2027 Star Aspen Boulware Shines Early For Team USA

Aspen Boulware always wanted to represent Team USA in softball. She just never imagined it would happen so soon.

The 2027 recruit from Columbia, S.C., was the 2023 WBSC World Cup MVP while playing for the U-15 Women’s National Team, which she helped win three gold medals.

“It was amazing. It was an experience I’ve never had before,” Boulware said. “Being able to travel and play teams from all around the world—I didn’t even think it was possible for a girl my age. I always thought it was for the older girls.”

Boulware has continued to excel on the national stage. She was recently selected to the U-18 Women’s National Team that will participate in the WBSC U-18 Women’s World Cup Finals.

Boulware is the daughter of former Florida State All-American pitcher, Jessica van der Linden, and former FSU and NFL safety Michael Boulware. She was born in Minnesota while her dad was finishing his NFL playing career with the Vikings, and raised in South Carolina, where she plays for Gray Collegiate Academy.

Van der Linden was one of the most decorated female athletes in FSU history. She was named USA Softball Player of the Year and won the Honda Sports Award in 2004.

The speedy Boulware started as a pitcher like her mom and also caught, but she has since transitioned to shortstop.

“I feel like it’s a great position to use my tools,” said Boulware, who plays travel ball for Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier-Thompson. “I felt kind of stuck behind the plate or in the circle, and I feel more free in the infield.”

Boulware has three brothers and is the only girl among her siblings. “I was always outside with the boys,” she said. “I was into whatever my older brother liked, so he was into trains and the Power Rangers.”

Although her parents were highly-successful athletes, Boulware has never felt pressure to follow in their footsteps.

“My parents definitely do a great job of supporting me and whatever I want to do,” she said. “My mom was a pitcher, but she never pushed me one way or the other. She let me pick what I wanted to do. It’s really nice that they’re just really supportive parents who have helped me and supported me in whatever I wanted.”

Boulware has been preparing for her high school season with GCA. Last season, she was named the AA Region IV Player of the Year.

“It’s more like family, because whenever I’m with my travel team, I don’t get to see them every day like I do at school,” Boulware said. “So we definitely have a closer relationship with my school ball team. It’s really fun for me.”

Boulware’s college recruiting process will begin heating up soon, and she wants to play softball as long as possible. But she’s already thinking about her future career options outside of the sport.

“I want to be an investor and invest in real estate, businesses and kind of create that cash flow,” she said. “That’s what my dad does and he’s taught us about that our whole lives. It’s interesting to me.”