Get to Know Indiana University of Pennsylvania Softball’s Kendall Young

Photo courtesy of IUP Athletics.

Name: Kendall Young

Hometown: Saint Marys, Pennsylvania

High School: Saint Marys Area High School

Sport: Softball

Position: Pitcher

High School Accolades: Three-time letter winner, two-time District 9 champion, two-time Tri-County Weekend/Courier Express Player of the Year, Elk County Softball Tournament Champion, all-state honoree, St. Marys Area Defense MVP, Named to the Central Penn Softball League All-Star Team, and a D9and10Sports.com All-District 9 Softball selection. As a senior, she recorded a 13-2 record with a 0.84 earned-run average (ERA) over 83 1/3 innings. She recorded 145 strikeouts as well. Offensively, she hit .490 with 24 hits, 11 RBIs, four runs scored, four doubles, and a home run. In her high school career, she went 33-9 over three seasons in the circle, racked up 537 strikeouts and a career 0.96 ERA in 290 2/3 innings. She ranks second in school history in career punch outs for the Saint Marys Lady Dutch.

Major and Future Plans: Nursing major with plans to become a registered nurse and later a nurse anesthetist after gaining two to three years of experience in critical care nursing. This summer, Young worked as a nursing intern at Penn Highlands Elk in the operating room, emergency room, and medical surgical unit.

College Program: Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). The Crimson Hawks compete at the NCAA Division II level in athletics and are members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).

Why She Chose IUP: “It was a huge factor in my recruiting process to find a place that supported nursing along with playing softball. Nursing school alone takes up a lot of time, and adding softball on top of that makes it much more challenging. At IUP though, I was able to find the best of both worlds. My head coach is very understanding of the demanding schedule I have with nursing and works very well with me to make up things I miss or can’t attend. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better college coach to have. IUP was actually the first school I went on a visit to and fell in love with it from then. I would have committed right after that visit, but my dad told me to explore all my options. It felt like home from the very beginning and at the end of the day, no other school gave me that same feeling that I have being here.”

College Accolades: Two-time All-PSAC West Second Team, two-time PSAC West Pitcher of the Week, ranked third in the PSAC in shutouts with five as a freshman, College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District, Recognized as National Fashpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Scholar Athlete, 21 career wins in 38 appearances and over 213 career innings, 26 complete games, 135 career strikeouts, three career shutouts, helped lead her team to two winning seasons and two appearances in the PSAC playoffs, 

Beginning Her Softball Journey: “I started playing softball around six-years old. I started out in our local tee-ball program with Little League at the earliest age I could and never looked back from there. I only started pitching when I was around eight-years old, though, as I had many older girls to look up to that were good pitchers and I wanted to be just like them. My dad, Bob, worked with me from the very moment I said I wanted to be a pitcher and continues to be my pitching coach still to do this. He is the best coach to have in my corner and I could never thank him enough for everything he does for me.”

Travel Ball Experience: “Starting out, I played with the Saint Marys Pounders from the time I was nine to around age 14. My dad was always my coach for that team and I got to play with some of my best friends from my town. Around the age of 14, I realized I wanted to get more serious into softball and play at the college level. This required going to bigger tournaments to be able to get seen by more coaches. I played for Firecrackers Brashear/Gollihar out of California the summer for 2021. I got to attend various tournaments with them such as the Colorado Sparkler, PGF Nationals, TCS World Series, and various other events all over the country. Playing with that team is an experience that I will never forget and will forever be grateful I had the opportunity of doing. I then played for Team PA my last two years of travel ball with Coach Kara Sroka. Playing for Team PA is what helped me get recruited and get me to where I am today. Between Coach Kara and Coach Richele Hall, they reached out to coaches for me and really helped me in the recruiting process. I am forever grateful for everything they did to help get me to where I am at. I am very thankful for every travel ball team I have played with the memories that come with each and everyone of those teams.”

Nearing the End of Her Softball Playing Days: “I really started thinking about this during the summer and it definitely will be such a weird feeling as softball has been a constant for me as long as I can remember. Knowing that it’s coming to an end makes me more determined as a player though as I plan to give it my all for these last two years and set set some high goals. When it’s all over, I plan to still stay involved with the softball world hopefully through coaching. This coming summer, I plan to coach a 14U travel team through the organization of State Line. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to not be involved with softball in some way after my playing days are over.”

Favorite Softball Memories: “A lot of my favorite memories from softball come from Little League. From winning state championships to being two wins away from going to the Little League Softball World Series, those are memories that I’ll never forget. It’s such a special feeling to be able to represent your town and play with girls all from the same area as you. Although travel ball is a lot of fun, nothing compares to that feeling of winning a Little League state championship and being welcomed back in a parade and celebrated by the whole town.”

Her Number One Man: “The person who has guided me the most in my softball career is my dad. My dad was my coach from a very young age and is still my coach to this day. He has been with me every step of the way for softball and has always been my biggest supporter. Even in college, he has only ever missed one of my softball games. The time and energy that he gives up for me is something I will be forever grateful for. I could never thank him enough for everything he has done for me and continues to do for me.”

Advice For Younger Athletes: “I just want to encourage every young girl that has a dream to play in college to go for it. It takes a lot of hard work, but it is also so rewarding. The friendships I have made and the memories I have created are something that will last a lifetime. Don’t let one bad game or weekend define you and keep working hard to chase your dreams. Anything is possible with hard work and determination.”

Photo courtesy of IUP Athletics.