DENVER (Nov. 19, 2019) – Payton Balbin, a standout catcher for D'Evelyn Senior High School, has signed to play college softball at Oklahoma Christian, OC coach Shanon Hays said Tuesday.

The 5-foot-5 Balbin received Colorado All-State second-team honors after making the JeffCo Class 4A All-Conference list as a catcher. She led D'Evelyn to a berth in the Class 4A tournament this fall, hitting .437 with three home runs, 24 RBIs, 15 doubles and 13 stolen bases.

During her prep career, Balbin hit .451 with 16 home runs and 114 RBIs.

"Payton is a really solid player behind the plate," Hays said. "She knows how to take over like catchers should. She keeps getting better with the bat as she matures. We see her as being a great fit here at OC. She's a super addition to this class!"

In OC's 2021 signing class, she joins Kylie Janzen and Maddie Southerland of Moore, Okla.; Whitney Walde of Oklahoma City; Aaliyah Brown of Midwest City, Okla.; Tara Stewart of Ovilla, Texas; and Brooklin Bain of Comanche, Okla.. More signings will be announced in the coming days, Hays said.

They'll join a program that is coming off a 40-16 season, in which OC won the Heartland Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the championship round of a NCAA Division II regional. The Eagles will begin play the 2020 season in the Lone Star Conference, the deepest softball conference in Division II.