Wednesday, June 24, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Former Outlaw will play softball at Boise State
Cassidy Edwards has been
a Panther, an Outlaw, a Cougar,
and she’s going to be a Bronco.
But what’s a nickname? In
this case, it is a dream come
true for Edwards.
“I am extremely blessed
and beyond excited for this
opportunity,” said Edwards.
“It all still seems so unreal. It
has always been a dream to go
and play Division 1 softball
and now the dream is coming
true.”
Everywhere she has played
softball, Edwards has made
an impact. When she was a
Redmond Panther, she earned
a starting spot as a freshman.
By the time she finished her
junior year, she had earned
All-State honors.
Edwards spent her senior
year at Sisters High School and
made an immediate impact.
She set several school records,
including strikeouts in a single
season. She played so well at
SHS that she earned a dual
softball-basketball scholar-
ship at Clackamas Community
College where she was an All-
Star in basketball and a two-
time All-American in softball.
For those teams she has
played every position on the
field. When a coach asks
Edwards, “Where do you
play?” she answers, “Any-
where you want me to play.”
At Division 1 Boise State,
a member of the Mountain
West Conference, Edwards
isn’t sure what to expect.
“I’m not positive what to
expect, coming in as a trans-
fer, but I know it is a goal of
mine to step into the program
and make an impact right
away,” said Edwards. “I will
move back towards a utility,
and find time in the middles,
some outfield, and might even
be behind the dish for the first
time in a few years.”
When Bronco Coach Cindy
Ball was scouting Edwards at
the Northwest Athletic Confer-
ence’s Softball Championship,
she asked Edwards’ former
pitching coach, Tom Mauldin,
what her strength was.
“She’s one of the most ver-
satile players you’ll see,” he
told Ball. “She might end up
being your shortstop, or center
fielder, or at second or your
catcher. There are pitchers
here (at the tournament) who
throw harder, batters who hit
for more power and average,
but Edwards is the best all-
around player here. Her big-
gest strength is her awareness.
She has a very high softball
I.Q.”
At that moment, with Ball
watching intently, Edwards
singled and as she rounded first
base, she noticed the (Douglas
College) outfielder coming
up slowly with the ball. At
that instance, the former Out-
law sprinted and dove safely
head-first into second base.
Ball looked at Mauldin
smiling and said, “How’s that
for timing?”
A month later, she is a
Bronco. It didn’t take a month
for Edwards to decide that
BSU was for her.
“My visit to Boise was
hands-down the deciding fac-
tor,” she said. “I knew when
I got the opportunity it was
going to be a tough decision
because it was always a goal
of mine to play Division 1
softball, but also a goal to
make sure that the school was
the best fit for me. The cam-
pus was beautiful and I knew
as soon as we completed my
tour, it was where I wanted to
finish my career.
“There were a number of
things that helped me decide,”
she added. “The campus was
a huge factor for me, it was
amazing and I fell in love
with it. The river on the back
side of the school is going to
be one of my favorite spots,
I already know. Also, I really
enjoyed the coaches, they
were all awesome.”
Unlike her previous
schools, at BSU she will play
only softball. Regardless of
jersey color, she was an All-
Star cager at her other three
stops.
“I will only be playing
softball. It will definitely
be a change to focus on one
sport, but I’m excited to see
what will happen when all of
my energy and efforts are put
towards softball.
“I am going to miss bas-
ketball so much. Especially
after the last two years I had at
CCC,” added Edwards. “The
coaches I played for were
beyond amazing and made my
experience 100 times better.
It’s going to be hard watching
games and being in the seats.”
Edwards was named the
NWAC Southern Division
Player of the Year after batting
.407 and recording an 18-5
pitching record with a 2.39
ERA and leading the Cou-
gars to the Southern title and
a 35-10 record.
Edwards is the second
Outlaw to sign a D1 softball
scholarship. Dara Kosanke,
also an NWAC All-American
and East Division Player of
the Year, played two seasons
for Utah Valley University.
Asked what her favorite
moments were at CCC, she
said. “It’s hard to pick just
one.”
“I think finishing top three
in the NWAC both seasons
in softball was a pretty great
moment. Throwing two shut-
outs at the tournament was
also great, too. I remember
sitting next to my coach Jess
(Buel) at the NWAC ban-
quet, and as they announced
the Player the Year we both
looked at each other and I
was just as surprised as she
was (she wasn’t aware that I
received the award) and that
was a pretty cool moment for
us as a player and coach.
“The experiences I had
and the memories I made are
irreplaceable. I couldn’t have
asked for a better support sys-
tem at CCC,” said Edwards,
the daughter of Jess Edwards
ll
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Edwards said signing with
BSU makes the countless
hours of preparing and travel
worth it all.
“This makes the hours and
hours beyond worth it,” she
said. “Looking back on all the
summer tournaments, prac-
tices in the gym, pitching les-
sons ... it makes it all a little
sweeter knowing that every-
thing I worked for is paying
off.
“I want to thank my parents
for the weekends upon week-
ends spent watching games.
Even on Father’s Day and
Mother’s Day they were out
watching softball,” she said.
“The countless hours my dad
spent with me on the field are
ones that I will forever cher-
ish. My parents have been my
biggest support system and I
owe it all to them.”
What’s in a nickname?
How about being a D1 softball
player.
“It is a dream come true,”
photo provided
cassidy edwards.
she said.
Edwards will begin her
Bronco career in late August.
•