When Canada and Mexico softball played for the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, college softball fans may have recognized a few names.
And some maybe remembered just about all of them. That's because the two teams' 15-player rosters were made up entirely of former NCAA student-athletes. Canada ended up winning, 3-2, to secure the bronze medal. Emma Entzminger drove in a pair of runs in the second and Kelsey Harshman brought in the decisive run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Here's a quick look at the rosters. Note that player information is from here.
Canada roster
| Player | School |
|---|---|
| Jenna Caira | Syracuse |
| Emma Entzminger | San Jose State |
| Larissa Franklin | Western Kentucky |
| Jenny Gilbert | Ball State |
| Sara Groenewegen | Minnesota |
| Kelsey Harshman (Jenkins) | Wisconsin |
| Victoria Hayward | Washington |
| Danielle Lawrie | Washington |
| Joey Lye | Williams |
| Janet Leung | Brown |
| Erika Polidori | Oakland |
| Kaleigh Rafter | Florida State |
| Lauren Regula-Bay | Oklahoma State |
| Jennifer Salling | Washington |
| Natalie Wideman | California University of Pennsylvania |
Going into the game, Canada had four pitchers combining for a 0.20 ERA. That included former Washington star Danielle Lawrie, whose 136 career victories ranks sixth and 1,733 strikeouts rank fourth all-time in Division I. Lawrie also won MOP honors as the 2009 Women's College World Series, where the Huskies won their first national championship.
Lawrie got the win in the bronze medal game, allowing only one hit in 2 1/3 innings.
Mexico roster
| Player | School |
|---|---|
| Stefania Aradillas | San Diego State |
| Suzy Brookshire | Long Beach State, San Jose State, Sacramento State |
| Brittany Cervantes | Kentucky |
| Dallas Escobedo | Arizona State |
| Tatyana Forbes | NC State |
| Chelsea Gonzales | Arizona State |
| Sierra Hyland | Cal Poly |
| Taylor McQuillin | Arizona |
| Nicole Mendes | Oklahoma |
| Danielle O'Toole | Arizona |
| Sashel Palacios | Arizona State |
| Sydney Romero | Oklahoma |
| Amanda Sanchez | LSU |
| Anissa Urtez | Utah |
| Tori Vidales | Texas A&M |
Danielle O'Toole, who played at San Diego State and Arizona, and Dallas Escobedo threw 31 of the 34 1/3 innings in the Olympics before facing Canada for bronze.
At the plate, Anissa Urtez leads with five hits, while two-time national champion Sydney Romero hit her first Olympic home run in a 5-0 win against Italy. Another Sooner on the roster, Nicole Mendes, won the NCAA title with OU this year.
Brookshire made history for Mexico in Tokyo, as the recent Long Beach State standout posted the first hit in Mexican Olympic history in the team's opener — also against Canada.
