Student-Athlete Spotlight: Aubrynn Arcement 

Image Courtesy of Aubrynn Arcement

By Sam Bergstrom 

Babe Ruth, Shohei Ohtani, and Aubrynn Arcement. What do all three of these players have in common? They are all known for their poised pitching and superb slugging as two-way ballplayers. 

For those who don’t know Aubrynn, she is a senior Architecture major from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is also a right-handed pitcher and third baseman for the Catholic softball team. Notably, she is a 2x Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Week and a 2024 All-Landmark Conference First Team Selection. Earlier this week, Aubrynn was kind enough to chat about her student-athlete experience here at Catholic University. 

Aubrynn’s hometown of New Orleans is no stranger to softball sagas. Growing up, she and her friends played the game with great joy in the Louisiana sunlight. In fact, Aubrynn played almost every position on the field during her childhood. After her high school career came to a close, she came to Catholic with a mission to dedicate four more steadfast years to the sport. 

For her collegiate career in the circle, Aubrynn has pitched a 35-19 record, 1.90 ERA, and surrendered just one home run. At the dish, she has delivered a .309 average, an .866 OPS, 40 RBI’s, and 26 extra base-hits. In the field playing third base, she has piled up 32 putouts and 177 assists. 

With these versatile stats, I asked Aubrynn how she is able to balance the two-way player lifestyle so well. “I think pitching-wise, I’ve always been pretty confident when I’m on the mound. So, I’m not really anxious about, like, my performance ever. So, when I’m able to do other things like hit and field, I kind of, like, get excited.” Additionally, Aubrynn feels that her at-bats push her to perform well when she steps into the circle. “It definitely helps, because if I strike out, then it’s, like, I mean, I have a chance to strike someone else out, so it’s, like, evening the playing field.”

In 2023, Aubrynn set a Catholic program record for the lowest ERA in a single softball season with 1.47. Above all, she believes this premium pitching is propelled by the elite defense behind her. “I mean, our fielding, like, especially with, like, people that I genuinely consider my family. Sam [Grillo], Katie [Scolese], Katie McHugh, Kerri [Hatcliffe], like, specifically the infield that backs me up… I mean, they make some ridiculous plays, so I think that they definitely are a big contribution to my ERA being so low.”

For the past few years, Aubrynn has gotten pumped up at the plate with her walk-up song, “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” by Lil Wayne. “I always choose a Lil Wayne song, because he’s from New Orleans, and I like to represent. And then also, like, my dad comes to probably every game possible,” she said. “Considering, like, since he’s so far away, he’s just been such a big part of, like, my softball career in general…It’s kind of an ode to him, but, like, in a funny way.”

While “Stuntin’ On My Daddy” gives off a pompous vibe, Aubrynn is as humble a human as you’ll ever meet. She will always celebrate her teammates’ success over her own, even after serving up complete game shutouts. Aubrynn credits this selfless trait to her mother, whom she looks up to for maintaining a modest mentality. 

Off the field, Aubrynn has developed an adamant identity as an orientation advisor. Since her sophomore year, she has found a fulfilling role in helping freshmen at CUA navigate their first few weeks at college. “I love orientation so much. It’s a really big part of me, honestly. And I feel like it defines me as much as honestly softball does,” she expressed. “We’re basically a team, and it’s, like, also helping younger people find a way, like, being their first friend. Even if they don’t talk to you as much anymore and stuff like that, you were important in that moment, and, like, you really helped someone out, so… Stuff like that.”

At CUA, the Crough Center is notorious for holding architecture students captive for challenging projects. Aubrynn admittedly opened up about the hardships of balancing architecture with athletics. “To be quite frank, I would say it’s extremely hard…especially, like, with our practice times, and, like, just the way, like, the standard that our coach holds us to, to be able to balance both, is very challenging,” she acknowledged. “When you have, like, your final presentations, like, you can’t change the times and stuff like that.
You can’t really ask to go first. It’s like whatever they put out, it’s what they put out. So, like, balancing both of those is really difficult.”

Despite her strenuous schedule, Aubrynn appreciates how much architecture has helped her through her academic adventure. “I didn’t expect architecture to be what it was, I guess. Now, doing the four years, I feel like I definitely want to explore interior design or interior architecture. I feel like it’s just what I’m best at,” she explained. “It’s changed the way that I look at space, like, in general. 
So, like, even when I walk into a building, like, it affects the way that, like, I’m even enjoying the space. So I enjoy it, even though it’s hard.”

At the conclusion of our interview, I inquired about one of Aubrynn’s most memorable moments as a Cardinal. On April 26, Catholic defeated Wilkes 6-2 during their Senior Day celebration. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Aubrynn launched a solo home run to left field to put Catholic up 3-2. As it turned out, this would be her final career at-bat at Catholic Softball Field. 

Without question, this storybook senior day slam satisfied Aubrynn’s Cardinal soul. 

“Honestly, we really needed that. I did not want to lose to Wilkes. Yeah, it was awesome. I mean, I was just so excited that I did that for my team, honestly. Yeah, there’s no better words. I mean, my grandparents were there to see it. My dad was there to see it. My whole family was there to see it, friends, family, everyone, so it was just, like, an energy that, like, honestly, I don’t feel like I’m gonna feel again, ’cause, like, being in that situation was just, like, so full of love.”

When Aubrynn arrived at Catholic, she excitedly felt that she had found a new home. As the years have flown by, she has become attached to the Cardinal community in an incredible way. If she could tell her freshman self one thing, she would make it short and sweet—that is, “I’m gonna love it here even more than I already did.” 
Throughout her time at Catholic, Aubrynn has solidified herself in the circle, punished opponents at the plate, and fielded fantastically at third base. More importantly, she’s illustrated amazing leadership here on campus and has been a key role model for many. This has been noted by her recent nomination for the Jone Dowd Role Model Award. We appreciate Aubrynn for the hard work she has put into her time at Catholic, and wish her nothing but the best wherever her next journey takes her.