Looking Back: A High School Profile on Current Alabama Junior Bailey Hemphill… From January 2014!

Alabama has jumped out to an 18-0 record heading into this weekend’s continued play in its East Crimson Classic and one reason why the Tide is looking so strong is the play of junior catcher/DP/first baseman Bailey Hemphill.

Bailey leads the team with seven home runs, 26 RBI, 44 total bases and an .880 slugging percentage while being second for the SEC school with a .380 batting average.

Way back in January of 2014, our Executive Editor Brentt Eads profiled Bailey as she was heading into her sophomore year of high school at St. Thomas More in Lafayette, Louisiana.

She had already had a phenomenal, state championship-winning freshman season and was committed to Alabama at that point.

Bailey would go on to win another state title that year and by the time she graduated in 2016 be named a two-time All-American and Louisiana Miss Softball as a senior.

The summer before heading to Alabama, she would play for Greg Schnute’s East Cobb Bullets team which would go on to win the first USA Softball JO Cup held in the summer of 2016.

When Brentt published his first Top 100 list for the 2016 class while at Student Sports at the time, here’s the order he had it of the top 9:

Not a bad list at that time, we think!

Going back five years ago, from January of 2014 prior to her sophomore year of high school, here’s a profile on Bailey who today is an All-SEC catcher and pushing for national honors in 2019…

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Originally published on January 23, 2014…

Name:  BAILEY HEMPHILL
Grad Year: 2016
Position: catcher
High School: St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.)
GPA:  4.0
Club: Louisiana Voodoo
Stats: hit .595, 57 RBIs, 16 home runs as a freshman
Honors: LSWA Class 4A All-State; Class 4A MVP; Outstanding Player State
Championship Game; 1st Team All-District; 1st Team All-Acadiana; All-Acadiana MVP
College: Alabama

You had a great freshman year and were named the 4A Outstanding Player… what was the best part of the year for you individually and as a team?
Individually, I could not have accomplished anything without my teammates, so all of my accomplishments belong to the team.  As a team, there were so many best parts, I can’t pick just one.  Obviously, winning state was one.  We overcame so many obstacles throughout the season, from our coach being sick, injured players, and our pitching coach sustaining a concussion right before the championship game.

We had a freshman pitcher AND catcher.  Perseverance was our theme for the season, and we did just that.  Our school has won many state titles, but never had a player hit a home run at the state tournament.  We were so proud to be the first team in our school history to do that.  We actually hit six!

And, one of our teammates has Down Syndrome.  She was at every practice, every game, every tournament, every step of the way with us.  We have a special inning after each home game called “Janie’s Inning” where the opposing team pitches to her, and we hit her around until she scores a run.  We all learned many life lessons last season through Janie.

Walk us through the recruiting process with Alabama… how did they first find you and how long was it until you were offered?
Coach Murphy first saw me play at ASA 16U Nationals in Montgomery in 2012 when I played for Louisiana Impressions.  He was actually scouting players from the opposing team, but I must have impressed him because he sent Coach Vanbrakle to watch my next game.  My team recruiter did a great job of “talking me up” to her.

That fall, I switched to Louisiana Voodoo, and Coach Murphy, Coach Aly and Coach Vanbrakle started watching me at showcase tournaments from that point on. I went to two camps that winter, and went on an unofficial visit in October 2013.  It was during that visit that I received an offer.

How did a Louisiana girl get away from LSU and La Tech?
I live in Lafayette, which is home to the UL Ragin Cajuns, so UL was higher up on my list than La Tech.  My parents both graduated from USL (now UL), and because of this, I had more exposure to UL than LSU. We have season tickets to UL softball and I started going to their camps when I was really little.  I was even coached by UL players on my old travel ball team.

Despite that big UL connection, I really want to go to college out of state. I have followed Alabama softball for years. Coach Murphy and Coach Aly both have Louisiana connections so it was kind of neat to keep up with them.  The Alabama coaches and staff and facilities are just phenomenal. I could not pass up an opportunity to play for the Alabama softball program.

When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
In order to make an informed decision, in the fall, I started going on unofficial visits to colleges that I was interested in.  I had been to Alabama for camps before, but I was really blown away on my visit.  The facilities, the coaches and the players at Alabama are all top notch.

I was really impressed that the coaches took the time to get to know me both as a player and as a person during the recruiting process.  They checked up on me often by calling my high school coach, travel ball coach and my hitting instructor, checking on my grades, and my progress as a player.  They watched me play at just about every showcase tournament. They even checked up on my parents.  It meant a lot to me that they really wanted ME!

Alabama has an awesome history of taking great players and making them even greater people.  Being a part of the Alabama softball program, I know that I will leave Alabama a better person than when I arrive.

How did you tell the coaches?  And what was their reaction?

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