Life isn’t always fair, unfortunately, and that extends to the softball world as well.
You’d think that when an athlete changes schools for viable academic reasons, there wouldn’t be an athletic suspension involved, but that wasn’t the case over the last year for talent Class of 2024 catcher/shortstop Emmaline Whitt from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The athlete comes from a hard-working, eighth generation family farm background and it’s safe to assume that the phrase “farm strong” is an accurate description of her ancestral DNA. More on the farming component in a minute…
On the athletic front, as a high school freshman last year for Murfreesboro Central Magnet, Emmaline started on the school varsity team and excelled across the board with a .358 batting average, four home runs, 11 steals and 32 runs driven in.
As the Summer and Fall of 2021 moved along, Emmaline continued to shine—this time on the travel ball fields with her Fury 2024 – Williams team—as she produced a .409 batting average, four homers, 38 RBIs and 14 steals in top showcases across the Southeast.
When her sophomore high school season arrived in 2022, however, the young athlete knew she would be off the playing field temporarily and watching her school team and sport she loves so much from the dugout.
Why?
Emmaline decided to transfer away from Central High after completing her freshman year with a 3.9 GPA and moved across the county to Eagleville (Tennessee) High to focus her studies more in Agriculture, which Central Magnet did not provide.
Makes sense from the academic standpoint, but, unfortunately, the transfer caused an issue athletically and Emmaline was ruled ineligible for a majority of her sophomore high school year by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA).
Emmaline boldly represented herself all the way up to a face-to-face meeting with the TSSAA board and advocated for students like herself to not be penalized because of transfers for such viable academic reasons, but the organization still moved forward with the suspension.
The date circled on the Whitt (and Eagleville) family calendar—when Emmaline becomes eligible for high school varsity play again—is May 9th, 2022 to make a post-season run at a state championship.
It will be the magical return date after the high schooler has been forced to sit out the school transfer for 365 tough calendar days.
“You can either let adversity get you down or make you stronger,” Emmaline reflects. “I chose to get strongr and look forward to helping my team to the best of my ability as soon as I am cleared to play.”
During her required time on the bench, the young backstop’s drive and determination have not taken time off as she works daily with her team attending practices, getting in extra work with her catching and hitting coaches, playing JV ball and working individually at home in her farm’s own hitting facility or at the local gym where she has her own “fan club” of adults who applaud and commend her tough workouts several times per week.
Emmaline has openly and willingly accepted the role of being a motivator and helper to her teammates at games and pushing them in practices to become better.
“Being able to watch the game from the dugout has given me a chance to improve my knowledge of the game and get myself prepared for my return to help my team,” Emmaline explains.
One person who’s had a front row seat to Emmaline being forced to take some time off is her father, Brandon Whitt, who explains he has seen the positives his daughter has learned.
“Student-athletes today, especially in this post-pandemic world,” he begins, “know far too well about a world full of questions and uncertainty. Today our young people are constantly flooded with images and pressures to be so many things other than celebrating and authentically being who they are.”
“Out of Emmaline’s experience of adversity grew her very own version of a ‘farm strong’ mentality. She’s used the down time to express her feelings and channel her thoughts and emotions. The lens in which she sees the game and young athletes like herself has changed, leading her to focus more on mental health and expressing herself through poetry and writing.”
And it has given the athlete a humble sense of appreciation for what she’s had in the past and will again, soon, moving forward.
“It’s important to enjoy the ride,” believes Emmaline, “because it doesn’t last long and, before you know it, you’ll be wishing you were back on it.”
One way she’s been able to help keep her skills sharp is working out with the softball and, even once in a while, the baseball team:
When they need an extra catcher 🙋♀️@tnshowtime @AnneMarie2025 pic.twitter.com/7Jy29nNyi0
— Emmaline Whitt (@emmalinewhitt) February 1, 2022
Another good example of Emmaline’s making the best of a tough situation is her literary creations such as her poem entitled “Fading Adolescence,” reminding each of us, she hopes, that “true beauty happiness and success comes from within and it’s important to stay focused, have faith and, above all, believe in yourself.”
