Villanova softball being picked by the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll to be the Big East frontrunners for the second-straight year was big news. But one month ago, when junior second baseman Lilly St. Jean was ranked the 15th best second basemen in the country, that was major news.
Over the weekend, the Wildcats kicked off their season with a trip to College Station, Texas in a stacked five-game field. Despite only winning two out of the five games, the non-conference tournament served as an early warmup against some of the best teams in the country.
“We kind of do that on purpose,” head coach Bridget Orchard said. “We start out so tough, we’re seeing really big hitters, great pitching. They are humbled really quick and get mentally tough. So, by the time we get to our conference play, the team has learned a lot and knows what it takes to be really good.”
St. Jean was a leader in the infield in Texas, finishing the weekend with a team-high nine assists.
“[St. Jean’s] defense has gotten so much better,” Orchard said. “She played shortstop her freshman year but now she’s a mainstay at second. She’s really taken to that and is willing to do whatever to help the team. Her biggest thing is consistency. She leads by example and is a great role model for the younger players.”
Though she is only a junior, St. Jean has a deeply rooted history with the team, starting with her childhood aspirations to one day be a Wildcat.
“I knew really early on, since I was a little girl, that I wanted to come here,” St. Jean said. “I grew up coming to their games, going to their camps. I really loved the atmosphere of the program and the education I was going to get. I knew I wanted to be around this culture and how the program competes as a whole.”
“[St. Jean] started out when she was young and would just come to camps at Villanova,” Orchard said. “We saw her, and obviously her talent stood out back then. Her love for the game, all of that showed with her ethic and we could see that as early as coming to camp as a kid. As she grew up, she was super versatile, she always hit, she was super athletic and a super competitor. So that’s what stood out to us the most.”
This attention is not surprising considering St. Jean’s standout sophomore year. In 22 of the Wildcats’ conference games last season, she batted .400 with a team-high 11 doubles and 27 runs in conference play.
This dominance resulted in one Big East Player of the Week and one Big East Weekly Honor Roll recognition over the course of the season, and in the end, she was unanimously voted to the All-Big East First team.
“[Being a part of Villanova softball] takes being a part of the competing mindset to really have that grit that it takes to win a Big East Championship,” St. Jean said. “The key is just having one another’s backs. If one person makes a mistake, the other person is picking them up.”
Now, as an upperclassman, St. Jean has newfound expectations of herself — on and off the field.
“I want to definitely improve on being a more vocal leader and setting a good example for the freshmen coming in,” St. Jean said. “I want to be able to help this team now as an upperclassman and going into the Big East.”
As the team prepares to compete in the Big East again, it will continue to challenge itself in non-conference games in Florida and Clemson throughout February and smooth out any issues.
“[St. Jean’s] biggest thing is her work ethic and her competitive mindset,” Orchard said. “She practices all the time. She comes before practice, stays after, puts a lot of time and effort into her game. She loves playing and works hard at it.”
