for her efforts that season with a haul of awards that included her being named as an NFCA All-North Region honoree, a second-team NFCA All-America selection, a first-team ICA Class 3A All-State performer, and an All-SSC pick. The Indians went 25-7 in 2013 and won their second straight SSC Blue title. They also captured an IHSA Regional crown and finished as an IHSA Sectional runner-up.

Jay wasted no time moving into the starting line-up as a freshman in 2012, and earned third-team ICA Class 3A All-State and All-SSC accolades in the process. She led the squad in RBIs (46), hits (50) and stolen bases (14), and was second on the team in batting average (.435), runs scored (41), triples (5), home runs (5) and on-base percentage (.459). Lemont went 25-10 and captured its first-ever SSC Blue crown.

Jay’s brother, Tyler, is a 2012 Lemont graduate who is a junior lefthanded pitcher at the University of Illinois. He competed on USA Baseball’s College National Team last summer, and was a second-team All-Big Ten pitcher in 2014.

Jay will play for head coach Holly Van Vlymen at Western Illinois, an NCAA Division I institution located in Macomb, Ill., and a member of the Summit League. Van Vlymen is a three-time league “Coach of the Year” honoree who has guided the Leathernecks to three regular-season Summit League crowns, as well as a Summit League Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008. A standout pitcher who earned All-America accolades at Western Illinois , Van Vlymen’s 204 career wins while coaching her alma mater rank second on the school’s all-time list. The Leathernecks were 19-28-1 and finished sixth in the Summit League in 2014.