Unfazed by multiple roles, versatility proves to be key asset for NKU softball player Hailey Whitmer

If you ask Northern Kentucky University softball head coach Kathryn Gleason about the values upon which her team prides itself, one of those will be flexibility.

It’s a vital one to spring athletes, who can often be at the tempestuous will of Mother Nature and need to adapt quickly in order to compete.

For junior Hailey Whitmer, flexibility is also part of her identity on the field.

The Louisville native came to the Norse as what she describes as a pitcher/utility. During her first season at Northern Kentucky, Whitmer played in 41 of the team’s 44 games, starting 26 at first base and nine as the designated player, but did not see time in the circle.

The next year, Whitmer made 23 appearances as NKU’s pitcher, but also fielded first, second or third in 13 contests. In this year’s abbreviated season, she started the first 10 games at first before moving to second for the final seven. But juggling multiple roles for the Norse has not fazed Whitmer in the slightest.

“Growing up, my dad drilled in my head that I would have more options and people would be more willing to look at me if I could be versatile,” she said. “I didn’t want to get stuck playing one position. I’ve done it all my life, switching from position to position. It’s tough at times, especially with the speed of college ball.”

When asked what skills she worked on over the summer in order to make a seamless transition back to fielding and batting, Whitmer said, “I made sure that I worked on taking more ground balls, because I hadn’t gotten a lot of those in actual games [last season]. Doing that and working on my hitting a lot was my main focus. Because if I would hit, everything else would fall into place.”

And hit she did. This season, the junior was off to her best collegiate start, leading the Norse with a .346 batting average and was second on the squad with a .558 slugging percentage, 18 hits, seven RBI and three home runs.

Despite seeing just 43 at-bats in 2019 due to a role switch into a pitcher, the junior came back even stronger to be a weapon at the plate for the Norse.

Whitmer’s drive to improve and excel has always been present, as she comes from a sport-oriented family with plenty of healthy competition. And even though she grew up with sports as a large part of her life, Whitmer is the first in her family to play collegiately and was followed by her cousin, who is a freshman at Campbellsville.

“It’s definitely an achievement,” she said, “because growing up, I’ve looked up to all the different players around my community and thought that they were really good. As I grew up, I was like ‘Well I can be as good as them.’ I think playing with my friends, especially travel ball, pushed me to want to be better and better myself, which I believe got me to this point in my life.”

As far as the season that barely was, Whitmer has certainly suffered heartache, not only for the tremendous strides that she has made but for the entire team.

“We had a really good shot at going far in the conference,” she said. “This team was really special. Everyone seemed to step up and we didn’t have just one leader; everyone was a leader.

“Everything clicked this year. When you have good chemistry like we did, whatever happens on the field reflects that. I felt really strongly about this team, so it’s sad to see it end the way it did.”

Nonetheless, Whitmer has more to look forward to for her collegiate career. The Norse softball program has been consistently hitting milestones that are a testament to its progress in the Division I era, and Whitmer has been a key part of that process by using her versatile skill set to help in whatever way she’s needed.

From NKU Athletics Communications