University of Delaware Athletics
2026 Softball Roster
Jersey Number 34
Sydney Shaffer
- Position:
- Catcher
- Height:
- 5-9
- Class:
- Senior
- High School:
- Mills E. Godwin
- Hometown:
- Ashland, Va.
- Major:
- Elementary Education
HONORS AND AWARDS
- 2026Â NFCA East Region First-Team
- 2026Â All-CUSA First-Team
- 2026 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
- 2026Â CUSA Walks Leader (43)
- 2025 CAA Player of the Year
- 2025Â All-CAA First-Team
- 2025 NFCA East Region First-Team
- 2025 All-ECAC Selection
- 2025 CSC Academic All America First-Team
- 2025 Three-time CAA Player of the Week (Feb. 11, March 24, April 21)
- 2025 NCAA Lineup of the Week (Feb. 12)
- 2025 NFCA National Weekly Honor Roll (March 25)
- 2025 CAA All-Tournament
- 2025 Ranked #51Â in D1Softball's Top 100 Mid-Major Player Rankings for the season
- 2025 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
- 2025 CSC Academic All-District selection
- 2025 CAA Preseason All-Conference
- 2025 CAA Home Run Leader (19)
- 2025 CAA Walks Leader (38)
- 2025 CAA On Base Percentage Leader (.540)
- 2025 CAA Slugging Percentage Leader (.888)
- 2025 OPS Leader (1.428)
- 2025 CAA Total Bases Leader (135)
- 2024 All-CAA Second-Team
- 2025 CAA Walks Leader (31)
- 2024Â CAA On Base Percentage Leader (.459)
- Six-time CAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll
PROGRAM RECORDS
- Career on base percentage (.483)
- Career slugging percentage (.675)
- Career OPS (1.158)
- Career walks (121)
- Most wins by a senior class (137)
- Single-season home runs (19 - 2025)
- Single-season RBIs (57 - 2025)Â
- Single-season walks (43 - 2026)Â
- Single-season extra base hits (33 - 2025)Â
- Single-season batting average (.421 - 2025)
- Single-season on base percentage (.540 - 2025)
- Single-season slugging percentage (.888 - 2025)
- Single-season OPS (1.428 - 2025)
- Single-season total bases (135 - 2025)
- Single-game runs scored, tied (4 - Feb. 6, 2026 vs. Stonehill)
2026Â SEASON
- Appeared and started in all 55 games
- Hit .340/.498/.727 with eight doubles, 16 home runs, 45 RBIs, and 38 runs scored
- Had 51 hits, 43 walks, and six hit by pitches
- In CUSA, ranked first in walks, second in total bases, third in on base percentage and OPS, fourth in home runs and slugging percentage, and ninth in RBIs
- 13 multi-RBI games, third most among all CUSA players
- Had the most walks, second best OPS, third most home runs, extra base hits, total bases, on base percentage, and slugging percentage, fifth most RBIs, 10th most run scored in a season in program history
- Went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, five RBIs, a walk, and four runs scored on Feb. 6 against Stonehill, becoming the first player in program history with four runs scored in a season-opening game
- Went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run on Feb. 8 against FAU
- Went 3-for-4 with a run scored on Feb. 13 against Saint Joseph's
- Went 2-for-2 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, and two walks on Feb. 15 against Saint Joseph'sÂ
- Delivered walk-off RBI single on Feb. 15 against Saint Joseph's as part of a 1-for-2, two walk game to secure doubleheader sweep
- Went 2-for-4 with a home run on Feb. 20 against Ohio State
- Had a stretch of 11 walks in an eight-game span from March 1-15
- Went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a walk on March 6 against FIU
- Walked three times on March 10 against Maryland
- Hit seven home runs over a nine-game stretch from March 22-April 8
- Had 13 walks over a 10-game span from March 25-April 11
- Went 1-for-2 with a home run, three RBIs, three runs scored, and two walks on March 28 against Liberty
- Went 1-for-2 with a a home run, two RBIs, a run scored, and three walks on April 2 against UTEP
- Went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, a run scored, and a walk on April 3 against UTEP
- Went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk on April 18 against Kennesaw State
- Had a hit in all three games during the CUSA Tournament, including going 2-for-3 with an RBI double in an elimination game on May 7 against WKU
- NFCA East Region First-Team
- All-CUSA First-Team
- Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
2025 SEASON
- Appeared and started in all 54 games
- Hit .421/.540/.888 with 14 doubles, 19 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 49 runs scored
- Had 64 hits, 38 walks, and was 3-for-3 in stolen bases
- Had a 1.000 fielding percentage in 47 chances while throwing out three base stealers in nine attempts
- In 27 CAA-only games, hit .425/.529/.975 with 11 home runs, 11 doubles, 34 RBIs, 34 hits, 31 runs scored, and 19 walks
- Set single-season program records for home runs, RBI, batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, extra base hits, and total bases
- In single-season program history, finished with the second most runs scored and walks, fourth most hits, and fifth most doubles
- Overall OPS and CAA-only OPS (1.504) is best by a CAA player since 2021
- In the CAA, ranked first in home runs, walks, total bases, slugging percentage, OPS, second in RBIs and on base percentage, third in average, runs scored, and doubles, and sixth in hits
- Led the CAA in multi-RBI games with 16 and was second with 22 multi-hit games
- Nationally, ranked 16th in slugging percentage, 24th in on base percentage, 32nd in home runs, 36th in total bases, 52nd in batting average, 62nd in RBIs Â
- Hit .375/.464/.792 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in eight games against Power Conference opponents
- Recorded 100th career hit on March 23 against Hofstra and 100th career RBI on May 1 against Towson
- Went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, a double, and a run scored in Delaware’s first-ever nationally-ranked win on Feb. 7 against Michigan
