Mitchell High School senior Hailey Gukeisen is the first member of the South Dakota Hurricanes to sign with a Division I fastpitch softball team.
Gukeisen will sign a National Letter of Intent with the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne women’s softball team today at Dakota Physical Therapy in Mitchell.
“I think it’s amazing what she’s doing,” said South Dakota Hurricane coach Chris KauwaluSchultz, who co-founded the program in 2006 with his wife, Denise. “We wanted to help girls who wanted to play in college. We push them hard and take them to places where they can be seen. It’s exciting to see a girl who works so hard go get to where she wants to go.”
The Hurricanes’ season is in the summer and Gukeisen had a batting average of .526 and an on-base percentage of .602. She totaled 32 RBIs, 12 steals, seven doubles, six triples and three home runs.
Gukeisen also looked at playing collegiately at the University of Arkansas, Northern Oklahoma State University and Jackson State University (Miss.). Part of her decision to join the Mastodons was their conference is the Summit League and will play South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota.
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“It will be nice for my family to come watch me perform,” said Gukeisen, who plans to major in dental or physical therapy. “I just want to come back and be able to play with a really good team and play with girls that are just as competitive as me. I’m excited to show off my abilities.”
NOTES: Mitchell High School seniors Macy Miller and Taylin Alm are also signing National Letters of Intent with Division I schools today. Miller is playing basketball at SDSU, while Alm is playing indoor and sand volleyball at Pepperdine University.
