Senior pitcher Sejal Neas almost decided to never put on the Mountaineer uniform. Neas grew up wanting to play basketball and volleyball, until her love for pitching took over.
“I struggled to find my place in softball when I first started, but then when I was like 10, I started pitching and I was like, this is my thing,” Neas said.
Even after discovering her passion for softball, she did not see App State as her future home. Neas grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee, and spent time visiting her family’s cabin in Linville which she said created negative feelings about the area. However, she grew to love it.
“I didn’t wanna come to App State,” Neas said. “It’s too cold, too gross and too rainy. Which is funny because I can’t get away from it now.”
Even with the transfer portal as an option, Neas never considered jumping ship and decided to ride out her four-year collegiate career with the Mountaineers.
“I have a bunch of sisters on the team and I couldn’t imagine myself pitching at another place ever,” Neas said. “App is just a special place with special people.”
Before her time in Boone, she played high school softball at Science Hill High School, where she was a two-way player. Neas’ high school career was full of strikeouts and home runs. However, she would choose to pitch full-time at the next level.
Neas found instant success in her role, despite the initial shock of playing college ball.
“I remember my first Sun Belt game was against ULM, and I was like, ‘OMG, this is no joke,’” Neas said.
The Mountaineers defeated the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 6-3 in 2022. Neas faced 5 batters, striking out 1 and allowing 0 runs, recording the save.
Neas saw action 26 times as a freshman and recorded 40 strikeouts and a 3.01 ERA.
As a sophomore in 2023, Neas recorded her first win against a ranked opponent, beating No. 23 Louisiana 5-3 in Lafayette. The victory came after they lost the first 2 games of the series by a combined score of 12-0.
Neas started the game on the mound and went on to pitch the first 6 innings.
“We’d already lost two games in the series, what the heck do we have to lose? So we just went out and played so free, it was so much fun,” Neas said.
Capitalizing on this win, Neas recorded 59 strikeouts in her sophomore season.
She took a big leap in her junior season, recording 116 strikeouts, the sixth most in program history.
Neas said her philosophy for pitching is very simple: “Just come out acting like you’re the best one out there.”
The confidence both she has and the coaching staff have in her helps Neas to compete at the highest level.
The coaching staff added Alex Ibarra as the pitching coach before the 2025 season. Ibarra and Neas learned to work together throughout the season.
One of the things they worked on was Neas’ development of the rise ball. The rise ball uses backspin, forcing the ball to travel upward, as the name suggests. Neas was predominantly a drop ball pitcher, which uses topspin and causes the ball to fall.
“I think the coolest thing is her development of the rise ball that she had this year,” Ibarra said.
He understands the challenge of trying to develop a new pitch as a senior with a new coach. Despite recording the most strikeouts of her career as a junior, Ibarra still suggested adding it.
Looking back on her development of the pitch, Ibarra applauded her ability to stay focused and conquer the rise ball, adding it to her arsenal.
As Neas’ time on the mound comes to a close, those around her reflect on her time at App State.
“It’s been a pleasure working with Sejal,” Ibarra said. “She had to overcome a lot working with a new pitching coach.”
Ibarra also admires the way Neas carries herself on the mound.
“She’s feisty. I know she wants to win and I know that comes out on the field,” Ibarra said. “She is always looking to get people out as fast as possible, which is really good.”
Neas’ presence is not only felt on the field. Junior pitcher Sophie Moshos transferred to App State at the beginning of the 2025 season and said Neas made her feel welcome.
“She’s definitely been a role model for me on and off the field, and I’ve looked up to her since I’ve gotten here,” Moshos said.
Neas is known to joke around when it is not game time, maintaining a good environment and keeping the bullpen on their toes.
“She cracks a lot of jokes that I just don’t expect,” Ibarra said. “Sometimes that kind of catches me off guard, but she is really funny.”
Moshos couldn’t agree more.
“She keeps things fun and she always makes us laugh,” Moshos said.
Neas will graduate in May with a degree in exercise science. With her time wearing Black and Gold coming to a close, she isn’t taking anything for granted.
“I’m trying to be in the moment, just soak up every single bit of my senior year,” Neas said.
