Top softball prospect Addisyn Linton recently announced her commitment to Clemson University, to an audience of over one million viewers. She sits down with Sporting Her’s Jeff Cheshire to discuss her journey.
Addisyn Linton is not intimidated by the pressure. In fact, it is something she has embraced since she was a young girl.
The junior left-hand pitcher, left-hand hitter, has long been considered among the top players of softball’s 2025 recruiting class. Every time she plays, the scouts are watching with intent. Every opponent she faces is bringing their best for her.
Getting a hit off Linton’s pitching is an achievement. Getting her out at the plate is a prize.
The eyeballs are there in the wider public too. Linton’s college announcement post last month on Twitter has surpassed one million views. It is perhaps no surprise then, that the Eagleville High School star has not shied away from following one of the sport’s top players. Linton will be a Clemson Tiger. In doing so, she will fill the hole which will eventually be left by last season’s national player of the year, Valerie Cagle.
Linton, who is now in her second-to-last year of high school, said:
”Pressure is a privilege. If you want to shine, embrace the pressure. That will create the diamond you are, I believe that. I’ve had pressure on me from day one. It’s been negative pressure and also positive pressure. I embrace both.
”. . [Cagle] is absolutely amazing and can do it all. Many may run from those expectations. But, wow, wouldn’t that be an amazing story to a dream-filled journey. dShe is definitely one of the reasons why I wanted to be a Tiger. I’ve watched her as a Tiger and I get goosebumps seeing what she brings to the game.
”Also seeing what the coaching staff has done as a whole in the development part in all aspects of the game. As an athlete you can always be better, as long as you have the resources to make you better. I believe you have those resources here at Clemson.”
wow, I’ve had a dream to play in the woman college world series ever since my dad took me when I was 9 years old. That was the last time I went, in fact I told my dad he wouldn’t need to take me to another one, that I will be bringing him one day to the WCWS. For me to have that… pic.twitter.com/A2sUtogm0U
— Addisyn Linton #11💪🏼Lefty pitcher-Lefty hitter (@addisynlinton) September 20, 2023
It is another step in the dream Linton has had since she was a small girl. Born in Colorado, she spent the early part of her childhood growing up in small town Kansas – a town so small it did not have softball. So, she and her father, Mike, would drive five hours to Colorado so she could play. The family eventually moved to Texas, before landing in Eagleville, Tennessee, where she plays for Eagleville High School and Unity Johnson 18U. In that time she has forged a reputation as one of the best players of her age.
She is a Premier Girls Fastpitch All-American and two-time national champion. She has won a high school state championship, as well as being named player of the year twice, with two years of high school remaining. Last high school season, which she played much of with a broken hand, she hit .617 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs. Pitching she went 12-2, with 168 strikeouts in 102 innings. She throws at over 70mph, while having an exit velocity at over 80mph. Her competitiveness is unmatched, as is her work ethic – she throws for 90 minutes a day four or five times a week, hits about 500 balls a day, and fits in gym work.
As a nine-year-old, she played at 14U and 18U level at the prestigious Colorado Sparkler tournament, holding her own in both.
She drove in the winning run of a game in 14U, while coming up with a ”sweet play” from left field to keep the scores tied in the 18U outing.It was also as a nine-year-old that her dream was ignited. Her father, who has had a huge influence on her development, took her the Women’s College World Series. There she watched one of her heroes, former Oregon left-handed pitcher Cheridan Hawkins.
”I wanted to experience what she was experiencing and dreamed of being in her shoes one day,” Linton said of the experience.
”Even at nine, I knew playing there would always be one of the most important things in my life growing up, and I have to make it there. I think about it a lot, actually.”
And while she has not made it there yet, she has taken that next step to that biggest stage of all. It was an easy decision in the end, despite a recruiting process that was ”stressful and confusing” and having had offers from many top schools. On the final night of her visit to Clemson, she dragged her father back to the softball stadium at midnight, to do a final walkthrough.
”I promise you, I could hear the crowd and I could see my teammates and it made the hair stand up on my arm,” she said. When the call came to offer her a place, loud excitement took over in the house, while Linton tried to stay calm despite crying. Immediately after the call, she went outside and lay on the driveway, looking up to the heavens. ”I’ve never cried and had goosebumps at the same time and that moment I did. This is my life and my future life will be amazing, because of my passion for this game.”
When the 2025 school year commences, she will leave her home in small town Tennessee for South Carolina. She will pull on the relatively new – Clemson has only had a softball team since 2020 – orange and purple on the college softball-scape. They have made an impressive start too, falling just shy of the Women’s College World Series each of the past two seasons. The opportunity to carry that on, filing the shoes of the current crop of players and being guided by the team’s coaches, excited Linton.
”I look forward to the challenges ahead to continue keeping Clemson Softball at the top.
”Being the fierce competitor I am, I look forward to the challenge of filling the shoes of the juniors and seniors that are currently there in making sure I continue what they started. I’m really taking a lot of pride in myself to really work hard and develop into a better player on both sides of the ball, so I’m capable doing what my coaches will be asking me to do.”
That has also helped land her a Name, Image, Likeness deal, a rule established two years ago, which allows college and high school athletes to receive financial compensation for the use of their image. She has partnered with Nashville Regenerative Orthopedics, which she said was amazing. For her, it was motivation both on a personal level, as well as for those to come after her.
”I think the NIL is tricky,” she said. ”It can be a distraction and keep you from being your full potential as a player. Or it can put pressure on you to keep up with so much. Or it can motivate you to accept the challenge of being blessed with such opportunities that athletes didn’t have before, and even more so female athletes, and you invite that pressure and work even harder. Personally it motivates me, because I know because of my hard work is why I have NIL opportunities, and I can help lead and prove that female athletes and young athletes can greatly benefit from it and possibly life changing.”
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