NC State INF Kendall Simmers builds confidence during record-setting freshman campaign

When NC State softball coach Lindsay Leftwich recruited freshman shortstop Kendall Simmers out of Bridgewater (Va.) Turner Ashby High School, she believed the first-year player could make an impact for the Pack. But there was still an unknown to it in the fall. 

How would she adjust to college pitching? Would the transition to college in general make things tougher?

That changed rather quickly as the recruited walk-on earned a starting spot in the preseason, fitting into the Wolfpack’s everyday lineup. Simmers has emerged as one of the rising stars of the future for NC State, which is looking to build from year-to-year.

Simmers has started all 52 games for the Pack, hitting .320 with four doubles, 13 home runs — a program record for freshman blasts — and 35 RBI. And as she’s gone through her first college season, Simmers has embraced the grind. 

“It’s been a learning experience,” Simmers said. “Parts have been great, parts have been low, but overall, it’s been a really cool thing to get out here as a freshman and do what I’ve done.  I think I still have more in me. My coaching staff is awesome, they’ve bought into me since the start.”

While Leftwich believed Simmers had a chance to make an impact this spring since the Wolfpack was looking for a solid defender that could bring her bat to the middle of the team’s batting order, the way she has carried herself has impressed the second-year coach. 

Whether it’s an off hitting performance or just unlucky outs, Leftwich hasn’t seen Simmers get too frustrated with herself. And for a freshman with no past experience at the collegiate level, that answer is rare to see.

“Finding a way to play every day is hard as a freshman,” Leftwich said. “You get hot then you go cold. It’s hard to get your brain back sometimes. Doubt creeps in because you don’t have these years of success in your pocket. I think she did a really good job of continuing to show up and gained confidence from the work she did and not necessarily the results she got. 

“That’s a mature and grown up response, not something you see out of a freshman a lot.”

Simmers is more mature than the average freshman, which has led to her success on the diamond. She arrived with enough motivation of her own to crack the starting lineup, so Simmers didn’t need to lean on the fact she arrived without a scholarship.

“My coaches always believed in me from the start,” Simmers said. “They were right there with me the whole time. I never treated it as a walk-on. I never looked at it that way. I just thought of it as every other freshman coming in here trying to play.”

As Simmers has continued to find success throughout the season, she didn’t focus on if she could alter games with extra-base hits. Instead, she viewed her role as a player that could bring a gritty mindset to the lineup. 

The 5-foot-5 infielder’s confidence has come up throughout the season as she has maintained her mindset of being dependable every time she hits the dirt. That has paid dividends for both Simmers and the Wolfpack.

“I think I play with a lot of heart,” Simmers said. “I try to be as consistent as possible. That’s something that every team needs, somebody that shows up the same way every single day. I think, all the time, I’m going to go all out, no matter what that looks like for me.”

No matter how Simmers arrived at this moment, she has carved out a key role within the Wolfpack’s team. She has the makings of a leader in the program moving forward, becoming a possible integral part of the continued rebuild of the program under Leftwich. 

“Since the day we recruited her, we saw these moments that she was going to be special,” Leftwich said. “Less because of her skill, but more because of her work ethic and resiliency and overall desire to be good at everything she does. Getting to watch her grow, change her swing, and continue to work on what could offer her success has been pretty cool.

“You never know what you’re going to get. But when somebody lives up to their potential, it makes you proud of the way that they worked and did all the things to get to that point.”