She lives on the Viejas Indian reservation in Alpine, Calif. about 45 minutes east of San Diego.

Both her parents are Native American: her mother, Mackenzie, comes from the Penobscot tribe originally from Maine while her father, Greybuck, is from the Kumeyaay tribe.

Her name came to her father about a month before she was born when he approached his wife and said, “I’d like to name her ‘Silent Rain.’”

“It was the perfect name,” the teenager’s mom recalls. “She’s quiet and came to us in a quiet way and the rain part of her name cleanses and refreshes our family.”

And that’s how Silent Rain Espinoza received one of the most beautiful names you’ll ever hear.

She’s also one of the top softball players in the 2018 class, but more on that in a minute.

As a child, Silent Rain sang Native American songs and “has done the traditional dancing since she could walk,” laughs her mother. “She was also crowned Little Miss Kumeyaay for 2006 to 2007.”

But what you may be surprised to learn is that, growing up on the reservation that hosts between 150 to 200 people, Silent Rain was exposed to serious softball competition and is so good today she recently was offered and committed to the University of Washington.

The story of her fastpitch development is intriguing, but like most softball players her first introduction to softball came through her family.

“Greybuck’s side of the family—his grandpa, grandma and aunts—all played reservation fastpitch softball,” says Mackenzie Espinoza. “They were all on a team together. They’d play reservations all over Southern California and that’s how Silent Rain first learned about the sport.”

In fact, the field on the Viejas reservation is named after Silent Rain’s great-grandfather, Daniel Espinoza. She began playing rec ball in Alpine at the age of four and by her ninth birthday was playing travel ball.

She tried gymnastics and dance when she was younger, but her mother remembers that once she started softball she quickly took to the sport and never looked back.

The young athlete turned 14 in September and today is a freshman at Christian High, a private school located in El Cajon, Calif. about 20 minutes away.

Silent Rain originally played travel ball for the San Diego Thunder coached by Tom Dodd, father of current UNLV Head Coach Lisa Dodd. When Tom stopped coaching the Thunder, the talented 2018 middle infielder joined the Power Surge 16U team out of San Diego led by Scott Berndes.

Today she stars on the Surge playing with girls two years older.

“It’s her dedication,” insists her mother. “Silent Rain played winter ball before she got picked up for travel ball and has played on teams about 45 minutes away. Our whole family would commute to take her, especially my parents who have been instrumental in getting her to practices. My sister and I used to play travel ball and we’d try to find the best coaches, like Tom and Scott, and they are instrumental in who she is today.”

A good scouting report on Silent Rain comes from Coach Berndes.

“Silent Rain is a great defensive player in the middle infield,” he explains. “She has great hands and makes many ESPN highlight-type plays. Silent Rain is a line-drive hitter who makes good contact.  She needs to develop more power but that will come with age as she is still very young.”

The talented player has also worked out at Power Line Consulting in San Diego and Sara Hayes, the founder of Power Line, says, “Silent Rain has always been one of the top hitters here and she has dedicated hours weekly to work with (former Washington great) Jenn Salling on defense and with the trainers in our Sports Performance Center to sharpen her skills and improve her speed and power.”

Having played at a high level of competition and worked on her softball and athletic abilities, it was no surprise that in October her stock exploded after she attended a small showcase run by the Explosion organization.

“Scott (Berndes) had a girl going to the Explosion workout and at the last minute Silent Rain got invited,” says her mother. “Washington had heard about her and schools like Arizona State and Stanford were interested too.”

The freshman showcased her defensive skills, including her solid footwork and quick hands at shortstop and second base and before long the three Pac-12 schools invited her for unofficial visits.

It certainly didn’t hurt that Silent Rain is a star in the classroom, too. She’s a whiz in math and for the last five years has competed in the Math Olympics. Last fall she pulled in all A’s and two B’s in her first freshman semester and in her Honors Math final got a 103% grade.

Arizona State was intriguing because of the Sun Devil’s reputable Honors Program. Her mother says Silent Rain liked Coach Rachel Hanson and staff at Stanford but the downside to the Cardinal program was the softball would “have to wait until after her sophomore year to verbal and she didn’t want to wait that long.”

Silent Rain has expressed an interest in being a Sports Orthopedic doctor and Washington’s strong pre-med program was appealing.

When the teen athlete travelled to Seattle to check out the school, “Silent Rain thought the softball program was amazing and she felt at home there. The whole coaching staff showed they cared and she loved it there.”

About two weeks ago, Husky Head Coach Heather Tarr called Power Line and told the staff that she wanted Silent Rain to attend a Husky camp on January 25 and to come in for a private meeting.

Prior to the trip, Mackenzie spoke with Coach Tarr and her assistants and, without Silent Rain knowing it, an offer was extended.

When Silent Rain and her mother made it to the Washington softball office, the coaches asked her point blank, “If we would offer you a scholarship and a spot on the team, what would you say?”

“Silent Rain said, ‘Sweet!’ and had a big smile on her face,” her mother recalls.”

“She soon committed and it was amazing,” concludes her mother. “To think, Silent Rain started on our small Native Indian reservation and now she’s going to be playing big-time college softball. It’s an amazing dream come true.”