Hemsley Heads to Hawkeye Community College to Play Ball

Sigourney’s Courtney Hemsley in the upcoming months will make the transition into becoming a college athlete. Hemselty signed with the Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo.

The recruitment process started back in August of 2022, after Hemsley wrapped up a spectacular junior year. She finished with a batting average of 0.410, 20 runs batted in, on base percentage of 0.505 and a slugging percentage of 0.551. These were all career highs for her, and earned her honorable mentions in the All-District and All-State teams. Hemsley described the season with, “It felt really amazing. Especially because during that time I was playing with a broken finger and didn’t know it. Being able to hit all those career marks and play in that Twin Cedars game was a really big step. I think that showed me off to a lot of colleges.”

Toughness is an essential part of Hemsley’s game. In this past season, Hemsley made a spectacular catch in the win over Twin Cedars, where she rammed her torso into the centerfield fence. The Savages took the momentum from that play, and scored the go-ahead run in the bottom half of the inning. Hemsley spoke on where she learned this tenacity with, "Definitely from my mom.She is really tough, and always telling me get up and rub some dirt on it. It also comes from myself. I don’t like to put people in a situation they are not ready for. I know that anybody behind me would be able to do it, but I wanted to finish it out because it was my senior year.”

 After the season, she was put on a NCSA website to help her get recruited. The NCSA is a database that is made to help athletes with the recruitment process. Hemsely spoke of how she was initially recruited by a team in Hannibal Missouri, and they were initially a strong contender for her to go to until the Hawkeye Community College head softball coach, Courtney Calkins, reached out to Sigourney head coach Shelly Streigle. Coach Calkins inquired about Hemsley’s junior season. Eventually, Coach Calkins and Courtney began contacting each other, and Hemsley made the trip to Waterloo for a visit in August. She described the experience with, “She was really nice. I loved the school, and I loved the area. It is going to be so much fun. I am really excited.” 

The Hawkeye Community College Red Tails are heading into their inaugural season for the softball program, and Hemsley is a part of this historic moment. Hemsley described the goals for her first season with the Red Tails as, “The first thing that I want to do is try and go up there and hit well. The second thing I want to do is win at least one game this year, especially with it being a new program. I believe we have the capabilities to do this.” 

She described the feeling of being a part of a first year program with, “It’s really exciting because I have always been the youngest on the travel teams I played for. So, going into this we will all be the same age. It won’t matter who the leader is because we will all be leaders to each other. It will be really fun to start something brand new, and make a legacy out of it.” 

During this past season, Hemsley stepped up as a leader being one of the three senior starters. She described how she tried to act as a leader with, “I feel like a lot of the outfielders looked up to me, and I would help them out anytime they asked, whether it was at practice or during game. I trust them, and know they will do just fine without me next year, but I will miss them a lot.”

Hemsley has been able to meet a few of her new teammates, and described them as, “A lot of the girls seem a lot like me. I think we will all bring something to the table.” She went on to emphasize that she will lead by example with her toughness, as she tried to do for the Savages as well. 

Hemsley’s first season will commence with the Hawkeye Community College Red Tails on March 1st, when they visit North Central Missouri College.