Northwestern softball coach Kate Drohan thought Stephanie Churchwell would play shortstop for the Wildcats for four years. After the 2005 season, however, the freshman all-American decided to retire from the sport and left the team with a huge hole to fill.

The same day Churchwell told Drohan about her decision to leave the team, the head coach was at a prep tournament in Georgia. It was there that Drohan first saw Tammy Williams, a pitcher with a broken hand who happened to be playing third base with an awful lot of athleticism.

Williams didn’t get any hits that day, but Drohan had seen enough to try and get Williams out to Illinois. Williams, who hails from the tiny town of Roscoe, Missouri, hopped on a plane for the first time in her life, committed to Northwestern and went on to become Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a third-team all-American selection.

As a sophomore, Williams has gotten even better. She leads the Wildcats with a .426 batting average and 14 stolen bases. She also has 13 homeruns and will likely repeat as an all-American.