Editor’s note: The following story was submitted for the Shaler Area Student Section, a collaboration between TribLive and The Oracle, the student newspaper of Shaler Area High School.
Not many programs across the WPIAL have a legacy as rich as Shaler Area softball. One of the most recent parts of that legacy began in 2022 when Bria Bosiljevac’s high school career began.
Her journey has been filled with success and led to a Division I scholarship to play at Indiana University.
Bosiljevac is the 26th nationally ranked player in the class of 2026 per on3.com. Since Bosiljevac’s arrival, the Titans were the PIAA state runner-up in the 2023 season and won the WPIAL championship in the 2025 season.
Bosiljevac embraced a role larger than she expected in the Titan’s 2023 campaign. With an injury to one of the Shaler’s starting pitchers, Bosiljevac became the Titans’ primary starter.
“Freshman year was crazy. I knew I could make an impact, but I didn’t know it would be that quickly,” Bosiljevac said.
Just two years later, Bosiljevac led the Titans to a WPIAL championship. Bosiljevac pitched all 11 innings of the Titans 2-1 victory over Penn Trafford. Bosilijevac won the pitchers duel, only allowing one earned run.
“I threw 300 pitches that day — 350, including warm-ups. I was so dead. I was so tired, but whenever you’re in the 11th inning, it’s just different. You get a different type of energy that you have to push through. It’s not the energy that you start off with, it’s pure pressure,” Bosiljevac said.
Bosiljevac wasn’t unfamiliar with pressure. As a young player, Bosiljevac constantly had to deal with high expectations. It wasn’t always easy for her to live up to those expectations.
“I was always told from a young age that I was going to go places, but I didn’t really believe it until I was 15. That’s when I started playing really high competition. I started beating them with my pitching, so I knew that I had a chance,” Bosiljevac said.
Bosiljevac was having success at some of the biggest softball tournaments in the country. Her family traveled as far as California so she could compete in tournaments heavily scouted by power-four coaches.
Through recruiting, training, games and travel, there was still a lot of uncertainty for Bosiljevac. College coaches aren’t allowed to contact athletes until a certain point every year. Many tournaments that Bosiljevac played in came before this date. So the Bosiljevacs constantly saw which coaches were scouting Bria, but they didn’t get to know what these coaches thought of her.
“It was very nerve-wracking, very stressful. We knew she had the ability, but it all depends on the coach seeing you on a good day or a bad day. And believe me, there were a lot of bad days, but there were good days, too,” said Bria’s mother, Michelle Bosiljevac.
It didn’t take long for Division I coaches to realize that Bosiljevac has what it takes to compete on the biggest stage. Bosiljevac received 21 scholarship offers. Six of those were from power-four programs: Auburn, South Carolina, North Carolina, Indiana, Pitt and Clemson.
While fielding 21 DI offers would be a dream come true for many high school athletes, it wasn’t as glorious as it may seem.
“It was probably the most stressful thing of my life. Everyone always wants a lot of offers, but whenever you get a lot of offers, you have to turn all but one down. You have to make sure that you make the right decision,” Bosiljevac said.
With a decision this important, Bosiljevac turned to what she trusted most: her faith.
“My faith played the biggest role the whole time. There’s not a single thing that I wouldn’t do for God. I think that this whole process is all part of our God’s plan, and I trust him no matter what,” Bosiljevac said.
Bosiljevac often talked to God before and after games as well as times of uncertainty. And with a decision as big as her commitment, there was plenty of uncertainty. Through her many talks with God, Bosiljevac narrowed down her options to Indiana and Clemson.
“Indiana had me on a visit, and they were very welcoming. The girls that I was with there were great, and I connected with the girls that were already on the Indiana team. This made a huge difference because I know that those are the girls that I’m gonna be playing with. The girls at Clemson were just as good, and that made it a really hard decision,” Bosiljevac said.
But the biggest factor for Bosiljevac’s decision was how close she would be to home. Her relationship with her parents largely contributed to this.
“We’ve traveled together since Bria was 7, and I think she wants us to be there as much as possible,” Michelle Bosiljevac said.
Bosiljevac ultimately chose to take her talents to Indiana University.
“It was such a difficult decision. But I want to go into college and make an impact on where I’m going, and I want to be able to make a big difference where I’m going, not just fit in with everyone else. I think Indiana gives me a really great opportunity to do that,” she said.
She will report to the IU campus in early August, two weeks earlier than all other students. This is when Bosiljevac will start her official practice and off-season workouts with the team.
“It’s a little sad, because I am missing people back at home for longer, but then again, I hope to get there early and get used to it more, so that whenever school starts, and everyone’s back at campus, that I’m already prepared, because it’s going to be such a big change,” Bosiljevac said.
The change brings some nerves for Bosiljevac as well, although she remains confident.
“I’m nervous because it’s a bigger stage with bigger competition, but Shaler softball gives the same type of dynamic that Indiana does. With all of those people being behind you and cheering for you, and then the other team cheering against you, it gave me the feeling of what Indiana is going to give me, too,” Bosiljevac said.
Before her college career begins, she knows she has one final season with the Titans.
“I’m really trying to enjoy this season as much as possible. I know there’s gonna be a lot of pressure on me but at the same time I think I’m gonna put a lot of pressure on myself. This is my last season, and I want to make sure that I age out of the Shaler softball program knowing I absolutely did everything in my power for me and my team to win — and that will only be done if we go all the way this year. That makes me nervous because I only have one more year to do it. I’m more experienced than I was as a freshman, but yet we went our farthest my freshman year, which gives me even more drive to make it as a senior, and I’m really excited.”
