Leah Stevens Career is Taking Flight

Leah Stevens was just beginning to feel secure about the path that softball was taking her down. She could see it leading to a potential career in college and she was excited about playing softball for Matanzas High School and for her club team Texas Blaze (FL) Johnson.

And then January 18, 2023, happened.

Stevens awoke that morning to a splitting headache that was so debilitating she couldn’t open her eyes and was having trouble concentrating.

Rushed to the emergency room, Stevens was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening blood clot in her brain. She had a stroke.

The blood clot, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, or CVST, is a rare type of stroke. She was life flighted to Orlando and remained in intensive care for a week.

“I don’t think it really hit me at first. They were trying to keep us calm when I was in flight. They were telling me, oh, we don’t have land transport, so you’re just going to get life flighted. So, they were kind of downplaying the situation so that I wasn’t freaking out or anything.

I think initially it didn’t hit me how big of a deal this was and how much danger I was in until I was in the hospital in Orlando, and they were showing me pictures of my MRI. And I saw that there was nothing in some of my veins. Like there was no blood flow. And I was saying, oh, that looks scary. Like even I can tell that there’s something wrong in that.”

The doctors finding the blood clot came at the ideal time because had it grown any larger Stevens could have faced permanent disabilities such as left-sided paralysis, vision impairments, or worse.

But not all the news was good. Early on, doctors speculated that Stevens may not be able to return to the game she had grown to love – softball.

“Softball had become a big part of my life, and I’d been really excited for it for so long. But them just saying on a random day, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen for you again, I didn’t believe it at first. That was hard for me to mentally process and understand that I did have to go through something that’s very challenging that some people don’t really recover from. So that was hard for me to understand that I’m in a recovery journey, and that softball can’t be my priority at this point, because it had been my priority for so long.”

While the doctors were confident that a path to recovery was possible for Stevens, it had its share of ups and downs and uncertainty.

“My biggest challenge was having to manage the fear of uncertainty. My type of recovery was very different from typical injuries because it was full of unknowns. I didn’t know if treatment would work so I couldn’t know for sure if I would ever recover or when that would happen. Especially with the various setbacks I had to battle through, my ability to stay positive and have hope was tested time and time again. It was extremely difficult for me because for the first time in my life I was not in control.”

One of the magical elements to the game of softball is the friendships that are formed, and Stevens leaned on her teammates during her recovery process.

“They were immensely helpful. Their support was beyond anything I could have imagined. They were so supportive in me taking my own time. They didn’t put any pressure on me like, you have to come back at the beginning of the season, or we need you. Nothing like that. They were very supportive, and they knew that my recovery process was kind of up in the air. I didn’t know how long it would take.

“But they were there to support me and pick up that extra load for me and it was so helpful. It really brought me back to why I started playing softball and why I love the sport.”

While Stevens leaned on her family and teammates to help her during her recovery, she looked inward to fight and ultimately make a full recovery and return to the softball field.

“There were some doctors that said, I don’t think this is smart for you to come back at all. Other doctors said, I think if you put in the work and if you get better quickly, then I think you’re fine to return. So, I had a lot of different perspectives telling me different things.

“And so, I think I just had to make that conscious decision that I had to look on the positive side and that I had to choose to fight back. And I had to choose to come in with a positive aspect and a positive mindset that I could overcome this and that I would eventually come back to the field and not give in to those negative thoughts that I would just never come back, that it was over for me.”

Nearly a year after having her stroke, Stevens received the news that she was cleared for all physical activity which sparked three significant moments in her life.

I AM CLEARED TO PLAY SOFTBALL!!! SO EXCITED FOR TONIGHT 💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/Sb6uZwv1BA

— Leah Stevens 2025 (@LeahStevens2025) February 27, 2024

The first being hearing the news that she had been waiting so long to hear from her doctor.

“That was a rollercoaster of emotions. I did not expect that at all. I had been thinking that in several other appointments, I’m going to go in there and this is the day they’re going to clear me. And so, after probably three or four of those appointments that did not go my way, I was thinking, you know what, I’m going to go into this one having low expectations. He’s going to say, you’re going to have three more months. It’s not going to happen today. It’s not going to be the day.

“But sure enough, I walked into that appointment, and he said, you’re doing great. I think I’m just going to clear you for all activity. And I was so excited. I called my coaches. I called my teammates. I was so happy. I called all my friends. I was calling my grandparents. I was calling everybody. It was an amazing day. I went home so excited. I think I went to the field that day and I tried to pitch. It was so nice.”

