For the past four years, Kaly Drenski has been catching pitches for Twinsburg High School. Next spring, you will be able to “catch” her behind the plate in North Canton where she will suit up for the Walsh University Cavaliers.
For Drenski, who is currently preparing for her transition to the college level with the Ohio Varsity Vipers 18U team, this has been something she’s visualized for herself since grade school.
“It is one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me,” Drenski said of the opportunity to play at Walsh. “It was something that I’ve wanted to do since I was about eight years old.”
Walsh University was able to capture the heart of Drenski. In fact, she decided that she wanted to attend the university before she had even considered continuing her softball career collegiately.
“I really loved the school,” Drenski said. “After I decided on Walsh, I realized that I wanted to keep playing and I was able to get the opportunity to do that.”
Upon the realization that she wanted to continue her softball endeavors, Drenski explained that she was aided by her Vipers coaches in navigating the recruiting waters.
“Our assistant coach, Amy Sullivan, helped me with the recruiting process,” Drenski said. “She reached out to the Walsh coaches and helped me put together a recruiting video. Without her help, I’m not sure I’d be in the same situation.”
Along with her appreciation for the university itself, Drenski said she was very impressed with the facilities offered at Walsh. She feels the university has more to offer in those areas than other schools she had seen.
“I was able to see their field, field house, and gym,” Drenski said. “All of it was very high quality and they have different resources for their team that some other schools didn’t offer.”
Drenski spoke glowingly of the culture of the Walsh softball program. Even in limited interactions, she was able to connect with the coaching staff and older players on the team.
“I think their coaches do a really great job of easing their players into playing at the collegiate level,” she said. “There was also an upperclassman who helped me out with getting to know what college life as an athlete would be like.”
Drenski is utilizing the summer to prepare for the step up from high school softball, and she said she feels her time on the Vipers has given her the valuable tools that will equip her for the transition.
“The coaches that we have (on the Vipers) are very experienced and they have a lot to teach us,” Drenski said. “They also help a lot with the mental aspect of the game and a lot of the things they do is to prepare us to play in college.”
As for her academic aspirations, Drenski will be double majoring in communications and graphic design.
“I would love to go into ad design,” Drenski said, “Walsh gives students the opportunity to do two different internships, which will help a lot in my career search.”
