After years of hard work and extreme commitment and love for the game it finally all pays off. Laurel Smithson, senior, recently committed to Trine University, a NCAA D3 school in Indiana, to play softball. But it was not just her skill on the field that attracted Trine University. Her hard work in the classroom played a big part in her fulfilling one of her childhood dreams.  

“I’m really excited to play college softball, it’s been a dream of mine since i was little,” Smithson said. “Trine is a really good fit both academically and athletically.”

Smithson has played softball the majority of her life and has always known this is what she wanted to do. It’s Great to see her as well as many others from our community go on to achieve their college athletic goals. But what is impressive about Laurel is that she has done extremely well will her grades throughout high school have well above a 4.0 GPA. She has definitely Perfected the art of being a student-athlete.

Smithson came into the Kings softball program her freshman year under Coach Bonner, the varsity head coach. Coach Bonner saw the young talent and knew right away that she had a chance to go to the next level. Laurel proved her right.

“It was obvious that Laurel had the potential to play college ball at a young age. I first saw her play as a 6th grader when she played travel ball. She was an athlete, loved the game and worked extremely hard on her softball skills,” said Bonner. “Laurel then came into the junior high program at Kings where I watched her love for the game and her skills improve. Now she is a huge part of our team.”

Smithson is a big bat and a huge part of the pitching staff, as well as infield, for the varsity team here at Kings. As for playing time in college, laurel expects to have a tough competition for playing time in the outfield or middle infield, but there is a solid chance of starting her freshman year.

To prepare for her first college season she has one more high school and summer season. She will be working hard to improve and hopefully put up some of the best stats she has had yet.

By Bailey Blanton

(Thank you to Varsity Views for the photos)