#3 Kat Strunk.313 BA, 45 H, 7 HR Team-high 42 RBI. #22 Ashley Kirk 3.39 ERA, 21-9, 15 CG #10 Lauren Poole 3.47 ERA, 6-5, 5 CG

Transcription

1

2 north texas Tim McNamara Athletics Communications Office: Cell: Mean Green Softball Game Notes 2014 Schedule C-USA Tournament - Boca Raton, Fla. FEBRUARY 7 vs. James Madison! W, at #23 Georgia! L, at #23 Georgia! L, vs. Winthrop! L, vs. Winthrop! W, Nicholls State# W, Southern# W, (RV) Northern Iowa# W, Southern# W, (RV) Northern Iowa# W, Texas State^ W, Abilene Christian^ W, Prairie View A&M^ W, Stephen F. Austin^ W, TBD^ W, 3-0 MARCH 1 Wichita State% L, McNeese State% L, 5-2 (8) 2 McNeese State% Canceled 2 Wichita State% Canceled 4 at Houston W, 6-1/Canceled 8 at Middle Tennessee* W, 5-1/W, at Middle Tennessee* W, Texas L, 10-2, L, Oklahoma State W, UTSA* W, 3-0, L UTSA* W, at Texas Tech L, 5-1, L, at UTEP* W, 8-5, W, at UTEP* W, UAB* L, 9-1, L UAB* L, 2-1 APRIL 2 Stephen F. Austin W, Louisiana Tech* W, 3-1, L, Louisiana Tech* Canceled 9 at Oklahoma State L, at Marshall* (FOX) W, 7-3, W, at Marshall * W, UTA W, at #17 Oklahoma (FOX) L, at FIU* L, 7-1, L, at FIU* L, at #17 Baylor (FOX) L, 7-1 May 3 #18 Tulsa* L, 7-3 (9), W, #18 Tulsa* W, at (4) Florida Atlantic** 5:30 p.m. 9 vs. (1) Tulsa/(8) Charlotte** 3:30 p.m. 10 vs. TBA (CBS Sports)** 11 a.m. All home games in bold - All time CST Home Games: Lovelace Stadium (300) *Conference USA game! Georgia Tournament - Athens, Ga. # Lovelace Invitational - Denton, Texas ^ Texas Shootout - Denton, Texas % BW/Courtyard Classic - Denton, Texas **C-USA Softball Championship - Boca Raton, Fla. North Texas 30-21, 14-9 Probable Starters #8 Jackie Miller.284 BA, 5 3B, 2 HR 9 SB #12 Brooke Foster.337 BA,.657 SLG%, 59 H, 15 HR, 45 Runs, 37 RBI #9 Jordan Terry.297 BA, 43 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR #3 Kat Strunk.313 BA, 45 H, 7 HR Team-high 42 RBI #22 Ashley Kirk 3.39 ERA, 21-9, 15 CG #10 Lauren Poole 3.47 ERA, 6-5, 5 CG #23 Bryana Wade.211 BA, 31 BB, 23 Runners Caught Stealing Coaching Staff Head Coach: Tracey Kee (1st season) Assistant Coach: Rone Robinson (2nd season) Volunteer Assistant: Addison Staley (1st season) Athletic Trainer: Kristine Seymour (2nd season) #14 Spencer Ferrell.299 BA, 23 BB, 9 SB, 17 SAC BU #00 Dani Hoff.358 BA,.539 SLG%, 59 H, 13 2B, 33 RBI 2014 ROSTER Florida Atlantic 33-21, 15-9 Follow North Texas Athletics North Texas Softball Twitter...@MeanGreenSB North Texas Softball Facebook...Facebook.com/MeanGreenSB DP - #16 Taylor Schoblocher.270 BA, 37 H, 7 2B, 5 HR North Texas at Florida Atlantic Thursday, May 8, 5:30 p.m. CST RPI: NT - 76, Florida Atlantic Series: North Texas will do battle with Florida Atlantic for the first time this season and for the first time in C-USA. The Mean Green is all-time againt the Owls dating back to their time together in the Sun Belt. NT has won the last three including a 7-6 win in the Sun Belt Conference tournament on May 8, #2 Jen Beardsley.254 BA,.302 OBP, 15 H, 14 Runs Mean Green Spotlight Brooke Foster -Senior -Starting shortstop -C-USA Player of the Week -Walk-off grand slam to beat Tulsa The senior went off on No. 18 Tulsa in North Texas final week of league play, hitting a pair of homers including the walk-off grand slam in the rubber game. With the slam, she reached career hit No. 222, which put her into a tie for first place on the all-time hits list and one away from sole possession of first place. No. Name Ht. Cl. Pos. B/T Hometown (Previous School) 00 Dani Hoff 5-4 Jr. IF L/L Garland, TX (Garland H.S.) 2 Jen Beardsley 5-3 Jr. OF L/R Flower Mound, TX (Marcus H.S.) 3 Kat Strunk 5-5 Jr. OF R/R Grand Prairie, TX (NCTC) 5 Shelbie Smith 5-6 Fr. C/OF R/R Edmond, OK (Edmond Memorial H.S.) 7 Madison Tierney 5-4 So. OF L/R Austin, TX (Vandegrift H.S.) 8 Jackie Miller 5-6 Sr. OF L/R Woodstock, GA (Sequoyah H.S.) 9 Jordan Terry 5-6 Sr. IF R/R Rowlett, TX (Rowlett H.S.) 10 Lauren Poole 5-5 Sr. P L/L OKC, OK (Putnam City North H.S.) 11 Karly Williams #KARL5-7 So. UT R/R Castroville, TX (Medina Valley H.S.) 12 Brooke Foster 5-3 Sr. IF R/R Wylie, TX (Houston Baptist) 14 Spencer Ferrell 5-3 So. UT L/R Dallas, TX (Cameron) 16 Taylor Schoblocher 5-9 So. UT R/R Forney, TX (North Forney H.S.) 17 Sarah McGann 5-4 Sr. C R/R Rowlett, TX (Rowlett H.S.) 18 Mallory Land 5-7 Fr. UT R/R Parkville, MO (Park Hill South H.S.) 19 Madison Thompson 5-9 Jr. P R/R Sand Springs, OK (Charles Page H.S.) 20 Kenzie Grimes 5-9 Fr. P/1B R/R Arcadia, CA (Arcadia H.S.) 22 Ashley Kirk 5-9 Sr. P R/R Round Rock, TX (Stony Point H.S.) 23 Bryana Wade 5-8 So. C R/R Choctaw, OK (Mount St. Mary H.S.) Pronunciations Schoblocher: Show-Blocker Bryana: Bree-ONA Tierney: TEER-nee