Here’s the poem:
Fading Adolescence
Seems girls are maturing sooner every day,
Sacred drops of childhood quickly fade away.
Magnifying my insecurities with every post I see,
Exhausted at the puzzle piece that I strive to be.Diet magazines and 10 minute exercises leave no vacancy,
With every bikini model I feel less and less of me.
Somehow, I measure my self-worth with how much I eat,
Causing me to look in the mirror with a sign of defeat.She’s lanky, she’s skinny, so why do I feel so stubby?
Her skin is clear, her lips are full, so why do I feel so ghostly?
They have the looks, they have the money, so why do I feel so unworthy?
Letting others set your self-perception will leave you feeling empty.Enjoy every ounce, don’t forget and minute,
Once your childhood has passed, you’ll wish you were back in it.
There’s more to life than being a faultfinder,
The girl in the mirror begs you to be kinder.Warning, hazard, continue with caution,
Minimize your scrolling, only do ever so often.
Cancerous thoughts spread through my mind,
Because when filling a standard, adolescence gets left behind
Through the unfortunate time-out from competing on the field with her teammates, Emmaline has benefited in that it’s helped her—and those around her—savor the successes she’s had to this point both in high school and in club.
Eagleville High School coach Bridgette Sanders says the athlete’s not playing to start the 2022 season hasn’t slowed her down at all.
“Emmaline has easily melded into the Eagleville softball family,” the coach says. “She is a leader and positive influence for this team. Although she is currently unable to play on the field, that has not changed her work ethic. She works hard and expects others too as well. We are excited for Emmaline’s future here at Eagleville and to get her back for our post-season run this ‘22 season. I have no doubt she is going to leave her mark here before she graduates in 2024.”
It’s helped that the Eagles softball team also has two standout 2025 Extra Elite 100 players in middle infielder Brinli Bain and pitcher Addisyn Linton to help the Tennessee school get off to a strong start so far with a 6-1 record.
Emmaline is also looking forward to the Summer when she will play with her Fury 2024 team .
“Emmaline has truly been a great addition to our Fury team,” raves one of the coaches, Charles Williams. “Since Day 1, Emmaline has shown the work ethic to learn and compete at this level which will definitely help at the college level and in life. We have been blessed with such an unselfish player and teammate, as Emmaline will do anything to help her team win including playing catcher, shortstop, third and outfield all in the same weekend!”
Once the high school season is over, Emmaline will embark on a busy summer lined up with her Fury 2024 Williams team that includes attending top showcases around the Southeast including the Bombers, Scenic City and Legacy events as well as participating in several college camps and play days.
For example, like this one at the University of Georgia earlier this year:
Enjoyed my time at catcher’s camp with @UGASoftball this weekend! Grateful for the opportunity! @FuryWilliams @UGACoachTony pic.twitter.com/twzsXfV1Yn
— Emmaline Whitt (@emmalinewhitt) January 31, 2022
When there’s downtime from playing softball, she’ll be working on her family’s farm picking and selling strawberries. She has also been selected to attend the Tennessee Ag Leaders Forum for a week-long look at how the agriculture industry works. Within that field, Emmaline looks to pursue a career path involving genetics and/or molecular biology.
To date, the sophomore has continued to work out and keep herself busy in other ways.
She takes lessons from catching instructor Doe Denman who brings up the “w” word again when describing her prize student… as in “work ethic” and “hard working.”
“Emmaline is a very hard working and determined person,” she concludes. “Her work ethic always puts her in a position to keep developing her skills. From the classroom to the field, she’s always realizing her ability to grow and is never settling for where she is.”
“Emmaline’s hunger for knowledge and determination to excel will serve her well in whatever she decides to pursue in the future.”
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
