Tribble is the 18-year-old daughter of Tommy and Roxanne Saffles of Springville and the late Brian Tribble. She has attended the Springville schools since the fourth grade and has been a member of the varsity Springville softball team since the seventh grade.During those six years, the only position she has ever played is catcher.
“You get used to it after a while and your legs get used to all the up and down,” she said. “After the first game or two, you’re not that sore anymore.”
Tribble also received an offer from Jeff State but she chose Wallace State.
“I like Wallace State Coach Jayne Clem and what she has done with the softball program,” she said.
Clem said they are excited about Tribble coming especially since both sophomore catchers are leaving this year.
“She should come in and make an immediate impact,” Clem said. “We’ve watched her for several years and like the way she hustles. She knows what she is doing behind the plate.”
Tribble maintains a 4.037 GPA and hopes to major in pre-med and one day be an anesthesiologist. After two years at Wallace State, Tribble hopes to transfer to the University of Alabama in Birmingham to attend medical school and if the opportunity to play softball arises, she would be thrilled.
Roxanne Saffles said she is very excited for her daughter.
“Softball has always been her love and she has worked very hard for this,” she said. “We are glad she has this opportunity to go to college. We love Wallace State and are very impressed with the program and what we have seen so far. The coaches are concerned about academics and that’s very important.”
Tommy Saffles said he is very proud his daughter is getting the chance to play the sport she so dearly loves.
“One of her best assets is her hard work and her work ethic,” Saffles said. “I am proud of her as a person. She makes me a better person just trying to keep up with her standards. I look forward watching her play softball in years to come.
Springville principal Robert Harris said Tribble has been a major contributor athletically and academically.
“She has proven to be a person you can depend on in every aspect,” Harris said. “We are proud she has this opportunity to go on to the collegiate level.”
Tribble added that it has been so much fun playing for Coach Chris Williams and the Lady Tigers the past six years.
Williams said this scholarship signing is well deserving.
“I would say Katelyn is one of the overall greatest kids I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching,” Williams said. “She is the kind of girl you would want your son to bring home and the daughter every parent dreams of having. She is as good a role model as there can be. The character she displays on the field and in the classroom is unbelievable.”
Williams said Tribble’s role as catcher is that she engineers the defense and does a great job. She is also having a phenomenal year at the plate batting over .400.
“She is such a great leader and last year as a junior, was elected by her teammates as captain of the team,” Williams said. “Instead of talking the talk, she more or less walks the walk. The younger kids listen to her and she will be severely missed.”
When talking about her friendship with Beason, Tribble said hopefully they would stay in touch,
“We are so close but we have talked about how life is going to be different once we graduate,” Tribble said.
Beason said Tribble has always been a very important person in her life.
“I know I can go to her and talk about anything,” Beason said. “She supports me in everything I do. It is going to be hard next year when we are not at the same school.