3 Head Coach Tracey Kee 17th Season NCAA Tournament 1999, 2008, 10, 11 Conference USA Coach of the Year 2005, 09, 10 Big South Coach of the Year 1997 North Texas Record: Championships Won: 1997-Big South Regular Season 1998-Big South Regular Season 1999-Big South Regular Season Big South Tournament 2000-East Coast Athletic Conf. Tournament 2001-East Coast Athletic Conf. Tournament 2010-Conference USA Regular Season Conference USA Tournament 2011-Conference USA Tournament Year Record School East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina East Carolina North Texas Total Personal Collegiate Career: East Carolina, Four-year starter and two-time captain Hometown: Richmond, VA High School: St. Gertrude HS Education: East Carolina University, 1990 (B.S.) East Carolina University, 1995 (M.E.) Overall Record: #KARL Mean Green Storylines Boca Bound North Texas, following its series victory over top-ranked Tulsa, finds itself in the fifth seed heading into the C-USA tournament. Kee Points -In her first year, coach Kee secured the winningest season in program history when the Mean Green notched its 30th win over Tulsa in the season finale. -Sr. Brooke Foster has four lead-off home runs and one grand slam on the season. -NT is 21-1 when leading after five innings. -NT is outscoring opponents in the first inning. -With a 14-9 C-USA record, the 2014 squad North Texas When... Home Away Neutral Against a lefty Against a righy Leading after 5 innings Trailing after 5 innings Tied after 5 innings Leading after 6 innings Trailing after 6 innings Tied after 6 innings In one-run games In two-run games Scoring 0-2 runs Scoring 3-5 runs Scoring 6+ runs streaks Longest winning...11 Longest losing streak...6 Active streak... W2 Last Individual Streaks Multi-RBI Games Strunk...12 Foster...9 Active Hitting Streaks Schoblocher...2 Miller...2 Terry...2 Longest Reached Base Streaks Terry...18 Hoff...13 Longest Hitting Streaks This Season Hoff...13 Ferrell...7 Foster...6 Strunk...6 achieved the highest conference win total in program history. -Sophomore transfer Spencer Ferrell is fifth in the nation in sac hits per game (.34). Captain Kirk The senior ace became the most decorated pitcher in program history when she toppled a couple more records in the win over UTA. She overtook the single-season wins record (21 victories on the year) and edged out herself to claim the single-season strikeout record. She personally owns the top four single-season strikeout records. Weekly Awards North Texas has won five C-USA Player/ Pitcher of the Week awards: Feb Brooke Foster - Player of the Week Feb Ashley Kirk - Pitcher of the Week March 10 - Jackie Miller - Player of the Week March 24 - Lauren Poole - Co-Pitcher of the Week May 5 - Brooke Foster - Player of the Week North Texas Rankings C-USA Team Rankings Team batting average...6th Doubles per game...2nd ERA...8th Home runs per game...5th Scoring... 3rd Slugging percentage... 3rd Stolen bases per game...4th Triples per game...2nd C-USA Individual Runs per game Foster...2nd Doubles per game Hoff...6th Home runs per game Foster...2nd RBI per game Strunk...5th Sacrifice hits per game Ferrell...1st Triples per game Miller...1st Strikeouts Kirk...4th Victories Kirk...2nd NCAA National Rankings Doubles per game...80th Scoring...66th Slugging percentage...75th Triples per game...32nd NCAA Individual National Rankings Home runs Foster...27th Runs per game Foster...72nd Sacrifice hits per game Ferrell...5th Total triples Miller...10th Victories Kirk...30th *All stats as of May 6, 2014.

