Mary Iakopo

Personal: Iakopo currently serves as the director of player development for the Arizona State softball team. She is the daughter of Falaniko and Lori Iakopo. Iakopo considers her travel ball coach, Tony Rico, to be a significant influence in her life and credits him for helping shape her development both on and off the field. She also names her father, Falaniko, as one of her idols, admiring his strong work ethic and the sacrifices he has made for their family. One of the moments Iakopo describes as feeling truly starstruck was during her sophomore year at Texas, when she received a message on social media from former NCAA home run queen Lauren Chamberlain. Among her proudest accomplishments is being the first girl in her family to graduate from both high school and college. In her free time, Iakopo enjoys being outdoors and taking walks with her two dogs, Cinco and Saint.

2022 Championship Season: Iakopo was one of 13 players selected in the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball College Draft. 

Other Professional Experience: Iakopo was the No. 3 overall selection by Smash It Sports Vipers in the 2022 Women’s Professional Fastpitch Draft. She competed for Smash It Sports Vipers during the 2022 and 2023 WPF campaigns. 

International Experience: Iakopo guided Team USA to a Gold medal at the 2017 WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship by hitting .500 with three hits and three runs batted in. She also participated in the World Cup of Softball XII.  

College Experience: Iakopo was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Texas following a standout freshman season at Oregon. Over the course of her collegiate career, Iakopo started 266 of 273 total games and compiled a .333 career batting average. She recorded 244 hits, including 41 doubles, four triples, and 50 home runs, while driving in 208 runs. At Texas, Iakopo was a three-time All-Big 12 Conference performer and earned a starting role in every game during her final three seasons. She played a pivotal role in guiding the Longhorns to the NCAA Women’s College World Series in 2022. She earned First-Team All-Big 12 honors in both 2021 and 2022 after being named to the Second Team in 2019. Iakopo was also a member of the NFCA All-Region First Team in 2019 and collected Second-Team honors in both 2021 and 2022. During her time with the Longhorns, Iakopo posted a .341 batting average over 212 games and recorded 196 hits. She ranks third in Texas program history with 43 home runs and 12 sacrifice flies. Her 171 career RBIs place her second on the school’s all-time list, as does her total of 19 times being hit by a pitch. Iakopo led Texas in home runs in both 2019 and 2021, and paced the team in RBIs three times, including a career-best 58 runs batted in during the 2022 season. In 2021, Iakopo hit a career-high 16 home runs—tied for the third-highest single-season mark in Texas history—and posted a 15-game hitting streak from March 12 to April 2. That season, she started all 56 games, batting .322 with a .658 slugging percentage, and finished second on the team in both RBIs (45) and total bases (102). As a fifth-year senior in 2022, Iakopo continued to be a key offensive contributor, ranking third on the team with a .335 batting average and second with 11 home runs. She led the team in RBIs with 58, drove in multiple runs in 16 games, and tallied 17 multi-hit performances. She also produced a 13-game hitting streak and drove in at least one run in seven straight games from April 29 to May 12, tying the second-longest streak in Longhorn history. In the shortened 2020 season, Iakopo started all 27 games and led the team with 25 RBIs, batting .361 with five doubles and four home runs. As a sophomore in 2019, she led the Longhorns with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs, while ranking ninth in the Big 12 in both categories. That season, she posted a .356 batting average with 57 hits, 29 walks, and 95 total bases over 61 appearances. Iakopo began her collegiate career at Oregon in 2018, where she was named a Top 25 Finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year. She batted .306 across 62 games, recording 49 hits—including 10 doubles and eight home runs—and scored 28 runs. She earned Second-Team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors during her lone season with the Ducks.