Cassidy “Cat” Blount is a 2016 lefty catcher/first baseman who has helped lead Newton County High in Decatur, Miss. to three straight state championships.

The FloSports 2^nd Team All-American and 1^st Team All-State honoree led Mississippi with 38 RBI in 33 games and was perfect in the field with 139 chances, 123 putouts, 16 assists and zero errors. Cat also hit .571 at the high school level.

She plays for the Louisiana Voodoo Gold team and last week pulled the trigger in deciding where she’ll go to college.

An injury derailed part of her recruiting timeline, but she has come back with a vengeance and in this first-person account explains her interesting reasons as to why she committed to the school she selected and the recruiting path that brought her back to the first college to offer her…

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I started playing travel softball when I was eight years old.

As a senior now, I have traveled all over the U.S. playing with some of the best teams and on some of the biggest stages. I have attended camps, sent e-mails, maintained recruiting profile sites, and visited campuses.

You name it and I have done it.

This summer I played with America’s Team USA in Italy and I couldn’t have been more honored to play alongside my teammates (American and Italian).

Being a Mississippi girl, I dreamed of playing in the SEC. One would think that playing on this level and in all these places that I would have committed before now, right?

Well, my recruiting reality wasn’t that smooth.

“Who are you signing with?” Oh, that dreaded question. Not committed… I am that player that got asked about, talked to, the “keep in touch,” and the “come and visit.”

I struggled with should I commit or wait?

My USA Coach, Cindy Corrado, told me that there is more to the story than playing for my dream school. She reminded me that my education and my love of the sport should drive my decision.

There is a college for everyone and a team for every player, if that is what they want. NAIA, Juco, D1, SEC or Pac-12 should not limit my future and passion for the game.

After returning home, I started thinking about what she said.   One coach kept coming to mind. One coach that has followed me since the 9^th grade, that gave me my first verbal offer, came to my tournaments and always kept in touch.

Coach Kevin Griffin at Belhaven University has been the constant. A “smart school”? An NAIA school? A school close to home? A school that my mom said we couldn’t afford?

Has my family spent all this money and time over the years and I am thinking: “Yep, Belhaven!”

As luck had it, I received a call from Coach Griffin asking me to come to Belhaven and we talked about the offer they had worked out for me.   As my mom and I talked, she reminded me that I have always wanted to play for Coach Griffin and if this is what I wanted to do then we would go.

Long story short… I committed.

I will begin my journey as a Lady Blazer and pursue my studies in Sports Medicine.

I will be part of a group that will take BU from NAIA to NCAA. I will get to be a part of a pioneer group from the ground up.

How exciting is that?

What can I tell you from my experience?

God’s plan for us isn’t always the plan that we have for ourselves. His is better! We may not understand, but the right path is coming. Stay excited, stay positive and you will be amazed!

All for the love of the yellow ball,

Cat

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Editor’s note: Belhaven Univ. is a private Christian liberal arts school located in Jackson, Miss. The Blazers have just joined the American Southwest Conference and will play Div. III softball starting this year.