California knows how to party and play softball.

There are 60 Californians competing in the Big Ten, more than any other state.

Nine out of 17 players on the Northwestern softball team are natives of California. Five come from Orange County, Calif., alone.

With four out of the past six NCAA softball championship teams calling California home, the state has established itself as the world leader in producing softball talent.

Every team in the Big Ten has at least one Californian on their softball roster, with some of the conference’s schools having a majority of their squad from the Golden State.

DePaul, who the Cats will face in a doubleheader today, have three Californians out of 19 players on its roster.

“The deepest and most talented pool of players in the country is in Orange County,” said Michigan State softball coach Jacquie Joseph, who has nine Californians. “The best softball in the world is played in California.

“Now that doesn’t mean there are no good players in other states. But if there is one good player in Ohio, there are 50 in California.”

With near-perfect weather all year, softball becomes a 12 month sport in California. But what separates it from other warm weather states is the number of girls participating in softball.

NU junior right fielder Erin Mobley, a native of Santa Ana, Calif., has been playing softball year-round since she was 10 years old.

“It’s a full-time job,” she said. “You have to pick softball. You can’t play multiple sports.”

In Mobley’s graduating class from Foothill High School in Santa Ana, Calif., five players went on to play Division I softball.

Foothill has also produced Jaime Clark, a member of the U.S. Olympic Team, Lauren Bauer, an All-American at Arizona, and Caitlin Lowe, a member of the Junior World Team. In addition, NU senior shortstop Eryn Manahan, sophomore first baseman Jamie Dotson and assistant coach Lauren Schwendimann graduated from Foothill.

Almost every player on Mobley’s travel team, Gordon’s Panthers, went on to play Division I softball as well.

“It’s a whole culture, and it’s just very competitive early on,” she said. “It’s only getting worse because my little sister is playing now and she is seven.”

Wildcats’ senior second baseman Carri Leto, a native of El Cajon, Calif., echoed Mobley’s observations.

Three players from Leto’s graduating class at Valhalla High School went on to play college softball, and 75 percent of the players on her travel team went on to play Division I softball.

“Softball is definitely one of the more popular sports in California,” she said. “A lot of young girls play softball and soccer. When I was growing up, I didn’t even know what field hockey and lacrosse were.”

When going through the recruiting process, college coaches flock to Southern California. But even though the talent in the area is so abundant, it is still an arduous process to sway players to leave the state.

“You have to work your ass off,” Joseph said. “You have to develop relationships and networks. It’s a mistake to say you can recruit in all 50 states. You have to find your niches.”

NU coach Kate Drohan has continued to seek out the California niches developed by former NU coach Sharon J. Drysdale. The legendary coach had much success recruiting in California, bringing in the likes of 2003 first-team All-Big Ten selection Mobley and second-team selection Leto.

“I don’t think (Drysdale) had a lot of success in (Illinois) going up against DePaul and Illinois-Chicago, who were top 15 at the time,” Drohan said. “So she went to California, and she found success, so she stayed.”

The Big Ten coaches said they try to attract young adults who want to leave the state and try something new.

Drohan said she and her coaching staff must pursue the right California players.

“We target the California player who wants a different environment, who wants to get some independence and leave home,” she said.

Luckily for NU, the idea of snow didn’t scare away any of the nine Californians on the roster.

“For me, when I came here, it was kind of like an intrigue,” Mobley said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve never had snow, and I’ve never been in really cold weather.’ I thought it was a big adventure.”

Joseph has also found much luck in recruiting beach-going Californians to her cold, snowy campus in East Lansing, Mich.

“California has been sending its kids away for a long time,” she said. “The kids there are just open to leaving.”