4 North Texas Quick Facts School Information Founded Location... Denton, Texas Enrollment... 36,221 President... Dr. Neal Smatresk Nickname... Mean Green Colors... Green and White Conference... Conference USA (1st Year) Athletic Director:... Rick Villarreal #KARL Media Relations Office SID...Tim McNamara Office phone Cell phone Web Site... Home Run Tracker No. Player Opponent Date 1 Kat Strunk James Madison 2/7/14 2 Jackie Miller James Madison 2/7/14 3 Bryana Wade James Madison 2/7/14 4 Brooke Foster James Madison 2/7/14 5 Dani Hoff Northern Iowa 2/15/14 6 T. Schoblocher Northern Iowa 2/15/14 7 Jackie Miller Northern Iowa 2/16/14 8 Brooke Foster Northern Iowa 2/16/14 9 Jordan Terry Abilene Christian 2/20/14 10 Dani Hoff Prairie View A&M 2/21/14 11 Brooke Foster Prairie View A&M 2/21/14 12 Brooke Foster* SFA 2/22/14 13 Dani Hoff SFA 2/22/14 14 Karly Williams Texas State 2/23/14 15 Brooke Foster Middle Tenn. (1) 3/8/14 16 T. Schoblocher Middle Tenn. (2) 3/8/14 17 T. Schoblocher Middle Tenn. 3/9/14 18 Kat Strunk Oklahoma St. 3/12/14 19 Shelbie Smith UTSA (1) 3/15/14 20 Kat Strunk UTSA (2) 3/15/14 21 Kat Strunk UTSA (2) 3/15/14 22 Brooke Foster* UTSA 3/16/14 23 Jordan Terry UTSA 3/16/14 24 Dani Hoff Texas Tech (1) 3/19/14 25 Brooke Foster* Texas Tech (2) 3/19/14 26 Brooke Foster UTEP (1) 3/21/14 27 Kat Strunk UTEP (1) 3/21/14 28 Brooke Foster* UTEP (2) 3/21/14 29 Brooke Foster UTEP 3/22/14 30 Bryana Wade UTEP 3/22/14 31 Jordan Terry UAB 3/30/14 32 Kat Strunk SFA 4/2/14 33 Brooke Foster SFA 4/2/14 34 Jordan Terry LA Tech (2) 4/5/14 35 Brooke Foster Oklahoma St. 4/9/14 36 Brooke Foster Marshall (1) 4/12/14 37 Dani Hoff Marshall (1) 4/12/14 38 T. Schoblocher Marshall 4/13/14 39 Shelbie Smith Baylor 4/29/14 40 Kat Strunk Tulsa (1) 5/3/14 41 Brooke Foster Tulsa (1) 5/3/14 42 T. Schoblocher Tulsa (2) 5/3/14 43 Bryana Wade Tulsa 5/4/14 44 Brooke Foster Tulsa (walk-off) 5/4/14 * -Denotes a lead-off home run to start the game. NT Single-Season Records Watch RBI No. Player RBI Year 1. Susan Waters Maddelyn Fraley Mallory Cantler Kat Strunk Susan Waters Doubles No. Player 2B Year 1. Mallory Cantler Susan Waters Dani Hoff Mallory Cantler Katya Muller Dani Hoff Triples No. Player 3B Year 1. Jackie Miller Susan Waters Home Runs No. Player HR Year 1. Susan Waters Susan Waters Brooke Foster Maddelyn Fraley Multi-RBI Games No. Player G s Year 1. Susan Waters Maddelyn Fraley Mallory Cantler Kat Strunk SAC Bunts No. Player BU Year 1. Spencer Ferrell Kelei Walker 16* Mariza Martinez Kadie Platt Walks No. Player BB Year 1. Lisa Johnson Bryana Wade Lisa Johnson Taylor Schoblocher Runners Caught Stealing (Catchers Only) No. Player CS Year 1. Christine Jonse Bryana Wade Danielle Rupp Wins No. Player Wins Year 1. Ashley Kirk Kristina Fowler Strikeouts No. Player K s Year 1. Ashley Kirk Ashley Kirk Ashley Kirk Ashley Kirk North Texas Records Watch Career Hits No. Player Hits Career 1. Katya Muller Brooke Foster Present 3. Mallory Cantler Mariza Martinez Susan Waters 196* Stolen Bases No. Player SB Career 1. Brooke Foster Present 2. Megan Rupp Mariza Martinez Career Doubles No. Player 2B Career 1. Mallory Cantler Susan Waters 42* Katya Muller Mariza Martinez Brooke Foster Present Lisa Johnson Dani Hoff Present Career Triples No. Player 3B Career 1. Katya Muller Brooke Foster Present Jackie Miller Present 4. Megan Rupp Kristina Fowler Susan Waters 4* Kelei Walker 4* Career RBI No. Player RBI Career 1. Susan Waters 138* Mallory Cantler Brooke Foster present Games Started No. Player GS Career 1. Ashley Kirk Present 2. Kristina Fowler Brittany Simmons Wins No. Player Wins Career 1. Ashley Kirk Present 2. Kristina Fowler Brittany Simmons Strikeouts No. Player K s Career 1. Ashley Kirk Present 2. Kristina Fowler * -Includes the 2004 season when North Texas exceeded the NCAA maximum number of games played.

5 May 8-10 Hosted by FAU Softball Stadium, Boca Raton, Fla. Thursday May 8 Friday May 9 Saturday May 10 (7) Marshall 11 a.m. (2) UAB (6) East Carolina 2 p.m. 1:30 p.m. (3) FIU (8) Charlotte 4 p.m. 12 p.m. (CBS Sports) Champion (1) Tulsa (5) North Texas 4:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. (4) Florida Atlantic All Times ConferenceUSA

