Prince George softball star commits to Western Nebraska

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The past few years led to an even tougher decision for Leslie as she graduated from high school. In 2019, the pitcher originally committed to play for a school down in California. She was excited but then the pandemic hit, which she then decided to instead stick around Prince George and attend UNBC.

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“And then things kind of changed in my life a little bit. I had a bit of an eye-opener. The world started opening back up and I just felt the passion again that I didn’t want to live my life without softball.”

Up until a month ago, Leslie remained committed to attending school in California, however, she began feeling like it wasn’t the right fit for her. As a result, she opened up her recruiting process again.

“I started sending out emails, going through the whole recruiting process again. Western Nebraska just happened to be on my list. I emailed Coach Groves and within 20 minutes I had a phone call, ‘we have a scholarship available’. It all happened so quick, I mean this was only a month ago,” she said from her dorm room on campus.

At Western Nebraska now, she’s finding the community she’s in is much like Prince George in that it has the small-town feel and that sense of community. She admits she’s excited to represent Prince George in this next chapter of her athletic career, but also says the level of competition is like nothing she’s ever experienced before.

“I’m good in Prince George. I’m a good player. Coming somewhere down here, I’m not as good as everybody else. I’m there, I just haven’t played at the level that all of these other girls have, and have the knowledge just because they’re so experienced with the level of ball that’s played throughout the U.S.”

With that said, Leslie is eager to learn and grow through the coaching she’s receiving with the Cougars Softball program and is hopeful that with her being one of four pitchers on staff that she will receive some early game experience while also being a student of the game.