January 30, 2026

By Jon Feyen
ScoutU

Junior colleges provide the chance for student-athletes to continue their athletic career while evaluating their career path. For Rylee Barnett, it’s a bonus that she’ll be playing for a team that reached the NJCAA World Series each of the last 3 seasons. Barnett recently announced that she will suit up for Des Moines Area Community College next year.

“It really checked all of my boxes as far as what I wanted in a school and a team,” she said. “I’m still undecided on my major, and my career choices are pretty different. Attending a community college will give me some time to figure that out. I also knew I wanted a smaller school – the town was a great size and the campus apartments were nice. All the players and coaches were very welcoming and easy to communicate with, so I felt an immediate connection with the coaches, the school and the team on my very first visit.”

The Bears have compiled a 157-30 record since 2023. Barnett will strengthen their roster with her devastating curveball in the circle, along with her 4.4 GPA off the field.

“I had a lot of interest by email, specific camp and campus invites, phone calls with coaches,” Barnett said. “There was a lot of texting and checking in with me over the last year to see where I was in making a decision. I’m super excited to continue to play the game that I love. It’s been a dream of mine to play in college, and I’m finally getting the chance to live out that dream.”

Barnett accumulated 5 offers while talking with dozens of college coaches. ScoutU’s Jason Lauren observed her talent and softball passion first-hand.

“I remember seeing Rylee play at a Milwaukee showcase and knew right away she was a dedicated player,” Lauren said. “She has a high drive to play in college, because she came from 8-plus hours away in Kansas to participate in the showcase. Rylee is an exceptional pitcher with a 61 mph fastball and a threat at the plate with her 63 mph bat speed. I wish her the very best of luck at DMACC and look forward to continuing helping with her recruiting while there!”

Barnett’s resume features accolades like Future Stars Showcase MVP, PG Elite Scouting All-Tournament Pitcher and top exit velocity at showcases. But when it came to her recruiting, ScoutU provided tools to maximize her process from start to finish.

“One of the things I liked most about ScoutU that we didn’t find with any other recruiting platform was the feedback related to her profile and exposure emails,” Rylee’s mom Jill Eenhuis said. “We were able to see which coaches were reading the emails and interacting with her profile, as well as how many times they accessed her information. Oftentimes messages sent through other platforms never got responses, so you didn’t always know if an email was even getting opened. The exposure reports were a good way to look up information on colleges that might’ve had a higher interest in Rylee. Jason Lauren was also helpful in sending reminders about what she needed to accomplish and a timeline to help keep her focused.”