Another VanBogaert picks Loyola

Same family, different sport.

Colleen VanBogaert, a senior at Rosary, recently committed to play softball at Loyola University in Chicago. She will join her sister, Elyse, a sophomore on the Ramblers' women's basketball team.

"We are like best friends basically," Colleen said about her and Elyse. "That's definitely a plus to it."

"I think it's great with Elyse being there," Rosary coach Tara Tattersall added. "It will be nice for her and her family."

Colleen VanBogaert is the second Rosary softball player this year to commit to a Division I school. Pitcher/shortstop Kylie Schalz is heading to Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

VanBogaert, a third baseman/outfielder, will be a preferred walk-on at Loyola, but she will get playing time.

"Luckily, Loyola was my first choice, I really wanted to go there," VanBogaert said. "I knew I really wanted to play softball in college because I would be dead without it."

VanBogaert has been on the varsity softball team since she was a freshman. Last season, she led the team in batting average, slugging percentage and home runs while scoring 15 runs, 10 RBI and 3 triples in 22 games. She also played varsity basketball for three years.

"(Colleen) has one of the strongest arms I have ever seen, between her and Kylie," Tattersall said.