- Hit a three-run home run on Feb. 8 against No. 2 FloridaÂ
- Went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run against Virginia
- Had a stretch of four-straight multi-hit games from March 6-9 against Coppin State and Drexel, going 9-for-14 with a home run and four RBIs in the streak
- Had a multi-home run game in two consecutive games on March 18 and 21 against RIder and Hofstra
- Hit a home run in three-straight games from March 23-28 against Hofstra, Maryland, and Elon
- Hit a lead-off home run on the first pitch on March 30 against Elon, then scored the game-winning run in the eighth inning on a walk-off sacrifice fly
- Went 3-for-4 with a game-winning home run in the sixth inning on April 6 against UNCW
- Had a streak of four-straight multi-hit games from April 6-April 12 against UNCW, Delaware State, and North Carolina A&T, going 9-13 during the streak
- Had an RBI in seven-straight games from April 12-19, totaling 14 in the stretch
- Had three RBIs in back-to-back games on April 13 and 15 against North Carolina A&T and Villanova, including a game-ending three-run home run against the Wildcats to seal a six-inning victory
- Set the single-season home run and total base record on April 25 against Monmouth with a two-home run game
- Went 3-for-4 with a home run, six RBIs, and three runs scored on May 1 against Towson, becoming the first player in program history with multiple career games of at least six RBIs
- Reached base in all four plate appearances, including hitting a first-inning home run, in first game of CAA Tournament on May 8 against Campbell
- Drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and walked twice in an elimination game against Hofstra in the CAA Tournament
- Went 2-for-4 with an RBI in an elimination game against Elon in the CAA Tournament
- Hit .488 with runners on base and .462 with runners in scoring position
- Had three-different stretches of reaching base in eight-consecutive plate appearances (April 6-9, April 27-May 2, May 2-9)
- From March 18-April 6, hit nine home runs in an 11-game stretch, including an overlapping stretch of eight home runs in eight games and seven home runs in six games
- Third-ever Delaware player to win Conference Player of the Year
- Second Delaware player ever to be named All-Region at utility/non-pitcher
- First-ever CSC Academic All America First-Team selection
- Three CAA Player of the Week awards were tied for the league-best for the season
- All-ECAC Selection
- CAA All-Tournament selection
- Ranked #51Â in D1Softball's Top 100 Mid-Major Player Rankings for the 2025 season
- Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
- CSC Academic All-District selection
- 2024 CAA Fall and 2025 Spring Commissioner’s Honor Roll
2024 SEASON
- Appeared in all 53 games, starting in 52
- Hit .347/.457/.537 with 15 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 33 RBIs, and 19 runs scored
- Had 51 hits, 31 walks, and was 1-for-1 in stolen bases
- Had a 1.000 fielding percentage in 26 chances while catching a runner stealing
- Went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and a double on Feb. 11 in a win over Youngstown State
- Went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk on Feb. 17 in a win over Middle Tennessee State
- Went 2-for-4 with a home run, double, walk, run scored, and six RBIs, tied for the third most RBIs in a single-game in program history, on Feb 17 in a win over Akron
- Went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple on March 13 in a win over Morgan State
- Went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI on March 20 in a win over Penn
- Went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBIs on March 22 in a win over Stony Brook
- Hit a seventh inning home run on April 6 in a win over Elon
- Went 2-for-2 with a double, a triple, a walk, and two runs scored on April 10 in a win over Delaware State
- Went 4-for-6 with three runs scored, three RBIs, and a double in a doubleheader sweep of Coppin State on April 23Â
- Tied for second on team with 15 multi-hit games and tied for team lead with nine multi-RBI games
- Hit .402 with runners on base and .375 with runners in scoring position
- Ranked tied for first in the CAA in doubles (15) and walks (31) while outright leading the CAA in on base percentage (.467), third in OPS (1.019), fifth in slugging percentage (.537), tied for sixth in RBIs (33), eighth in batting average (.347) and tied for eighth in total bases (79)
- Had the fourth most doubles hit in a single-season in program history,Â
- All-CAA Second-Team
- 2024 Spring Commissioner’s Honor Roll selectionÂ
2023 SEASON
- Appeared in 37 games, making 21 starts at DP (18) and catcher (3)
- Finished 17-for-68 (.250) with two home runs, three doubles, six runs scored and 12 RBI
- Batted 7-for-16 (.438) in pinch-hit situations
- Had a six-game hitting streak (4/28-5/11)
- Hit a three-run home run in first career at-bat at Sam Houston (2/10)
- Had two hits and two walks against Saint Joseph’s (4/5)
- Hit a two-run home run in game one at Hofstra (4/28)
- Had an RBI double and two walks in game two at Hofstra (4/28)
- 2022 CAA Fall and 2023 Spring Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection
Bio: Was a four-year starter at Mills E. Godwin High School, serving as a team captain as a senior... Earned all-metro, all-region, and all-state first-team honors as a senior... Also earned all-region second-team honors in both 2021 and 2019 and was named Rookie of the Year in 2019... Helped lead Mills E. Godwin to regional championships in 2019 and 2022, as well as an appearance in the state semifinals in 2019 and the state quarterfinals in 2022... Was also a four-year member of the volleyball team, earning third-team all-region honors
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