Greg Stewart thought he was done recruiting for the year.
The Oregon Tech head coach had essentially wrapped up his 2025 class when the Lady Owls hosted a skills camp for local players on Oct. 26. On the turf at Stilwell Stadium that day, though, Mazama infielder Maggie Pizano caught his eye.
“I knew who Margaret was, but had maybe only seen her play once,” Stewart said. “She came out to our camp and just thoroughly impressed me and the other coaching staff.”
About a week after the camp, Stewart offered Pizano as a preferred walk-on. Although she won’t be on scholarship to begin her college career, her roster spot is secure, and Stewart said she’ll have an opportunity to earn a scholarship in future seasons.
“We got blessed,” Stewart said. “Maggie [has] strength and power at the plate. The exit velocity of a ball coming off her bat is substantial and legitimate for our level, so we’re excited to sign a really good caliber athlete like her.”
The offer was a welcome surprise to Pizano, who hadn’t gone to the Oregon Tech skills camp looking to grab anyone’s attention.
“I was just going to the camp with my sister because she was nervous, so I was just going to go have fun and play some ball,” Pizano said. “And then I went, and I showcased really well, and [Stewart and I] started talking. I looked more into OIT, and I was like, ‘This is the place for me.’”
Pizano officially signed with Oregon Tech during a celebration at Mazama on Dec. 20. Stewart, Vikings head coach Todd Nickerson and many of Pizano’s teammates, friends and family members gathered in the school library to watch her put pen to paper.
Pizano credits Nickerson, who started coaching her when she was eight years old, with setting her on a path that has now led to college softball.
“I think I was six when I started T-ball, and then I played Little League for a while, and I wasn’t having fun,” Pizano said. “And then coach Nickerson picked me up on his team and really changed my life.”
Nickerson said Pizano “wasn’t very good” in the early years he coached her–an assessment Pizano readily affirmed. But things began trending upward by the time she reached high school.
“When she got to be a freshman here at Mazama, I definitely saw a difference in her,” Nickerson said.
“I started working harder, and I started getting results, and then I started falling in love with the sport,” Pizano said.
Pizano has earned all-state honors twice in her first three years as a Viking (honorable mention as a sophomore in 2023 and third team as a junior last season). She carries a batting average of .427 with 12 home runs and 99 RBIs as well as 10 stolen bases. Her next home run will tie the Mazama career record, and Nickerson believes she could also reach the single-season mark of nine homers this spring.
“That’s if anybody pitches to her,” Nickerson said.
Pizano will be the first Mazama alum to suit up for Oregon Tech since Lynzee Wortman, who played in 69 games across the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Lady Owls are coming off a 2024 season that culminated in the program’s fifth consecutive NAIA Softball World Series appearance and will begin the 2025 season ranked No. 5 in the NAIA coaches poll (the preseason rankings were released on Nov. 6).
Stewart said Pizano will likely play first base at OIT, a position currently occupied by All-Cascade Conference selection Puakea Milbourne.
“She’s athletic enough,” Stewart said. “She moves well…We don’t want to put any limitations on her right now, but she’ll definitely be a corner athlete for us and somebody that I think hopefully is going to help us drive in a lot of runs.”
Pizano, who intends to major in biology-health sciences, said it felt “nice” to be able to find a college home before her last high school season.
“Now I can just play hard and keep working for my teammates,” Pizano said.
For Nickerson, Pizano’s journey serves as an example of what can happen when a player buys in and dedicates themselves to improving. Despite the credit she gives him, Nickerson said Pizano’s success is “all on her.”
“She’s worked really hard,” Nickerson said. “She’s definitely a testament to perseverance and hard work and doing the right things.”
Mazama has yet to release its full schedule for the 2025 season. Oregon Tech opens its 2025 campaign on Feb. 9 with a 12 p.m. doubleheader at Simpson.
