Trio of Northern Utah softball players bond as they sign to same college in small Kansas town
Syracuse High softball pitcher Abby Sims winds up to throw in this undated photo.
Clearfield High softball player Kaycee Valencia throws the ball in this undated photo.
Woods Cross softball player Elizabeth Busdicker pauses between pitches in this undated photo.
CLEARFIELD — Why would three teenage softball players pack up their bats, gloves and spikes to carry on their careers at tiny Colby Community College in Kansas?
Turns out many reasons are similar for Clearfield High catcher Kaycee Valencia, Syracuse pitcher Abby Sims and Woods Cross shortstop Elizabeth Busdicker.
They range from scholarship opportunities on the diamond and in the classroom, a unique venue and adventure with a chance to bond with familiar faces, to a dynamic coach who recognizes family and character as important as performance on the field.
These three players have all chosen to move 10 1/2 hours from home to follow their dreams.
Some of it is simply a numbers game. Utah has around a dozen opportunities to continue playing after high school, while Kansas sports 21 junior colleges alone and nearly 40 universities overall.
Busdicker is the only one of the three who even considered an offer from within the state when she turned down Snow College — “because the coaches weren’t personable with me; they were indifferent. There was no connection,” she said.
She will major in pre-med at CCC, which is a two-year athletic school but a four-year academic institution. After two years, Busdicker wants to sign with a four-year school and keep playing softball while continuing her education to become a pediatric surgeon.
Photo supplied, Karly Bates
Valencia
Valencia plans to finish her softball career and stay at CCC to complete a degree to become a pediatric oncology nurse.
She has the smarts to do it, too. Valencia was vice president of the student council at Clearfield, is a presidential scholar at CCC and will be an ambassador in admissions.
Sims hasn’t made a decision on a course of study and wants to get her general education out of the way the next two years, then return home and attend a local university.
Sims
Colby is roughly 750 miles from the Wasatch Front, located at the interchange of Interstate 70 and State Road 25 in northwestern Kansas. It sits 212 miles east-southeast of Denver and 232 miles northwest of Wichita, with a population of 5,387.
“I like that they have a nursing program for my education and I also liked the small-town atmosphere,” Valencia said. “I actually made two different college campus trips and liked the vibe Colby gave off.”
Valencia and Sims knew each other informally from playing on rival comp teams and during downtime due to the COVID-19 shutdown last spring, and met over lunch to compare notes.
It was an informal meeting — a getting to know you event — and they started to bond over burritos at Costa Vida while they each learned Colby was recruiting them.
“We hit it off so good. We compared our careers and talked about college and everything we saw in our future,” Valencia said.
After they each made a visit to Colby, the met up again at Kneaders in Layton.
“I told Abby I had fallen in love, being down there in that tiny little town,” Valencia said. “I accepted (a scholarship) first and then she accepted her offer.”
Valencia and Sims are going to be roommates at distant CCC, “a hard decision made a little easier knowing I already had a friend going with me on this adventure in my life,” Valencia said.
Sims has similar feelings about traveling outside her comfort zone.
“I was really nervous about going that far away but knowing (Valencia) is going to be there is really nice and makes it a lot more comfortable for me. She is very open and just welcomes you in and is easy to talk to and easy going.”
Colby rolled out the red carpet for Sims, who said “the staff is so welcoming and friendly. The community gets involved in supporting the girls at games. They have an awesome indoor facility with a new weightlifting room and batting cages.”
Busdicker was not on CCC’s radar until a friend on her comp team, Addi Christiansen (Mountain Ridge High) mentioned her name to head coach Steve Kinnett.
Busdicker
Kinnett watched Busdicker’s film and had a link to some games she played in at a showcase tournament in Spanish Fork.
“Steve gave me a call, we talked, I went out there for a visit and he offered me a scholarship,” Busdicker said.
In a natural progression, Busdicker and Christiansen will now be roommates at CCC for a team that has signed seven Utah preps this season.
“I love my family a lot, but I know I’m going to have a good family out there. I’ve played against and with most of these girls coming from Utah since I was eight years old.”
The connection in the classroom Busdicker was looking for came through loud and clear at CCC. She raved about the personal connections the staff can make with students, noting a physics teacher said his class size was six students.
“I also love the campus. It’s beautiful and green and you can walk to everything. They have nice athletic facilities,” Busdicker said.
The trio put together the following senior seasons, according to stats entered into MaxPreps.
Kaycee Valencia, Clearfield: Batted .471 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 27 games, drawing 12 walks and striking out just six times.
Abby Sims, Syracuse: In the circle, threw 142 2/3 innings in 21 starts with an ERA of 2.80 with 175 strikeouts to 48 walks, and her opponents batted .241. In the box, hit .338 in 77 at-bats, driving in 18 runs.
Elizabeth Busdicker, Woods Cross: Batted .403 in 20 reported games, driving in 10 runs and stealing six bases.
Kinnett is in his eighth year at the helm of CCC softball, compiling a record of 213-177. The Trojans play in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and are back-to-back winners of the western division regular season title. His players do well in the classroom, consistently posting a team GPA of over 3.65.
In Kinnett’s first year at CCC, he was hired by a recruiting company and happened to go to Utah. He has had a relationship with past and present coaches ever since.
“Steve is so easy going. I’ve talked to multiple college coaches and some are hard to engage with, but he always reaches out to us and knows how to start a conversation,” Sims said.
Personality plays a part in the recruiting process. When Snow College showed only passing interest in her, Busdicker made the trip to Colby and fell in love with the city and the passion Kinnett has for the program and players.
“I adore Steve. He took me around the town; he’s like, ‘I’m so excited to have you here.’ I’d just love for you to come play here,” Busdicker said. “His girls are his girls and he wants the best for them, whether it’s softball or school. He looks out for them.”
Valencia first met Kinnett during her freshman year at a showcase tournament in Tooele. She was familiar with CCC because a family friend had attended the school and loved it.
“I gave (Kinnett) a player profile on a piece of paper,” Valencia said. “I was very nervous, only in ninth grade. I didn’t know what my future held at that point.”
Here’s what Kinnett had to say about his Northern Utah players:
Abby Sims is a “heck of a pitcher,” he said. “Wonderful young lady. Great family. Great core values. Smart student. She has good inside-out control, mixes her speeds well. Real excited for her to come in and compliment the pitching staff and think she’ll make a big impact for us.”
Kaycee Valencia is “another wonderful young lady. … Her skill set, she’s a smaller stature but she plays big and she’ll be a great team leader on the field and behind the dish. She’s very vocal and game smart.”
Elizabeth Busdicker is a “heck of a shortstop. Wonderful personality … has good range, a good arm, good speed. Our graduating shortstop left a big hole, so we had Bus come in and tried her out. She’ll fit right in with the girls.”
In addition to Busdicker, Sims, Valencia and Christiansen, Kiley Avery (Mountain Ridge), Alexa Wade (Herriman) and Jazlyn Nyman (Freakz comp team) are other freshman from Utah attending CCC in the fall.
The girls have a group chat that builds confidence as the whole group tries to become friends before they arrive.
One of the first things they should do at Colby is get together over lunch — perhaps share cheese dip at Colby’s El Dos De Oros.