International Falls senior Olivia Santee has been offered a partial scholarship to play Division II softball at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
Broncos softball coach Kevin Gordon said the opportunity for Santee to continue playing softball in college is great news for both her and Falls’ softball program.
“Olivia has played for us as a catcher/outfielder the past three seasons and captained our team last year as a junior,” Gordon said. “She has been one of our top hitters the past three years and is the career leader as well in several offensive categories.”
Santee, who switched to the outfield last season after playing behind the plate for the Broncos, holds school records such as the single-season batting average (.623), hits (44), doubles (13) triples (6) and home runs (5) in a single season, career triples (15) career home runs (9) and single-season slugging percentage (1.014).
When asked what led up to her decision to attend Southwest State, where she plans to pursue a bachelors degree in biology before furthering her studies to become a veterinarian, Santee noted she attended a softball showcase in the Twin Cities this fall involving college teams and also had an individual tryout for the Mustangs.
“I’m really excited I have the opportunity to play college softball,” she said.
While some other teams had also been interested in her, Santee said she picked Southwest State because she likes where the university is located and its head softball coach, Missy Bruggeman.
“The head coach is really easy to talk with,” she said.
Upon reaching the collegiate ranks, Santee said she wants to be an outfielder, a position she didn’t play until she was part of the Duluth Aerials 16U team in the summer of 2011.
This past summer, Santee played softball with the Red Corvettes from the Duluth 18U league. The Corvettes were also National Class B champions.
Santee said playing in the Duluth summer leagues the past two years was key to her having an opportunity to play in college.
In her final year in high school, Santee said she hopes the Broncos will be able to “play at a high level as a team” with most of the players returning.
Upon arriving at Southwest State, which is in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Santee said she will have about a month of “fall ball” practice before beginning the 2014 softball season.