6 2014 Season Stats Record: Home: Away: Neutral: 2-1 C-USA: 14-9 Date Opponent Score 2/7 vs James Madison W 7-1 2/7 at #23 Georgia L /8 at #23 Georgia L 4-7 2/8 vs Winthrop L 2-5 2/9 vs Winthrop W 4-1 2/14 NICHOLLS W 8-4 2/14 SOUTHERN W 9-0 2/15 NORTHERN IOWA W 8-6 2/15 SOUTHERN W 9-1 2/16 NORTHERN IOWA W 7-6 2/20 TEXAS STATE W 1-0 2/20 ABILENE CHRISTIAN W /21 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M W /22 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN W /23 TEXAS STATE W 3-1 3/1 WICHITA STATE L 4-5 3/1 MCNEESE L 2-5 3/3 at Houston W 6-1 *3/8 at Middle Tennessee W 5-1 *3/8 at Middle Tennessee W 8-1 *3/9 at Middle Tennessee W /11 TEXAS L /11 TEXAS L 1-2 3/12 OKLAHOMA STATE W 4-3 *3/15 UTSA W 3-0 *3/15 UTSA L 6-10 *3/16 UTSA W /19 at Texas Tech L 1-5 3/19 at Texas Tech L 4-5 *3/21 at Miners W 8-5 *3/21 at Miners W 8-0 *3/22 at Miners W 11-4 *3/29 UAB L 1-9 *3/29 UAB L 1-5 *3/30 UAB L 1-2 4/2 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN W 5-4 *4/5 LA TECH W 3-1 *4/5 LA TECH L 2-3 4/9 at Oklahoma State L 4-7 *4/12 at Marshall W 7-3 *4/12 at Marshall W 9-8 *4/13 at Marshall W 8-2 4/16 UTA W 3-0 4/23 at #17 Oklahoma L 0-3 *4/26 at FIU L 1-7 *4/26 at FIU L 0-7 Player avg slug ob% g ab r h 2b 3b hr rbi bb so sb cs e HOFF, Danielle FOSTER, Brooke STRUNK, Kat FERRELL, Spencer TERRY, Jordan MILLER, Jackie SCHOBLOCHER, Ta BEARDSLEY, Jennif GRIMES, Kenzie WADE, Bryana SMITH, Shelbie WILLIAMS, Karly MCGANN, Sarah LAND, Mallory TIERNEY, Madison THOMPSON, Madiso POOLE, Lauren KIRK, Ashley Totals Opponents LOB - Team (343), Opp (314). DPs turned - Team (10), Opp (5). IBB - Team (0), Opp (3). Player era w-l app gs cg sh sv ip h r er bb so avg hr KIRK, Ashley POOLE, Lauren GRIMES, Kenzie THOMPSON, Madison Totals Opponents PB - Team (9), Wade 7, Smith, S. 2, Opp (10). SBA/ATT - Wade (24-47), Kirk (15-35), Thompson (8-8), Smith, S. (6-7), Poole (4-7), Grimes, K (3-4). Score by innings Total North Texas Opponents Win-loss breakouts: Day 22-12; Night 8-9; vs Left 2-5; vs Right 28-16; 1-run games 6-5; 2-run games 3-0; 5+run games 11-7; Extra inns 1-2; Shutouts 6-2. Current streak: Won 2; Longest winning streak: 11; Longest losing streak: 6. Attendance: Home (avg 425); Away 5723 (avg 286); Total (avg 367).

7 The Kee To Turning Around A Program By: Tim McNamara, North Texas Athletics - Communications In the summer of 2013, Tracey Kee found herself in dramatically-uncharted territory, professionally and geographically. Kee had spent her entire life living on the east coast and more than half of her life in the East Carolina softball program, first as a player, then assistant coach, and finally head coach. She had flourished, winning almost 700 games, earning four coach of the year awards, and taking four teams to the NCAA tournament. Now she was starting over, more than a thousand miles from the only world she had ever known. I was extremely apprehensive, said Kee about taking the head softball coach position at North Texas. At 46, this was the first time I was in a new environment and inheriting a team that I did not recruit. Most people experience that in their early years, and to have that turnover now was probably my biggest fear and concern as a coach, she added. At this point in my career, I was going to go into a group that I knew nothing about, and I did a lot of soul searching with it. win leaders among active C-USA softball coaches Apparently, those searches found the right answers. Going into this weekend s final regular-season series, against Tulsa at Lovelace Stadium, the Mean Green has already posted one of the winningest seasons in school history - a testament to Kee s ability to reach a group of players she did not recruit and to get the most out of her student-athletes. Welcome to Texas Kee arrived in Denton in the middle of a mercilessly-hot Texas summer and immediately began the process of transforming a Mean Green softball program that had produced just three winning reasons in ten years. But what Kee discovered in the first meetings with her players was a team with talent and, more importantly, the ambition to succeed and the willingness to listen to a new voice. I think it was different for them and me, Kee said. Here we are, three days before the start of school, and I show up and am about to take the reins of the program. As a coach, I knew I needed to come out and be completely honest. I needed to tell them my vision, how I am, my expectations. It was either buy into it or maybe this isn t the right change for you. But I