BILLINGS, Mont. – Adding a second Coloradan to her roster for the 2019-20 academic year, Montana State University Billings softball head coach Jessica Rayman announced the signing of Julia Qualteri on Tuesday.
 
"Julia will be a great asset to the depth of our pitching staff.  We are excited to see her grow into a collegiate level pitcher as she has a solid foundation.  She will be a great fit into our program and what we are looking for in our student-athletes."
 
Qualteri is finishing up her prep career at Ponderosa High School in Parker, Colorado, where she competed in varsity softball for four years and earned four letters. She was named most valuable player on her team two years in a row and was awarded first team all-conference in 2017 and 2018. She led Ponderosa to two state tournament appearances and was captain of the team in 2018.
 
As a junior, Qualteri pitched 96 innings and recorded 97 strikeouts with a 2.60 earned run average. At the plate, she slugged .513 and had 24 runs batted in. In 2018, she pitched 74.0 innings and had 93 strikeouts with a 2.70 ERA. Qualteri hit 12 doubles and slugged .511 with 21 runs driven in.
 
Qualteri is the fourth signing for the MSUB softball team for next year. The 'Jackets are ten games into the 2019 spring season having competed in the Desert Stinger Tournament in Las Vegas and the Courtyard Classic Tournament in St. George, Utah.
 
2019-20 MSUB Softball Recruiting Class

Player	Position	Hometown	College/High School
Shelby Marquardt	Second Base/Outfield	Sparks, NV	Edward C. Reed High School
Rylee Waggoner	Outfield	Aurora, CO	Eaglecrest High School
Marin Penney	Third Base/Utility	Portland, OR	Lake Oswego High School
Julia Qualteri	Pitcher	Parker, CO	Ponderosa High School

 
 
Qualteri on choosing MSUB: "When I got to Montana State Billings for my visit, I fell in love with the beautiful scenery. I practiced with the team and met the coaches. I loved the positive energy of the girls and their passion for the game. I also really appreciated coach Rayman's organization and competitive spirit. I like that MSUB has a variety of majors with smaller class sizes. All around, I loved the school, people, and area. I can't wait to be a Yellowjacket!"
 
Qualteri is an excellent student with a 3.8 high school grade point average. She is undecided on a major at MSU Billings.
 
The 'Jackets have three freshmen hitting in the top three positions in the batting order and have gone 6-4 so far this season. The schedule continues on the road this weekend with doubleheaders against Metropolitan State University of Denver and Colorado School of Mines in Denver, Colorado.