Photo: Julia Crofut was a key contributor in UMHB’s run to the 2023 NCAA Regional Finals against Berry College (Photo by Russell Marwitz/russellmarwitz.com)
GEORGETOWN, Texas–As the 2024 season began for the UMHB Softball team, Julia Crofut prepared herself for the next stage of her young coaching career. A Crusader alum who started at first base for the record-setting 2023 squad, Crofut planned on pursuing a coaching opportunity in Maine after UMHB’s season, about as far from Central Texas—where she was born and raised—as you can get.
Then came a call from Courtney Hawkins, a renowned baseball and softball performance development coach in the Austin area.
“He was like, ‘I know this might be a little bit of a stretch, but I have a great opportunity for you,’” Crofut remembers.
Crofut had crossed paths with Hawkins several years prior while working with Nadia Taylor, an accomplished Texas softball alum, and on one particular day, Taylor moved her hitting session to Hawkins’ facility in Cedar Park. It gave Hawkins a chance to see her hit, and he came away impressed with Crofut’s swing and hitting ability. The two stayed in touch as her college career played out at UMHB, with Hawkins becoming aware of Crofut’s goal to coach at the college level.
When Crofut received the call, it just so happened that Hawkins was at the forefront of the efforts to establish the Lone State League. A summer softball league under the umbrella of the American Collegiate League, the goal was simple: give college players from programs nationwide a chance to train and improve against high-level competition in the months of June and July. And Crofut was given an opportunity to head coach one of the league’s six teams, a clear recognition of her leadership ability and passion for the sport.
“[Courtney] said, ‘I know you’re coaching in college right now. I need you to be our first head coach that we announce, if you feel like you’re ready for it,’” Crofut added. “I don’t think I’ve ever said ‘yes’ faster in my life.”
Considering Crofut’s dream to coach college softball started in elementary school, it’s easy to see why there was no hesitation. Just over a year since the final at-bat of her collegiate career in an NCAA Regional Final against Berry College, she will step onto the field in Georgetown as the youngest head coach in the Lone Star State League.
“It’s just amazing,” she added. “He said, ‘Okay, the wheels are turning now. We have a bunch of girls that want to play and have heard about it.’”
Crofut was announced as head coach of the Texas Ocelots on March 12, as she progressed through her first season as a volunteer assistant on the UMHB coaching staff. By that point, the workload was already building, with prospective players, from both within Texas and out-of-state, expressing interest in being part of the league’s inaugural season. It fell to Crofut to be a major part of the recruiting efforts for her team, using her connections across the college ranks to build the roster.
“It was almost a piece of cake to get some of them on my team because they saw how old I was and knew that it was going to be much easier for me to relate to them and understand what they’re really trying to pursue,” Crofut said, noting that she is just one year removing from her own playing career. “We have five weeks. It’s going to be a lot faster than what they’re used to, but my coaching style is that we’re here every day to get better at something. You’re going to leave the field exhausted, because you’re going to be learning something new every day.”
For as much as Crofut is focused on growing her players’ knowledge and skill set, she is well aware of the simultaneous learning opportunity that has been presented for her as a coach. With a roster that includes players from programs in seven different states, from University of Pittsburgh catcher Rachael Fuerst to Louisiana-Lafayette outfielder Samantha Graeter, Crofut will be leading a team of exceptional talent.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for me to even just adjust to coaching girls my age,” Crofut said, who began coaching as a 17-year old, assisting and leading travel ball teams in the summers. “It’s definitely a different scenario. But I think in the coaching world, the experiences you have build the coach that you are.”
She got a taste of college coaching this past season in Belton, having opted to forgo her additional year of eligibility due to Covid and instead take the first steps of her new journey in full-time coaching. As she wrapped up her undergraduate studies at UMHB, she added to her knowledge base on the softball field, working alongside head coach Melissa Mojica and assistant coach Leah Guest, the 2023 American Southwest Conference Coaching Staff of the Year. Having that experience will undoubtedly help as she takes on this new opportunity as a head coach, understanding even better what is necessary to take players from good to great in the collegiate ranks.
“It’s great to win ballgames; it’s part of your job,” Crofut said, when talking about her takeaways from this past season on the Crusader coaching staff. “But most of it is how you shape the human being when they are with you. Especially with college players. They are developed and have their routine. They just sometimes need to come back to it.
“That’s the thing about college coaching, is understanding you are working way more with the mental side of an athlete, and it’s very important to understand what kind of athlete you’re working with. I definitely think learning that with Coach Mojica and Coach Guest, we really focused on that as much as we could. It’s really important.”
Of course, she has first-hand knowledge of that as well, having begun her college career as a player at Texas Lutheran before transferring to UMHB in 2022. The Austin native saw action in 72 games for The Cru between 2022 and 2023, starting 56 of them while hitting .306 with 34 RBI. Over that two-year span, Crofut became close with a number of teammates who were still on the roster this past season as she transitioned into coaching. That dynamic was unique, and enhanced the experience of helping lead The Cru.
“It was a blessing to see my really close friends succeed with something we had worked on for so long,” Crofut said. “That’s the special part of coaching. You work that week on something, whatever it may be, and once you get to that game, you let them go and succeed. And if they don’t, you just keep working on it.”
Crofut will take those experiences and lessons learned into this summer, with the season spanning from June 13-July 14. With games played every day of the week except for Wednesdays and Sundays in Georgetown, there will be ample opportunity for the league to truly make an impact, both on its players and its coaches. College baseball has long been supported by summer leagues of this kind, and softball is following suit. Since 2019, when the Florida Gulf Coast League was established, three more leagues have been founded, with both the Lone Star State League and the Golden Bay Collegiate League making their debuts this summer.
“I think the most important thing about this is that it’s the first time it has been in Central Texas,” Crofut said. “It originated in Florida and has been there for a few years now. Courtney Hawkins, who is the leader of our Central Texas group, said, ‘Hey, we need a league in Texas. We have too many ballers that just need some playing time.’ It’s a great opportunity for all of the girls to get their skills up over the summer, because you have three months off [from college]. It’s an opportunity to see live at-bats from pitchers they may never face otherwise in their college career.
“It’s all different kinds of competition. It’s something that softball players have never really experienced. We see it all the time with baseball, how much experience they have over the summer. They have huge leagues all around. It’s amazing that it’s now opening up to the softball world because it’s a great opportunity for us.”
Learn more about the Lone Star State League at lonestarstateleague.com. Follow the league on social media at @LoneStarLeague (X/Twitter) and at @lonestarstateleague on Instagram.