think I was very fortunate because this group embraced the change and embraced everything from day one in regards to where I wanted this program to go, how I wanted this program to go and that I wanted them to be a part of it. Tough Love By her own admission, Kee is a tough-love coach. Never shying away from the challenge of constantly pushing and developing her student-athletes to the brink of their full potential, she has a fiery passion for the game and for her players, qualities that emerged early in her career. One of her former players, Erin St. Ledger, who played under Kee from , considers Kee to have mastered the balance of discipline and compassion. By the end of my career, she had prepared me to be successful, not only on the field, but in life, St. Ledger said. She was always really tough on the field, and for the people that already were pushing themselves hard, she was that someone who would push you even harder to try and reach that top level. And while establishing herself as a disciplinarian was important, Kee also wanted to reveal her more personal side to the team. She puts an emphasis on her relationships with each player, allowing the student-athletes to be comfortable yet tightly focused as they work toward their goals, a style that has allowed Kee to not only survive, but thrive in the cutthroat coaching industry. I think it is important for them to understand how much I care about them as individuals and not just as student-athletes, Kee explained. Understanding that fine line of when you can laugh with them and be funny, but when we step on that field, how I can push the right buttons and get the best out of them as a student-athlete is key. I think when they see that you re human and that you do have a sense of humor and that you can be serious and intense, it s a matter of being in the right moment at that particular situation. There are times where I can be intense with them, and there are times when being lighter and joking with them is a positive. They both work. The Big Picture The Virginia native sees herself as much more than simply a head coach. Knowing that student-athletes need support outside of just Xs and Os, Kee has come to realize through 20-plus years of experience that coaching is only one slice of the pie when it comes to running a program. You have to wear so many hats. You have to be the coach, the disciplinarian, the mom, the sister, the friend, the counselor, the therapist, and to not wear all of those hats is a disservice to those athletes, Kee said. Most student-athletes at this level want to be challenged and want to be pushed, and I think it is up to the coach to find the buttons on those particular individuals to make that happen. Kee huddles with North Texas players during a game St. Ledger agrees, finding Kee s connection with the players - including herself - to be well-tailored to each individual student-athlete. She was a mother figure and gave out some tough love, St. Ledger said. But at the end of the day, you looked up to her, and she was someone you just wanted to make proud. Continue to next page...

8 The nurturing side of coach Kee could be seen on a road trip to Marshall, when the Mean Green s Karly Williams was hit in the jaw by a pitch that hospitalized the second baseman in Huntington, West Virginia, for three days. Kee remained with Williams as she recovered, while the rest of the team flew back to Denton to prepare for a mid-week game with UT Arlington. Coach Kee s philosophies and style were a definite change of pace from what the Mean Green softball crew was used to, but she didn t hold back placing her stamp on the program from day one. Utilizing a fast-paced practice structure and focusing the girls on the cerebral side of the game were two of the more drastic changes the players had to adjust to early on. Her implementation of schemes and defensive strategies were eye opening for a unit that wasn t used to that level of organization in the field of play. This is one of the most talented groups I have ever coached, and I was fortunate to come into a program that I felt needed a foundation, some positivity, some push and a sense of togetherness, said Kee. Getting Them To Buy In Creating that sense