Kiran Pandey
Staff Writer
Many athletes play multiple sports before finding their niche. Makenzie VanSickle knows exactly what that is like as she started with basketball and soccer, before finding her place in softball as a utility player.
Her main position is center field, but she also does catching. VanSickle graduated from Highland High School in 2014 with a 3.8 GPA and enrolled at the College of Southern Idaho (CSI) before transferring to ISU.
“Playing for a college team is not an easy task for any champion player,” VanSickle said. “Time management is the key to anyone’s success and if one fails to manage time between family, friends and sports, failure is sure to come.”
She came to ISU to play for the basketball team and study sports management, but she asked head softball coach Candi Letts if she would fit on her team.
“The coach replied that there was not any role that I could play,” VanSickle said. “I decided to send her my film of playing softball in high school.”
The film convinced Letts of how good of an athlete she could be and VanSickle eventually turned into her starting center fielder.
In 2017, she appeared in 30 games and made 19 starts as a utility player. She played 14 games at catcher and played five games in right field last season while also serving as a pinch-runner. Her pinnacle performance last season came against UC Davis where she tallied eight hits and one RBI.
But before enrolling at ISU, she helped lead the CSI basketball team to two regional titles and two appearances in the NJCAA national tournament.
Before this, she lettered in basketball, soccer, and softball all four years at Highland High School. Her high school teams made 12 state playoff appearances and won four district titles.
Besides playing softball, soccer, and basketball she can be found spending quality time with her family and close friends.
“I am very active, and I always want to get involved with any sports whenever I am free,” she said.
After graduation from ISU, she plans to receive a Master’s in athletic administration. She has also applied for the GTA position and is hoping to get accepted into it.
