With the COVID-19 outbreak forcing the cancelation of all high school spring sports, local seniors were forced to deal with the abrupt reality that their prep careers were over. A group of these student-athletes were members of the Cincinnati Reds RBI program, many of who were also regulars at the P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy over the years. With our Senior Spotlight Series, the Reds want to recognize these players for their efforts and wish them well in their future endeavors, both on and off the field.

For Mercy McAuley graduate Camryn Sillies, the summer between sophomore and junior year of high school proved to be a pivotal time in setting her up her softball future.

• Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy

When Sillies was a sophomore at what was McAuley High School, she didn’t have her sights fully set on softball or any one sport. In fact, she was still a five-sport athlete: soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming and softball. Initially, she struggled to decide which sport to pursue for college but gained some clarity late in her sophomore year after tearing her rotator cuff during the swimming season.

“I realized during recovery that I can’t keep pushing myself so hard and needed to just start focusing on one sport,” she said. “I would get hurt constantly and during this injury, I decided I need to start focusing on college more. Softball was always my most natural and best sport, so I decided it was what I wanted to do.”

During that same spring in 2018, it was announced that McAuley would merge with fellow all-girl Catholic high school Mother of Mercy beginning in the fall. Sillies had spent her first two high school seasons on McAuley’s varsity softball team and with news of the schools joining, she wanted to better her chances of staying on varsity and sought to play for a select team over the summer. She received a tryout with Cincinnati RBI, made the team and immediately felt right at home.

“What I enjoyed most about my RBI experience was the relationships I built with my teammates, coaches and the faculty at the Reds Youth Academy,” Sillies said. “I feel like everyone at RBI truly wants to get to know you and build an authentic and real relationship with you. They are not just there to teach you about softball. They are there to teach you about life, school and help you with anything you need, softball or not.”

Sillies quickly learned that RBI differed from her high school team in many ways. She enjoyed them both but couldn’t help but notice the advantages of playing with her summer team.

“I felt as if they cared so much more to make your swing, throw and anything else you needed help with perfect,” she said. “They made sure it was perfect and even when it was, they would make sure it stayed that way. I also was given so much more one-on-one time with the coaches and that really helped me. I learned that in order to stay good and in shape, you have to constantly work. It’s not like school ball where you work out for a couple months before, play the season and then you’re done. You have to work so much all year round, and you cannot quit or put it off until later.”

With two years of RBI under her belt, Sillies went into her senior year at Mercy McAuley ready to make a mark on her final high school season. It was a real blow when news came through about spring sports being canceled.

“The hardest part was knowing I was not going to be able to have my senior year,” she said. “Whenever someone joins any sport, they play the four years to have that senior season. The season when you are finally the captain, you are finally the one in charge leading the team, you are finally going to have the senior night you have been waiting four years for. But I was able to keep a positive mindset and look forward to the future knowing that I will have another chance at having a senior night and all the senior privileges in college ball.”

The nursing major will get that chance at Mount St. Joseph University, the same school from which three of her siblings graduated. Eager to keep the family tradition going, Sillies is also excited to stay close to home so her family will get to watch her play like they did when she was in high school. She is particularly happy to play in front of her mom.

“She was a softball player when she was younger, and I just am following in her footsteps,” Sillies said. “She showed up to every game and took me anywhere I needed to go. She was always there for me when it got hard and never let me quit. Without her I wouldn’t be where I am today. So everything I do, softball or not, she is always my role model because of her hard work, dedication and the love she pours into everything she does.”