of togetherness and establishing a successful foundation is no easy task in collegiate coaching. Getting players to buy in and stick to the program through the hard practices and tough conditioning on top of their busy everyday lives may be the most challenging aspect of being a head coach, especially in their first year with a new program. At first, I could feel the energy but also the apprehensiveness, Kee said. It was at the end of the fall when we had another team sit down, and I just flat out told them that I have taken teams with less talent far. Because by then, four months in, I knew exactly how much talent this team had, and what I was working with. I had a pretty clear vision of what this team was capable of doing, and I think that was the a-ha moment where the girls realized oh, she doesn t think we re bad, and she believes in us and does like us. That s a credit to them and their hard work. Despite the difficulty of the assignment, Kee has found a way to execute her vision, while simultaneously giving her players a goal to strive for - winning a conference title and making the postseason. After sitting with coach Rick and the administrators here and hearing their vision, I felt our visions matched up, Kee said. I knew that, if given an opportunity, I could truly help a team get where they wanted to be. Kee argues a call with an umpire On the flipside, you have to have student-athletes that are receptive to that, she added. And I think that not just coming in overbearing and showing off my resume, but instead, showing them that I ve been in it. I ve done this. I ve learned from experience, and you can either come with me or not. I felt the vision was very clear. This program needed to take a step up. This program needed to prove itself and this program is sitting in an area where it can be very successful. I felt those were all things that I wanted to help this program get to. I think just sitting down and talking to the team in your locker room for the very first time and selling that to them. They didn t have to buy it. They could have bucked the system and made things difficult, but I think the timing was perfect. This is the perfect place for me at this time. With her system now firmly in place and the goals clearly set, the Mean Green is poised to take that next step at long last, playing for its first conference title, its first conference tournament championship and for that elusive first NCAA tournament appearance. Change is not always a bad thing, Kee said. I think me landing at North Texas was a good fit, and we have blended from day one, worked extremely hard and ridden this roller coaster of good practices and bad. Right now, we like the body of work that we are building. Photo Credit: Steve Miller, SJMiller Photography

9 Brooke Foster Plays For Son By: Graham Hays, ESPNW.com Can you hold that not so close to your face? Thank you. Layton Foster furrowed his eyebrows at the request from his mother, and the almost angelic patience he had displayed for the better part of the past hour dissipated ever so slightly into the stubbornness more readily associated with a 4-year-old boy, especially one who had recently skipped his regular afternoon nap. He grudgingly moved the tablet in his hands an almost imperceptible distance from his face and continued to play a video game. Hey, came his mom s voice, and the sudden sharpness of that word conveyed a note of warning. Not so close to your face. Her patience tried, he did as she said without further complaint and resumed his wait. For Brooke Foster, talking about motherhood didn t mean a break from motherhood. A 24-year-old senior at North Texas, Brooke is one of the more talented shortstops in college softball, certainly one of the best in Conference USA. She has range in the field and a strong arm. She hits for power and has a leadoff batter s speed. She already owns the Mean Green record for career stolen bases and is 15 hits from claiming that record, too. She is on track, after completion of a final internship this summer, to be the first member of her family to graduate from college. All of which are true not so much in addition to her being a single mother nor in spite of her obligations to Layton. These