Baylor's Crosby Huckabay (4) drives against Heritage's Tori Harvey (3).Baylor junior Crosby Huckabay had her choice of a few NCAA Divison I softball offers but has made the decision to continue her career Georgia Tech.
Huckabay said it was around mid-summer when her Tennessee Fury-Higdon team competed in a tournament in Colorado that Georgia Tech coaches began taking notice. She made her commitment after taking an unofficial visit to the Atlanta campus last weekend.
"I just think it's a really good fit for me," Huckabay said. "My family values academics a lot and Georgia Tech is a great school. I just think it meets my needs for both softball and academics."
Huckabay also plays basketball at Baylor and has been a member of the Lady Red Raiders' varsity in softball since she was in eighth grade. She begin playing significantly as a freshman and batted .349 as a sophomore, a season in which she improved in average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage from the previous season. She totaled 15 extra-base hits, had 30 RBIs and scored 33 runs for the 2014 TSSAA Division II-AA state runner-up.
"She really started coming on at the end of her freshman year," Baylor coach Kelli Smith said. "I think she had a really good summer that year, too. She's another one of my kids who has worked real hard in the weight room. Her bat came around, and she's always had a tremendous glove at first base. She's one of the most talented athletes at first base that we've had. She's one of those kids who's kind of been a diamond in the rough. We've had so many talented players around here lately that she's kind of been overshadowed. I think she's going to have her due time now, going into her junior season."
Huckabay's select team finished fourth in the Amateur Softball Association's 16-under A national tournament this past summer. Coach Jeremy Higdon said she led the team in almost every offensive category and earned the recognition she got from Division I college programs.
"She worked really hard this past year to get to this point," Higdon said. "She proved she could play at that level and deserves that acknowledgement."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.