RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
We’ve followed pitcher Ashtyn Danley for several years now as a Top 10 player in the Class of 2023. Back in 2018, she helped lead the Tennessee Mojo 2023 team coached by her father Michael to a PGF 12U National Championship.
The two-sport standout—she’s also an excellent basketball player for Huntland (Tennessee) High—committed to Florida State that same year.
Impressively, Ashtyn has also won a PGF National Championship at 10U and a USA Elite Select National Championship at 11U.
Click HERE to read a Q&A we did in Feb. 2019 with the outstanding athlete!
Unfortunately, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Ashtyn: on the hoops court in early 2020, she suffered a devasting knee injury that would knock her out of competition for the important summer travel ball season.
No one wants to be forced to sit on the sidelines, but Ashtyn benefitted in a way she never would have expected.
“Being out of the sport that I love so much,” she told Extra Inning Softball, “is the hardest thing I have had to do, but from it I learned so much more about the sport that you aren’t taught.”
This spring, she returned with a vengeance, batting .754 in the regular season (19 games) with seven home runs and 29 RBIs while striking out 110 batters in 61.2 innings and recording a 0.90 ERA to help lead her team to a District title and a 3rd place finish at State.
Here, in the latest of our “Injury Series” recounting how top athletes battle back after being hurt and put out of action, is Ashtyn’s amazing recovery story…
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What is your memory of the injury… did you think it was bad as it was when it first happened?
We were playing basketball against our rivals, a very important game for us to win, and it had just started. We were pressing them and it was very intense. A minute and a half into the game we were running a run and jump press and I tipped the ball to my teammate, Anna Stevenson.
I ran down the court to get the pass and as I caught it and tried to stop my knee felt like it snapped. I immediately fell to the ground and started rolling because I was in so much pain. My first thought was that my knee was broke, because it felt like it was out of my leg.
I remember looking at my dad and I saw a look that I have never seen before. The trainer came out and was asking me all the questions and all I could think about was if I would ever get to play again. I got up and they took me to check it out and do all these test and they said it could be a dislocated knee cap.
She told me I could play after halftime if it felt better, so I went back to the bench to cheer on my team. I remember feeling my toes going numb and from there is when I knew I couldn’t play that game.
I tried to walk, and it was the worst pain I had ever felt.
The next morning, we went to the doctor to get it looked at. He did all types of ACL tests to see if it was torn. He told me he was 95 percent sure it wasn’t torn and that my kneecap was dislocated, and I would be out for two weeks with physical therapy.
At that time, I was so relieved because I wasn’t going to be missing any softball. My dad then told the doctor that he wanted me to get an MRI just to make sure there was nothing else wrong.
When you were told the extent of the injury, it must have been devastating news. How did you decide to go through with it and handle the process emotionally?
Once I got my MRI and we were back at the doctors to find out the news I was so confident nothing was wrong, because at this point my knee was pretty much feeling normal.
The doctor came in and started reading off all these medical terms about all the things that were wrong and then I heard the words, “You have a torn ACL, meniscus, and partially torn MCL.”
I couldn’t really process all this at the time I was just in so much shock. He proceeded to tell us the extent of the injury and told me I would have to have surgery. I immediately burst into tears because I would be missing my whole summer season.
We met with the surgeon the next week and scheduled my surgery for March 2nd. My emotions were so crazy at this time because it was a lot of information at one time. Being out of the sport that I love so much is the hardest thing I have had to do, but from it I learned so much more about the sport that you aren’t taught.
What was the toughest part of the rehab? Was there a time when it seemed like it was too overwhelming?
The morning after surgery was my first therapy session. I was in so much pain and I remember the therapists telling me that we were going to bend my knee.
At this time, I wasn’t able to even lift my leg off the table. We worked on bending it and it really was the worst thing I have ever had to do. Little did I know it was just starting!
*** Scroll down to read more about Ashtyn’s impressively quick return after surgery and rehab!