This feature originally appeared in the 2022 Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.




Columbus, New Jersey, is a small farming community located about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia and 70 miles south of New York City.
 
The sleepy town of 8,700 with one blinking stoplight in the center, one bank and one general store is also the hometown of Cal sophomore pitcher Haylei Archer.
 
While the Garden State isn't known as a hotbed for producing top collegiate softball players, Archer is doing her part to change that viewpoint.
 
"Everybody thinks of New Jersey as a big, city-like area and it's not at all like that where we live," Archer's mom, Laura, said. "It's a small community, and Haylei grew up doing a lot of different things as a kid."
 
In fact, Haylei's list of pursuits was extensive – skiing, hiking, climbing, riding quads (or ATVs), camping and even wanting to play football after her brother, Hunter, joined a Pop Warner league. She's also a registered hunter.
 
Haylei first played baseball on her brother's team, and when she was old enough, she started playing softball and pitching at the age of seven. Still, it took some prodding from her mother to instill a competitive spirit.
 
"I always remember not wanting to go outside and pitch because it was so hot in the summer and my mom would make me go out there, grab my glove and put my cleats on," Haylei said with a laugh. "I'm so thankful that she stayed on me during those times because if she didn't, I probably wouldn't be here where I am now."
 
The Archer family would go outside together, and Hunter would pitch to her dad, David, while Haylei threw to Laura right next to them. For Haylei, she wanted to turn everything into a competition, whether it was in the yard tossing the ball around, riding quads or hunting.
 
She also wanted to emulate her brother. When Hunter began playing baseball, Haylei wanted to start playing baseball. When he helped their father build things, Haylei tagged along, too, even if she didn't know what to do.
 
Once Haylei got to high school, she realized that playing softball at a high level in college was a possibility. She originally played for a local team that had practice within the area, but wanting a more competitive atmosphere, switched to play with the Pennsylvania Chaos, an hour's drive away.
 
"I knew and realized I had the potential to do something big for my hometown and my family and to take that next step in my path," Haylei said. "I needed to step up the competition."
 
Ranked No. 6 nationally by FloSoftball in 2019, the Chaos won the Triple Crown/USA national championship that summer, allowing several top college coaches around the country to see Haylei pitch. She knew she wanted to go far from the East Coast and experience another part of the country. Haylei took official visits to Washington and Texas A&M and enjoyed them, but neither felt quite right for her. During the summer after her junior year, the Cal coaches saw her throw at a tournament in July in Huntington Beach, allowing her to talk with the Golden Bear staff for the first time.
 
Come September, Haylei knew she wanted to visit the campus and took a trip to Berkeley.
 
"As soon as I got to campus, I knew this was the place I needed to be, this was for sure the right one," she said. "I hadn't really felt that at the other places. I loved the campus and had never really seen anything like it. The view from Grizzly Peak when I went up there it was amazing. When you combine the education with the campus and the softball program, it was the perfect fit for me."
 
For Laura and David, having their daughter go across the country for school was difficult at times, but they knew it was the best thing for her. David grew up in New Jersey and went to school at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He took them skiing and hiking in Colorado and told them about rafting in the Grand Canyon and camping at Yosemite.  
 
"I said if you guys really want to grow up, you need to go to school away from home," David said. "I was on all of Haylei's recruiting trips with her and she always asked how I'm going to know which place is the right one. I said just relax, you'll find the place you really like. A place that's beautiful for you and feels like home."
 
For Haylei, that place became Berkeley, California.
 
Now, in her second year with the Bears, Haylei is one of 23 student-athletes on the Cal softball team, with everyone but her from the western part of the United States – 19 from California two from Hawai'i and one from Colorado.
 
During her first two seasons at Cal, Haylei has been a consistent cog in the Golden Bear pitching rotation, winning eight games as a freshman and piling up more victories as a sophomore.
 
She hasn't forgotten her roots while attending college nearly 3,000 miles from her hometown. When she goes home during the summer or during breaks from school, she returns to the life she knew growing up in the area, riding quads, hunting and helping her dad with building projects around the house.
 
"I'm so thankful for everything and everyone who has helped me along the way to where I am now," Haylei said. "I feel like even though my family is a long way away, they're still right here because of everything they taught me growing up and the way they instilled living life on a daily basis."