PHOENIX — Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, Aissa Silva didn’t expect to embrace both sides of the Wildcat-Sun Devil rivalry.

“I definitely would not say I was one to ever think I was ever going to come to ASU,” Aissa said. “But once I got here and got to know the people of ASU, I really grew to like it, and I love it here.”

The senior left-handed pitcher transferred from the University of Arizona to her childhood archrival, Arizona State on May 27, 2025, accepting a critical role for the program. Following the shocking decision, negative social media perspectives emerged, which drove Aissa to her brother, Franky Silva, for guidance and shaped her into a better team player and athlete. 

In her early years, Aissa said the family traveled to watch her brother’s baseball games, making softball a part of her identity from the start.

On the diamond, Franky competed as an all-around utility player, Aissa said, mainly helming the shortstop position.

Aissa said she is “pretty athletic” for a pitcher, attributing her brother’s mentorship as the reason she shags balls at shortstop during batting practice.

“My brother definitely made me the athlete that I am today,” she said.

Aissa says her brother's best advice was to never settle for one thing and to do as much as you can to make yourself a better player and person.

Undeniably, Aissa said Franky’s wisdom resonated with her as she made career decisions.

The first of those crucial decisions came when she took her softball talent to Arizona.

In Aissa’s three years as a Wildcat, the southpaw staked her place as a stud. 

She dominated her sophomore year, leading the team with 22 wins and tallying 110 total strikeouts, including a career-high nine against Oregon State on March 9, 2024.

However, after appearing in just 19 games as a junior, Aissa entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and shifted 109 miles up I-10 to ASU.

The media exploded after Aissa’s decision, with comments flooding X about her departure.

Following the transfer, Aissa even reposted an X message from Addisen Fisher, acknowledging her disappointment with the public's “couch-hating” over athletes' decisions to leave their program. 

Regarding performance failures and tough decisions players make on a daily basis, Aissa said media attention is a reality that collegiate athletes must deal with.

“You’re always going to have those people that are trying to break you down a little bit,” she said. “But the sport is 90% failure.”

Navigating the spotlight comes with its respective hurdles, and Aissa said she aims to stay on the positive side of social platforms. 

“I try not to read a lot of the stuff that is negative,” she says, “I want the people that are going to be in my corner and that are going to support me.” 

Aissa said helping her teammates with their media struggles benefited how she handles encounters on social media.

“(It’s) helped me with a little bit more of, what I do with myself, and what I kind of give people out on media,” she said. “I feel like people only see so much in the media that they don’t really know.”  

Despite so many moving pieces, Aissa said she’s acclimated quite well.

“It’s been really fun to be here,” she said. “The adjustment, you know, it’s definitely a different atmosphere, but I really love it here…The team has made it pretty easy.”

When pointing out Tempe and Tucson’s unique characteristics, Aissa said she’s still getting used to ASU’s massive campus relative to her previous experience. 

Yet Aissa doesn’t have to wait long to make her return home, as the Sun Devils face the Wildcats on March 20-22 at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson.

“I love the girls on the team (Arizona), and I’m excited to go back there.

“They have a great field, and I’m just really excited to play there, see some old fans and just play some good games,” Aissa said.