From her first high school varsity softball game as an eighth-grader to the 37 games she played during her first year of college softball this year, the throwing to the proverbial wolves Hopp has experienced isn’t for no reason.

Hopp, who graduated New Ulm High School in 2025 with 614 career strikeouts, nine career no-hitters and two All-State honors to her name, recently completed her first season of college softball with the DII Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs. Much like her start at the high school level, the two-time All-Journal Softball Player of the Year’s first season with the Mustangs wasn’t an easy, laid-back year.

While she didn’t see an increased role with the Eagles until her freshman year as a pitcher, Hopp’s ability to learn and play at a high level prompted Eagles head coach Kristi Andersen Loose to utilize her on varsity earlier than she typically would other players.

In her first year at SMSU, it was no different for Mustangs head coach Bailey Bouman, who let Hopp see ample time in the circle and at the plate.

Photo courtesy of Colton Andrea Southwest Minnesota State University freshman Ramsey Hopp connects with a pitch during a DII college softball game this spring. Hopp hit .348 this season in 37 games.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect coming in,” Hopp said. “I knew that I’d been working hard and obviously had a good high school career, but you never know coming in at the Division II level what you’re going to get thrown into. I worked hard over the fall and then coming into our offseason. I kind of had a good idea that I would get a couple opportunities here. I didn’t think I’d be pitching as much as I would, to be honest, but I obviously enjoyed every moment of it, and I got to hit in the games that I pitched, so that’s really all you can ask for.”

Hopp, who went 18-5 with a 2.02 ERA in 114 innings last season with the Eagles, felt the step up to college softball quickly, especially at the DII level. In her freshman year at SMSU, she went 10-16 with a 5.13 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 154 1/3 innings.

“There were some rough games in there, giving up more hits and runs, stuff like that, than I’ve been used to in high school and club,” Hopp said. “But the coaching staff is great. They do nothing but support me and help pick me back up after a rough game. Part of that is on you to figure out on your own, too, but the coaching staff’s really done a good job of helping me through those games. Honestly, some of the worst games statistically that I had is where I learned the most as a player and who I was as a person, too.”

Hopp’s first collegiate game game at St. Cloud State on Feb. 6. There, she pitched 7 1/3 innings in a loss, allowing 10 hits and six walks for three runs, two earned, with one strikeout.

She suffered two more losses in a row after that before defeating Upper Iowa on Feb. 15 at home, going five innings and allowing five hits and one walk for no runs while striking out five.

Photo courtesy of Greg Devereaux Southwest Minnesota State University freshman Ramsey Hopp delivers a pitch during a DII college softball game. Hopp recently finished her first season of softball with the Mustangs, playing 28 games.

Hopp said she was able to command pitches better as the season went on but realized how important it was to accept mistakes and grow from them.

“I think I’ve been described as a perfectionist and always trying to be perfect,” Hopp said. “I think at this level, you have to realize that you’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to fail, and that’s part of it. Softball’s a game of failure and you have to be able to move on quickly. … There’s nothing you can do about something that is in the past, so you’ve just gotta move on and complete the next pitch or the next at-bat or whatever it is you’re doing.”

While Hopp was a trusted arm for the Mustangs, her bat gave the team plenty of extra offense. In 89 at-bats, Hopp turned in a .348 batting average with 20 RBIs, two doubles and a triple.

“I shocked myself a little bit with the hitting I had,” Hopp said. “My senior year of high school, I didn’t hit as well as I would have liked to, but coming into college, you do a lot of offseason work and just working on your swing and getting a ton of swings in. I went into the season and was pretty confident and just went up there to bat every day with a plan and tried to execute, and it ended up working out well, so I think I surprised myself a little bit hitting-wise.”