things are true because of the shy boy with blond hair and the Atlanta Braves cap whose feet didn t reach the floor as he sat next this mother. Brooke could easily have become a cautionary tale, the uber-talented athlete whose unplanned pregnancy led her to drop out of school and drift away from a future once seemingly in focus. All of that happened, and left her on a precipice. Hers isn t a path even she would wish to tread again, not through times both dark and lonely. But Brooke came all the way back. Not to reclaim that which she lost, but to protect what she gained the best way she knew how. Really, the only way she knew how: with a bat and a glove. She will graduate from college because of Layton. And she plays softball for him. I was determined that he was going to be mine, and I was going to be able to raise him and I was going to be so happy, Brooke said of Layton. I was just so defensive over him. And I still am. Any time anyone tries to say anything, I m like, You know what, I have been to hell and back so many times for this little boy to be here. I was determined to be a really good mom. She was always a good shortstop. Growing up in Wylie, a small town on the far fringes of the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, she enjoyed playing volleyball as much as softball. But as someone who never grew beyond a lithe 5-foot-3 frame, she listened to those who told her the diamond was the best route to a college scholarship. She didn t really know what she wanted to do with that scholarship; didn t have a grasp of what it was, exactly, that college was supposed to be about. She just knew it was the prize. Get the scholarship, and softball continued. That much made sense. An all-state selection as a high school senior in 2008, she earned that scholarship from Houston Baptist University. But over Christmas break of her freshman year at that school she found out she was pregnant, the father in Wylie. She dropped out and moved back to Wylie, although the turn of events left her estranged from her mother and father. Those were the darkest days, when she was adrift and terrified. She had no idea what was coming, had never had baby siblings or even cousins. But she reconciled with her parents as the pregnancy progressed, moved in with them and took on a full-time job at a local pharmacy -- it became a point of pride for her that she paid for her own doctor s visits. It was ugly at first, Gary Foster acknowledged of wrapping his mind around his daughter s new reality. But once it happened, and it took a while, once she had the baby, you know... He left the thought unfinished, but you do know. It wasn t the path he would have chosen for the daughter who followed in his footsteps as a star high school athlete. It isn t a story he is comfortable yet rehashing with strangers, maybe with anybody. But once Layton arrived, it wasn t about what had been before. It was about what was next. Not that her world suddenly became an easy place after Layton entered it on Aug. 21, 2009, three and a half weeks premature but healthy. Barely a year removed from high school graduation, Brooke was the former star athlete who was back home with a child while many of her friends and classmates readied for their second year of college. She had her family back, but Wylie isn t a big enough place for her change in circumstances to come without stigma, self-imposed or otherwise. I know it looks bad -- it still does look bad, Brooke said. But it doesn t mean I m a bad person, you know? It was really hard because I was like ashamed of myself, and I was embarrassed. Brooke and her father were watching the Women s College World Series on television together one afternoon when she told him she was good enough to play with those girls. He told her, sure, he knew she was, even if the sentiment seemed past tense. But it was more than a lament or a passing thought to her. She didn t necessarily like school, but she wanted to go back because in her mind it meant a better life for Layton. Softball had been the means to go to college once, so maybe it could be again. Her dad told her the school would need to be close, but he and her mom would help if they could. Continue to next page...