The second moment came when she returned to practice with her teammates.

“I was initially afraid. I thought I was going to have some mental block. I hadn’t fielded a ground ball in a year. I hadn’t hit off live pitching in a year. But it was kind of like riding a bike once it started. It just felt so right, and everything clicked into place, and it just felt so fun. It was amazing. It was just so good.”

And the final moment came when Stevens stepped foot back into the circle in a high school game for Matanzas High School.

“That was amazing. I saw the crowd when I went out there when they called my name. It wasn’t sitting on the bench, Leah Stevens. It was pitcher Leah Stevens. I went out there and had all my team around me during the national anthem. I was like, wow, this is actually happening. I’m really back out here. I turned around and I see everybody out there in the stands. I was like, this is insane. This is what I missed for a year.”

Through the bouts of uncertainty and long hours spent in the hospital, Stevens learned a great deal about herself during her recovery.

“I’ve learned that I have more perseverance than I thought I did. I feel like sometimes in softball, or in other aspects of your life, you’re not truly tested. Sometimes you have an out, an easy out. And sometimes if you give up a home run up in softball, your coach might take you out when you’re pitching.

“I could not have been taken out of this situation. I had to go through it by myself. I had no out. I had to get through this, and it had to be me to do it. So the fact that I have been able to recover from this, and the fact that I have made those strides, gives me a lot of confidence in myself. It tells me that I can do hard things, and that with the help of my support system, that just gives me a lot of confidence for the future and what I will be able to achieve then.”

Additionally, Stevens learned a great deal about the game of softball which was taken from her for over a year. More to the point, she learned how significant the relationships she has formed within the game are to her.

“But it was really the interactions with my teammates. Of course, I love the game and I love competing. That’s very clear when I’m on the field. But it’s those moments when I get a strikeout and I look at my first baseman and she’s so happy and she’s smiling at me. Or when my teammate hits a home run and we’re all around a home plate and we’re all cheering and yelling.

“That’s what I was missing because I feel like those connections and those relationships have been so pivotal in my life. Although I missed all the competing so much, it really made me realize that the very special aspect of softball is those human relationships and those connections with my teammates and with my coaches.”

Her return to the field has been nothing short of sensational. Stevens is ranked ninth in Florida in earned run average and 10th in strikeouts. She pitched an eight-inning no-hitter against Menendez where she struck out 21 batters and she also fired a no-hitter against Deland which featured 14 strikeouts.

“I really tried to go into this season having no expectations, because I’ve always had kind of a perfectionist attitude towards myself. I’ve always thought I had to do really well pitching and hitting. So, I tried to give myself grace and understand that I have been away for a while, that I might not be where I was before, and that I shouldn’t put so much pressure on myself.

“But I’m really proud of how I’ve done this year, because I haven’t been able to practice like other people have, and I haven’t had time like other people have to progress. Because, although I have been away for a year, I’ve been pitching as much as I can. So, I feel like those little improvements did help me. So, although I was away, I feel like I’ve been making strides in my own game. And that’s been really amazing to see, because that shows me that all the work that I’ve been doing, all the struggles that I’ve had the past year, have kind of paid off.”

For Stevens, who has been nominated by the Daytona Beach News Journal for the area midseason Player of the Year, the dominant start to her junior campaign could not come at a better time as she seeks to reinvent herself on the recruiting stage.

Engaged with several coaches prior to the stroke, Stevens clearly had little concern about recruiting during her recovery. But now that she is back in the circle, she hopes to parlay her right arm into a college career.

“I know that the time I’ve been away was a really important season for me in my recruiting journey, so I do feel like I’m a little behind in it. I’m uncommitted, but I’m really looking forward to the summer season, going to camps and getting some exposure with some different showcases and things like that, so that I can find, hopefully, a college that really fits my academic and softball needs, because my academics come first when it’s looking for a college for me.

“I’m looking to go into aerospace engineering, so that’s a pretty specific program and not all colleges have it, so I don’t have a wide net to choose from. I do hope that if there are some colleges that fit my academic priority, that hopefully they have softball too, and that I can get in contact with them this summer.”

In the future Leah Stevens may design a spacecraft intended for the next great space exploration or test an aircraft or satellite that enhances our lives, but for now she is content to hone her skills in flight centered around a softball propelled by her right arm.

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