Copyright Chicago Tribune
In September, Marist’s Layla Peters made a trip to Notre Dame that was part business, part fun. The fun part was attending a Notre Dame football game. “It was when they played Texas A&M,” Peters said, excitedly. “It was a super-good game and it went down to the final play. I got to sit in the student section with the softball team. “And, oh my gosh, that environment was so cool.” One of the softball players was Caroline O’Brien, a former Marist teammate and current Notre Dame sophomore. Aside from sharing memories, the two talked business about Peters’ visit. “It was awesome to see Caroline,” said Peters, who will be entering her junior season this spring. “She was really wanting me to commit there. But it was already my dream school. “Growing up on the South Side, a lot of people are Notre Dame fans. My family is filled with huge Notre Dame fans. Ever since I was little, I always loved Notre Dame. I wanted to go there forever.” A couple of weeks later, Peters made it official. Before she joins the Fighting Irish, however, she has some unfinished business at Marist. As a freshman, she had the thrill of starting in the Class 4A state championship game, but the RedHawks dropped a 7-2 decision to St. Charles North. As a sophomore, she had the only hit as Marist lost 5-1 in the supersectional to Oswego. In 2026, Peters will be an upperclassman — and team leader — looking to help Marist win its fifth state title. She’s ready for that challenge. “I think I’ve grown a lot,” Peters said. “I’ve grown into confidence from being scared as a freshmen. I’m super excited. I’ve learned so much from the seniors that I’ve played with the past two seasons. I think this year we’ll be more motivated than ever.” Marist coach Colleen Phelan has seen the growth — and the grit. Her teammates? They better be ready for the challenge as well. “She’s easy to talk to and she’s pretty positive,” Phelan said. “But Layla is a hard-nosed competitor. We’d play competitions in practice, and she’d legit get mad at her teammates because she wants to win more than anything.” When Peters made her debut at first base for Marist in 2024, she replaced one of the program’s all-time standouts in Illinois-bound Eileen Donahue. “Coming in my freshman year, it was obviously nerve-racking having to play a starting position and fill that big role,” Peters said. “That team right before us won state and it was such a great team.” Peters responded respectably, hitting .245 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. “It was a motivation to have great people before me,” Peters said. “And my seniors that year, my leaders that year, they made it easy.” One of the seniors was O’Brien, who had a brilliant career at Marist as an outfielder, catcher and shortstop. Her influence on Peters was a strong one. “Even outside of practice, I hung out with Caroline a lot,” Peters said. “My cousin (Camryn Lyons) was super close with Caroline, so I spent a lot of time together with them. “Caroline was a real role model for me. When I was going through the ups and downs of figuring out my role on the team and playing my part as a freshman, she was definitely super helpful.” Peters had a breakout season as a sophomore, improving to .352 with nine doubles and 36 RBIs. Defensively, she was one of the best in the Southland, posting a .992 fielding percentage. She committed only one error. “Layla is one of the best, smoothest defenders at first base that we quite possibly have ever had,” Phelan said. “And that’s not even her natural position. Her natural position is really third base. “Who knows if she flips to the other side of the field next season? We’ll see how it all plays out.” Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