10 Then the coach at North Texas, T.J. Hubbard -- now an assistant at Louisiana-Lafayette -- told her he didn t have any scholarship money left, but he offered her a chance. If she wanted to walk on, she was welcome to try. Still living in Wylie as she started school at North Texas in the fall of 2010, Brooke would wake up before dawn to make the hour drive to Denton for weightlifting and conditioning. When practice ended, she would get back into the car and make the return trip, which took twice as long in the throes of evening rush-hour traffic. It was like that five days a week because starting from scratch academically, she had little leeway with her schedule (with the help of her academic adviser, she has been able to cram her classes into two or three days in subsequent semesters). There were times early on when her parents had to almost pry Layton off her leg when she left their house in Wylie. On the rare occasions she spent the night on a teammate s couch in Denton, she might hear his voice on the other end of the phone asking her why she wasn t home yet. Those were the times she wondered whether it was worth it: the loan debt, the commutes, the homework, the physical toll of reclaiming athletic conditioning two years dormant. Just as often, though, Layton has been by her side. She has taken him to weights or conditioning when a babysitter falls through. He generally spends his days at an in-home daycare in Wylie, picked up by his grandparents while Brooke makes the trip back from Denton, but it isn t uncommon to see him sitting in the dugout -- tablet in hand -- during practice, either. She s always, always, always Layton s mom, said North Texas senior Ashley Kirk. I just love seeing that, and how you can tell how much she loves him and how much she s given up for him to be here, to do this. Brooke is part of the team, but she isn t part of it in the same way as everyone else. She can t go out at a moment s notice. Her daily drama comes from a different script than that of most undergrads. And if Layton was up sick the night before and she didn t get much sleep, she isn t likely to be in the best of moods around the field. That s the deal. It doesn t hurt that she mashes the ball like she does. She saved her best for last, hitting.354 with a.677 slugging percentage this season entering Wednesday s game at Oklahoma State. It s not until you get out here on a daily basis and see what the kid does, first-year North Texas coach Tracey Kee said. She just plays the game flat out. She will lay out, she s just constantly a true competitor. She doesn t take a day for granted.... She is our little engine at the front of the lineup that can drop a bunt or drive it out of the ballpark. For now, at least for the remaining four home games, Layton will watch his mom play. He usually starts each game in the stands with his grandfather, pointing out Brooke when she comes to the plate and sometimes running down to give her a high-five through the metal fence that separates field from stands. If he needs to wander, or if the wind kicks up by the late innings, he and his grandfather will retreat to the pickup trick the latter parks in a line alongside others out beyond the right-field wall where occupants can still see the action on the field. Soon the roles will switch and Brooke, who brags as a mother might about Layton s athleticism, will take him to his first T-ball games. I just bought him his first baseball pants, and I m wearing my last ones, Brooke said. It s just weird. And I bought him his first glove and I m using mine for the last time. It s kind of cool, though, because once I graduate he starts kindergarten and school and a whole new chapter of our lives begins. She said she wanted people to be proud of her again when she returned to school. I m extremely proud of her, her father said. There s not a lot of people that d do this. There s not a lot of people that could sit out two years and play at the level she s played at, either. She s going to be -- her desire is to get a college education so she can take care of her son, to be able to get a good job. She wanted to be proud of herself again, too. And perhaps that was more important. The degree will help her provide for Layton, but nothing will help him more than her belief that she can meet challenges ahead. I will never let anybody tell me that I can t do anything because not one person told me I could do this, and I m doing it, Brooke said. I think [Layton] is going to be proud of me, and I think it s going to say a lot for my family because my whole family had to go through this situation. It wasn t just me. Nothing is just her anymore. It never is for a mother. Photo Credit: Graham Hays, ESPNW.com