College News: Pitcher Estelle Czech Transfers to Texas After Trip This Week to Austin “Hit Everything on My Checklist”

Estelle Czech just returned Friday night from a trip she’ll remember for a lifetime.

The talented pitched, who was ranked #47 in the 202 Extra Elite 100 when she played with Kevin O’Donnell’s Intensity team in club ball, spent Thursday and half of Friday in Austin touring the Texas Longhorns campus and, when offered by the coaches, she didn’t to offer.

“I was sitting at a table and when they offered me, I got a really good feeling,” Estelle recalls. “I’m a ‘feely’ person and I could fee lin my gut this was the right thing and the right place for me to be.”

“I told Coach (Mike) White, ‘Well, Coach, I think I want to be a Longhorn!’”

Estelle played a lot as a true freshman at North Carolina State, appearing in 22 games and compiling a 4-6 mark with a 3.14 ERA, but really took her game up a notch in the second half of the season.

She attributes much of her strong upswing and improvement to help from Wolfpack pitching coach Chelsea Wilkinson.

“The area I’ve improved the most over the last year is definitely spin,” she told Extra Inning Softball today. “All I did was throw hard in travel ball but I developed my spins thanks to Coach Wilkinson  who taught me how to hit my spots more consistently. I also learned how to be more resilient and how to bounce back after making a mistake.”

Estelle, who is studying Sports Management and says she’d like to be a pitching coach someday, was recruited by Texas as well as North Carolina State coming out of high school.

When asked why she originally chose to go to the ACC, she explains:

“When I committed to NC State,  it was the place I needed to be and over time my goals and needs just changed. They, the coaches, players and school, were great and now my dreams and aspirations have changed and Texas is the place for me to be.”

The pitcher, who has three years of eligibility left, entered the transfer portal on May 16, shortly after the conclusion of the ACC tournament. She admits the process was nerve racking.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” she concedes,” and it was like starting over at a new school and I was worried about being with new girls who already have a connection established.”

But there was one advantage this time around: having been in college a year, she says she knew what she wanted and narrowed her list down to five: North Carolina, James Madison, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas.

As she had already been recruited by Texas, Estelle says she was familiar somewhat with the Longhorns at that time, although she had never been to campus. This week’s trip, however, sold her on the Big 12 school.

“I’m very artistic,” she begins. “I love nature, music, food—it may be weird to some, but I consider eating a hobby!—and Austin and UT hit everything on my checklist. The people are so nice, it’s great weather, it just felt right.”

School was start in about six weeks and Estelle says she’s excited to get up there as soon as possible to get going.

Today, she’s home in the Chicago area and spending her Saturday at the DeMarini Invitational club tournament for a specific purpose.

“I wanted to say ‘hi’ to Coach Kevin (O’Donnell) and his family as they’re rarely in Chicago but the Intensity is playing here this weekend. When I think of my travel ball memories and accomplishments, I think of playing for Coach Kev and the support of him, his wife, Suzanne, and their daughters.”

“They’re family oriented and helped me play and excel in my game. I just wanted to thank them for helping me get to where I am today.”

And that, as she shows on her social media, Estelle is already repping her new colors:

Gotta love the burnt orange 😍 #next3 🤘🏽 @TexasSoftball pic.twitter.com/gKw3Q3uJwh

— Estelle Czech (@estelleczech) July 10, 2021

Here are her accolades from this year and before college per the NC State softball page:

2021 – Freshman Year

• Had a 3.14 ERA with a 4-6 record in 22 appearances and 73.2 innings pitched.
• Accumulated 39 strikeouts, averaging 3.71/7 inn. pitched.
• Came on strong for NC State at the end of the season, pitching every inning of the ACC Tournament including a 4-2 first round win
• Pitched a complete game against North Carolina (5/12) in the ACC Tournament, not allowing an earned run on three hits with five strikeouts
• First NC State pitcher to not allow an earned run in an ACC Championship game since Emily Weiman in 2013
• Had a spectacular outing against #16 LSU (4/17) where she came in relief and threw 6.2 innings, allowing just one run.
• Did not allow an earned run across 12.1 innings pitched against Virginia (3/20-3/22) where she gave up just four hits with five strikeouts.
• Threw first career complete game against Virginia (3/21) without allowing an earned run
• Also threw a complete game against #16 Clemson where she struck out two

High School / Prep Career

• Top 50 recruit in the 2020 Extra Inning Softball Elite 100 player rankings.
• No. 22 pitcher in the 2020 class according to Extra Inning Softball.
• Four-year varsity player for Downers Grove North while earning All-Conference and All-Area honors.
• Went 16-4 with a 1.60 ERA and 232 strikeouts in her junior season
• Also hit .432 with a .528 on-base percentage and seven home runs as a junior