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Freshman Softball Standout Competes to be the Best Teammate
By: Joseph Hennessy
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Madi McCrady has always had success on the mound and has the tools to become one of the greats, but she is focused on becoming more – the best teammate.
At Walsh Jesuit High School, McCrady lettered all four-years, voted First-Team All-State as a sophomore and senior, Second-Team All-State as a junior, voted Most Valuable Player her sophomore year, voted MVP for the North Coast League twice, and a played as a state champion her junior year.
She never had an ERA over 2.0 in any of her four seasons and had 32 shutout games in her career – 10 of which came in her senior year.
She also won the Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award.
With a constant smile, while nervously swaying back and forth, McCrady talks more about her team than herself.
“I want to be able to help them win the MAC, that’s the one thing we are always working for, is to win the MAC championship and I really want that to happen and
of course being a team and helping them win,” she said. “That’s the one thing I strive to do, that’s my job.”
Ohio University Head Coach Jodi Hermanek noticed her domination in High School and knew she needed to be a Bobcat.
“We recruited Madi because she is a champion,” she said. “She is one of the best pitchers in the state, in her class, and has won a championship and has played for one of the best summer-ball programs and dominated with them and led them. So, she was definitely a person that we felt would come in and that would have a champion mindset.”
McCrady is a perfectionist, trying to be the best and master her craft like most pitchers, but her persistence, not only competing in practices and games, but watching tape and watching the veterans lead is helping her make strides.
“She is just a sponge right now, soaking it all in,”Hermanek said.
McCrady knows that her achievements at Walsh Jesuit took time and lots of work, but being the best teammate is something she hopes to achieve in her college uniform.
“I don’t want to get the awards; I want to do it with my team and be able to be there for them,” she said. “That’s my one goal, and if along the way I get awards that’s just a bonus.”