DANVILLE – Hannah Duncan first dreamt of playing college softball when she was 10 years old.
On Wednesday, after years of hard work and dedication, she turned that dream into a reality.
The Danville senior signed with Div. II Walsh University on National Signing Day, the first day college recruits can make their commitments official with a National Letter of Intent signature.
“It’s a dream come true, honestly…” Duncan said. “It makes me really proud, coming from such a small school and doing all this stuff, because everybody knows what’s going on and I feel like I’m making Danville proud by doing this.”
The Danville softball program has been one of the state’s finest in recent years, and Duncan has played a key role in its success. Duncan has started at first base since her freshman year and has helped lead Danville to three consecutive district championships.
She started in the state title game as a freshman, when Danville lost by one run to Williamsburg. Last year, she batted .389 and led the Blue Devils back to the regional finals.
“It has been an absolute ride,” the senior said. “I’ve basically done just about everything and this year we’re definitely going for it all.”
Duncan said she also considered Wittenberg University and Notre Dame College in her college search, but chose Walsh after visiting the campus twice this past year.
“I visited campus a couple times and absolutely fell in love with it,” she said. “I love the coach, the team, everything about it. It’s where I need to be.”
Duncan plans to study biology and enter the university’s pre-med track, with hopes of one day becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
“I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I narrowed it down to orthopedic surgeon when I broke my finger this past softball season,” Duncan explained. “Just the interaction between the doctor and everything that happened was really interesting to me.”
On the softball field, she’ll look to help a Walsh program that went 9-37 last year, but appears to be loaded with young talent. Duncan won’t be the only Knox County product to join the Cavaliers in 2020; Mount Vernon catcher Bryn Elliott also signed with Walsh on Wednesday, and both attended each other’s ceremonies.
Before she heads to Canton next fall, however, Duncan has business to take care of back home. The Blue Devils are aiming for their sixth straight district title this spring and will look to reach their fourth regional final in five years.
But it will also be a year of transition for the program. Charlie Duncan (Hannah’s father and a former assistant coach) will take over as head coach following the recent retirement of Jill Lyons, who led the Blue Devils for six years.
Danville graduated three players from last year’s team who are now playing at the next level: Kaitlyn Briggs (University of Findlay), Samantha Lavender (Ohio Christian University) and McKinley Alberts (Urbana University). Both Briggs and Alberts were named first-team all-Ohio last season.
“Those are some big shoes to fill in a small school like this,” Charlie said, “but I think we’ve got a huge senior class.”
Hannah will be flanked by fellow senior CeCe Newbold, who led the team with 50 strikeouts last season, as well as Brittney Holt and Aubrey Dawson, who started nearly every game last year. Charlie said several underclassmen have stepped up during preseason workouts as well, which could be a good omen moving forward.
“I’m proud of where we are right now,” the coach said. “I hope it continues because come season, we’ll find out.”
Danville will rely on Hannah’s experience and leadership this season, which Charlie said she has in bounds.
“She brings the leadership we need, the work ethic…” he said. “I think she’s a great role model.”
Hannah said she knew from a young age that she wanted to play softball at the next level. The sport has taught her “endurance, persistence and manners,” she said. “It’s a huge part of my life.”
When given the opportunity to play for four more years, Hannah said it was a no-brainer.
“Since I was a little girl, I was just pushed to be the best I could be, and fell in love with the game…” she said. “Playing as much of it as I possibly can is definitely something that I want to do.”
Hannah credited her father’s mentorship – both on and off the field – for her ability to sign collegiately. Charlie called the day “special” for his family and the program at-large.
“I’m pretty proud of all the work she’s put in to get to this point,” he said of his daughter. “She deserves it.”
Charlie predicted Hannah would not be the last Blue Devil softball player to sign collegiately this year.
“I think we’ve got a couple other offers on the table,” he said. “Aubrey Dawson can play at the next level, CeCe Newbold – whether she decides to take the basketball route or go with softball, I think she’s definitely a second-level player. So I think there’s more to come from this team.”
