When Shelby Robb was thinking of where to attend college, she didn’t initially consider Metropolitan State University of Denver. As a formality, though, the softball player from Arvada decided to visit the campus on a recruiting trip.
“After the visit, my mom started laughing and said, ‘Oh, you’ve got a tough decision to make, don’t you?’” Robb said. “She could tell I really liked it.”
Not only was Robb hooked by the facilities, the softball program and the style of coach Annie Van Wetzinga, she was intrigued by the educational opportunities.
“There were a lot more options (at MSU Denver), it was a lot more affordable, and there seemed to be more support from the departments,” Robb said.
Four years later, Robb proudly graduated from MSU Denver. As a Roadrunner, she twice earned Academic All-America honors while posting a cumulative grade-point average of 4.0. She also excelled in the community, accruing more than 150 hours of service, and even identified organizations to help and recruited team members to take part.
“Her impact is that it shows that if you come in, work hard on and off the field, get involved and be an active member of the campus and part of your academic department, some really great things can happen for you,” said Van Wetzinga. “Hopefully, our student-athletes will see what she’s done and make some bigger goals and have bigger aspirations after looking at what she did.”
Robb earned her first All-America honors after a magical freshman season in spring 2021, when she set a school record with a .535 batting average. But after that, nothing came that easily for her.
“I just wanted to come in and not mess it up for the team,” Robb said. “Toward the end of the season, I was doing an interview and my batting average was brought up, and I had no idea that’s what it was.
“After the season, the awards and accolades started coming in. I didn’t really have any context about what they meant until the articles started coming out about how special it was.”
As a sophomore, Robb suffered a devastating knee injury, cutting short her season and delaying the start of her junior year. But through months of rehabilitation after surgery, she never slowed her pace
After earning a 4.0 GPA over the first four semesters of her college career, the Sport Management major determined that she would graduate with a 4.0 as well — she had never gotten a B in her life anyway.
“There were times I would procrastinate on a project, but … (I) would still spend hours working on it to get a good grade rather than just trying to get it over with,” Robb said.
She also took a part-time job with the Denver Nuggets’ game-day staff and was a leader in MSU Denver’s sport-management club, where she spearheaded a social-media campaign featuring influential women in the Colorado sports industry. And she volunteered for organizations such as the Miracle League, a nonprofit that provides an opportunity to play baseball and softball in an organized league for children and adults living with various disabilities.
“I enjoyed getting out in the community and meeting and working with other people, most of all the Miracle League because of my personal connection — my cousin is one of the players,” Robb said. “You can see the things you are doing … that make a direct impact on the people down the street from you.”
“She was always all-in when we did community service,” Van Wetzinga said, “and always had a great attitude.”
Outside of her community service, Robb worked with young softball players at camps and in other roles.
“As my (college softball) career is coming to an end, you have these girls who are just starting, and you’re able to help them and put them on the right track, in a position to succeed and enjoy the sport,” Robb said. “Youth sports are different now. There’s more pressure, and now mental health is more addressed.”
She recently began her first postgraduate job, as a revenue-generation and operations assistant for the Athletics Department at the University of Northern Colorado. Her career goals include potentially becoming a senior woman administrator for an NCAA athletics program.
“It would be cool to work up to an SWA position and represent in that way,” Robb said. “Women’s sports, especially now, are gaining so much traction and popularity. As that changes, I would like to be able to advocate for them and make sure they are just as important as the men’s sports are.”
Robb finished her career on top, batting .457 and once again earning All-America honors. And not only was she again an Academic All-American, she was named the Academic All-American of the Year for Division II softball.
Ever the team player, Robb focuses more on the team when reflecting on her final year. The Roadrunners, despite a school-record 21-game winning streak during the season and having one of the best records in the country, were snubbed when bids to the NCAA Tournament were handed out.
“That was one of the most fun seasons we’ve had as a team, just because of what we did and what we accomplished,” Robb said. “It was a great group of people with great chemistry and great culture. We enjoyed each other and what we were doing. I would have traded everything for a national title, but it was a fun way to go out.”
