All-region catcher Maddie Wright will be staying close to home at Reinhardt University.
Wright is a 2023 Gilmer High School honor graduate who was a regular fixture in the Lady Cats’ lineup. When it came time to choose her playing destination after high school, there were a couple momentary stops along the way.
She originally verbally committed to Valdosta State University during her junior season. Some uncertainties led to the reopening of her recruitment before Wright made a verbal pledge to the University of West Alabama.
“I thought I wanted to be far away from home and that I didn’t enjoy a small town like Ellijay,” Wright said of her commitment to VSU. “I heard some not-so-great things about Valdosta State, and their coaching staff is older. Their head coach (Thomas Macera’s) daughter is going to be a senior, and I was afraid he was going to retire.
“Then I switched to West Alabama because she (head coach Stephanie DeFeo) was the (previous) coach at Mercer. I went to a lot of Mercer camps when I was little, and I really liked her.”
Reinhardt came into the picture in a rather serendipitous manner. Wright agreed to catch for one of her travel ball pitchers, who was scheduled for a tryout in front of Reinhardt coaches. However, that player was a no-show, and Wright was there to take advantage of the opportunity.
“So they asked me if I wanted to hit some balls, and then they offered me a full ride right after,” she explained. “Before that, I planned to stick it out at West Alabama.”
Reinhardt’s Waleska campus is markedly closer than VSU and UWA, and Wright mentioned what else appealed to her about the university.
“I like that Reinhardt is a small school, and the student to teacher ratio is like 13 to one. It’s a place where I can do nursing and play softball. All the athletic teams are very good right now, and I like that I get to be close to my sister,” she said.
“I want to study nursing because I like to help people. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and my grandparents were nurses on both sides of my family.”
Wright credits dad Matt with helping her achieve her softball goals.
“He’s been coaching me since I was 8, and has always been talking to college coaches for me,” she said. “If you go through his phone, he has the number of every college coach you can think of.”
Journey begins
Wright’s first year on the softball diamond was spent in the rec league. Even as an 8 year old, she had a destination in mind.
“(College softball) is what I wanted to do. I wanted to be like the girls on TV. I wanted to be able to do that,” she said.
Wright looked for more playing opportunities the following season and joined a travel team. In recent years she has played with the Bullets out of Atlanta. She took the field for dozens of travel games outside of the school season each year.
“Travel ball is very competitive,” Wright said. “You wouldn’t think that many people are interested in playing college ball, but you go to a tournament and there are 60 teams there, and every girl wants to do the same thing you want to do. I feel like it pushes you more when you see the competition outside of Ellijay. We play basically eight games every weekend.”
Juggling travel practices, the tournament schedule, high school classes and just being a teenager were often challenging.
“Since I played high school softball, basketball and golf, add that with travel softball on the weekend, and all of the homework, it was a lot,” Wright said. “But I really liked it. I like learning how to manage all of that, and it will help me a lot when I go to college. I’m already used to having a crazy schedule, and it’s only going to get crazier.”
Success continues at GHS
Wright has spent time at second base and in the outfield with her travel teams. She also suited up behind the plate at catcher, which is where she was a four-year starter at GHS.
In her freshman season, the Cats finished fourth and were eliminated from the state tournament in the first round by Madison County.
GHS stormed to a 17-1 record versus region foes in 2020. The Cats won the region championship and were 19-6 overall on the season. However, Gilmer lost in the opening round of the postseason to Ringgold, who went on to win the state title.
Wright was a three-time first-team all-region catcher. Her sophomore season ended with a .375 batting average, 28 hits, 15 RBIs and she scored 23 runs. She recorded six doubles and three triples and was a stalwart behind the plate defensively.
The Cats went through a coaching change headed into Wright’s junior season. GHS missed the state tournament as injuries and a young roster led to inconsistency.
Wright was the Cats’ top hitter in 2021 and led the team with a .426 batting average, 26 hits, 15 runs scored and a .974 fielding percentage. She also had eight RBIs on the season.
Gilmer missed the postseason again in 2022, but Wright continued to produce. She led GHS with 13 stolen bases to go with a .355 batting average, .467 on-base percentage, 19 runs scored and five RBIs.
Wright is slated to play catcher at Reinhardt and will battle for the starting spot her first year on campus.
“It’s exciting, but it’s a lot of pressure because you’re starting over again as a freshman at the bottom of the food chain,” she said of competing for a starting spot. “I’m looking forward to being on my own and very excited for softball with the chance to win a World Series and get a ring. I think that would be really cool.”
Reinhardt competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as members of the Appalachian Athletic Conference.