NEW PALESTINE — Change has been good to New Palestine’s Madison Whitaker.
A standout cleanup hitter for the Dragon softball team that won the 2017 IHSAA Class 3A state championship, Whitaker has gone from high school outfielder to slick-fielding college infielder and from a Division I university in Ohio to a D-I school in a state she had never been to before.
From a grassy outfield to a dirty infield is a minuscule change of scenery compared to leaving the Horizon League’s Wright State for Conference USA’s Marshall.
Through the many changes, Whitaker found a new home that she loves to continue playing the game that she loves.
After two-plus seasons at Wright State, located in Dayton, Ohio, Whitaker transferred to play at her new school set in Huntington, W.Va.
She played for the Thundering Herd this past season. With the NCAA granting college athletes an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, Whitaker will return for a fifth college campaign in 2021-22.
Whitaker had two solid seasons for the Raiders at Wright State. As a freshman, she started all 53 of the team’s games, mostly at shortstop, and was named to the league’s All-Freshman team. She followed it up by hitting .278 as a sophomore, third best on the team, starting all 49 games she played.
To start 2020, there was change not to her liking, or at least that was the case initially.
After two years as a starter, Whitaker found herself out of the everyday lineup. It was tough not being able to play, so she decided to take a chance, leave Wright State, and try to find a place where she could regularly get on the field.
It was a daunting situation, as she wasn’t certain anyone would want her.
“I (left Wright State because I) wanted better for me and my mental health,” Whitaker said. “I wanted to continue to play softball the next two years and not just watch. I decided to get in the (transfer) portal and see what happens. It ended up going well for me.”
It was in the middle of a pandemic and recruiting consisted of text messages, Zoom meetings and phone calls. There were no visits to campus, nor in-person contact with coaching staffs.
Still, it couldn’t have worked out any better. Marshall University was interested, and Whitaker was interested in playing there, too.
“(Coach Megan Smith Lyon) called me and, you just know,” Whitaker said. “I had that gut feeling that this is where I need to be.
“We talked for an hour. She told me what she wanted from me and how great the campus is.”
Whitaker’s first trip to West Virginia and first time on the Marshall campus was when she pulled up to begin her 2020-21 school year. It was also the first time she met her head coach.
“I didn’t even see the campus until I got there my first day of my senior year because of COVID,” Whitaker said. “I had no idea what the coach looked like. I had no clue who she was. ‘This is you? This is me.’ But instantly we had a connection.
“At Marshall the community is so involved with sports and softball is insane. At games we have people tailgating. You don’t get that at Wright State. You don’t get that at a lot of schools.”
It proved to be a good move for a number reasons.
Unfortunately, one month after she left Wright State, the Ohio school announced it was dropping the softball program, among other sports.
Fortunately, Marshall turned out to be a place where Whitaker could play. It’s a university and community that loves softball as much as she does.
“We got lucky that she had interest in us. She’s got great experience and is a talented hitter and infielder. We feel very fortunate that she decided to come here,” Smith Lyon said of the former New Pal star. “A lot of people had great things to say about her. We did our research, and she was known as a talented, solid player. A lot of people recognized her talent. We’re excited she chose to come here.”
“I was very blessed and fortunate that Marshall was able to reach out,” Whitaker added. “I fell in love with them. There was a point in time I thought I was going to hang up my cleats and not play anymore. I knew deep down I would find somewhere because I’m not ready to quit. I’m not a quitter, but it was very scary, worrisome.”
Compared to the Horizon League, C-USA is a few rungs up the D-I softball ladder. Whitaker got in 26 games during an abbreviated season, caused by the pandemic. She got 14 starts and played some at second base, shortstop and third base.
“Marshall is somewhere where I wanted to be for a long time,” Whitaker added. “When I was getting recruited, I never got a chance to go to a school like that. Recruiting was a lot different than it is now. Coming to Marshall was a big culture shock. This is how D-I softball is and how it should be looked at.”
She played the majority of her high school career as an outfielder. The switch to the infield has been another good move.
In fact, in a game this past season at Middle Tennessee, Whitaker came in to play shortstop and tied a single-game school record with eight assists, without an error. It was the most assists in a Thundering Herd game since 2012.
She had started the game at second base, then moved over after their starter left with an injury. Along with the eight assists, she had six putouts and helped start an eighth-inning double play.
“We were at Middle Tennessee and our starting shortstop went out with a hamstring injury in the first inning,” Whitaker recalled. “I had mostly played second base and they said, ‘Whit, I need you to go in and play shortstop.’
“All I remember is I felt like I was a vacuum over there. I got so many balls hit to me. Our pitching was doing great. It was a fun environment, fun game. The Middle Tennessee coach told his team, ‘Stop hitting it to the shortstop.’ It was awesome, really fun.”
She’s fitting right in.
Whitaker and Smith Lyon believe a year under her belt against higher-quality competition will lead to better numbers in 2022.
While the fielding stats were strong, Whitaker’s batting average (.176) wasn’t as strong as it was at Wright State.
“Now she’s had a year under her belt and has learned Marshall and how we do things, she’s going to have more of a comfort level,” Smith Lyon said. “I think she’s going to have a really good fall for us and grow even more. She was stellar defensively, playing multiple positions for us.
We’re excited about her coming back and having more of a comfortable feeling and being prepared to do even better this year.
“She’s a power hitter and has a lot of power potential but not just power, she has gap to gap capabilities. With a year under her belt, I think that consistency is going to come this year.”
“Pitching and how hard the ball is hit to you, from the Horizon league to C-USA is a lot different,” Whitaker added. “I think that’s why my batting average wasn’t as good as I wanted it last year. The pitching, the movement, how fast it comes in, is a lot different. Now that I have seen that. I know that I can go back this year and I know what I am getting in to.”
From outfield to infield and from Indiana to Ohio to West Virginia, Whitaker seems to have found the right spot.
“It’s really is crazy when I think about it,” she said. “I never knew where (Marshall) was and now I am going back Aug. 18 to start softball for my fifth year.”
