JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Head coach Christine Core announced that five incoming freshmen and one junior college player have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their careers with the Lincoln softball team, beginning with the 2021 season.
 
Infielder and outfielder Leslie Callahan (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill South), catcher and third baseman Jacqueline Marquez (Portage, Ind./Portage), infielder Alivia Rymer (Chatsworth, Ga./North Murray), utility player Leah Wagner (Odessa, Mo./Odessa R7) and pitcher Maddie Welker (House Springs, Mo./Northwest) will join the Blue Tigers as true freshmen with four years of eligibility. Qwynn Marquez (Independence, Kan./Cowley College), meanwhile, will join Lincoln as a sophomore with three seasons of eligibility.
 
Callahan played second and third base at Park Hill South as well as serving as a utility player, and was the team captain in 2019. She capped her senior season by earning first team all-district and first team all-conference accolades, and was additionally selected to the all-region second team for her play as an infielder. A versatile athlete, Callahan was also named all-conference honorable mention and second team all-district as an outfielder in 2017.
 
Jacqueline Marquez was the Portage High Rookie of the Year in 2017. A four-year player, she has also excelled in the classroom, earning foreign language and Indiana Core-40 technical academic honors while also being invited to join the National Honor Society.
 
An AAA Region 6 second team selection, Rymer led North Murray in batting average in 2019. Rymer additionally was named to the all-area third team after posting a .359 average with 14 RBI.
 
An all-around stellar student-athlete, Wagner earned 10 academic all-conference awards in the sports of softball, track & field and basketball at Odessa R7, as well as three academic all-state honors. During her senior season, Wagner hit .397 with a .685 slugging percentage after tallying 29 hits, 11 of which went for multiple bases. Wagner, who finished with 26 runs and 22 RBI, earned first team all-conference and all-district accolades in 2019, following a junior campaign in which she was named second team all-conference and all-district.
 
A four-year varsity starter, Welker ended her career at Northwest as the program's all-time wins leader after helping the program finish in fourth place in the state tournament. A two-time district champion, Welker earned first team all-conference and all-district honors following her junior and senior campaigns, and was a first team all-region honoree in 2019. Welker is additionally a member of the National Honor Society and earned four Academic Letters for being a varsity athlete with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.
 
Qwynn Marquez was a .440 hitter during her freshman season at Cowley, and had scored seven runs with seven RBI on nine hits in 2020 before the season was shortened due to COVID-19. During her high school career at Independence, Qwynn Marquez, a member of the National Honor Society, was twice named first team all-area and all-conference, and was a first team all-state selection in 2018.