Summer Softball: What Haidyn Sokoloski Learned From Her Experience this Summer

STILLWATER - With a mother who played college volleyball and a father who played college baseball, Haidyn Sokoloski grew up destined to be a college athlete.

"I've always been surrounded by a family that loved sports," Sokoloski said. "When I was younger, my mom always made sure that I was involved in a variety of things."

That variety included softball and volleyball. She even tried her hand in musical theatre.

"When I got a little bit older, I realized 'yeah, I can't really sing,' and ever since then I kind of played every sport growing up - we're a very competitive family."

Sokoloski was an impact player on her high school volleyball team in Flower Mound, Texas, earning first team all-district honors as a senior. She helped lead the team to a 36-6 record and a spot in Bi-District playoffs.

"Volleyball really helped me get out of my head while playing softball," Sokoloski said. "It was a different outlet. It was a good way for me to focus on something else."

While she was a volleyball standout, Sokoloski found national-level success in softball.

In 2019, she earned a spot on the USA U-17 team and won a gold medal at the Pan American Championships in Barranquilla, Colombia. In 2021, she was selected for the USA U-18 team where she won gold again in Columbia.

"The final tryout was in Oklahoma City on the College World Series field," Sokoloski said. "It was so surreal to be on that field and trying out. To play in a Team USA uniform was a dream."

Sokoloski had the kind of experiences before college that fostered confidence that she could succeed at the next level.

"When you come into a Power Five school, especially a top program like OSU, there isn't going to be anyone on the team that's middle of the road," she said. "Having played with Team USA and on a good travel ball team really helped solidify confidence in myself."

Sokoloski saw most of her action as a pinch runner in her freshman year at Oklahoma State, but with an eye toward growth, she joined collegiate players from around the country in competing at the Music City Collegiate League last summer.

"Going into summer ball I was really scared," she said. "It was something new and we didn't really know how the competition was going to work."

Sokoloski was joined by fellow OSU sophomore Katie Lott. The two drove nearly 10 hours to Clarksville, Tenn., for the summer and lived in dorms. They practiced or played every day except for one off-day per week.

"Being in Tennessee was really fun," Sokoloski described. "It was great being only an hour away from Nashville. I love music and there were always concerts we would go to on our one off-day."

Living an hour from the Music City had its perks, but Sokoloski's true purpose for being there was to get reps and improve.

She took advantage of the opportunities and by the end of the summer, Sokoloski was selected as Offensive MVP of the league. She was also recognized as a league standout by D1 Softball.

Sokoloski's work over the summer revealed itself when she returned to OSU for fall practice and blasted a shot that cleared the left field wall and deck at Cowgirl Stadium in a scrimmage against Tulsa for the first in-game home run of her career.

"There were a lot of emotions," Sokoloski said. "Earlier that day I had a good talk with Coach Cloer about the season, then to be able to hit something like that and show her that I'm ready to play at this level, it was great. I couldn't stop smiling."

Heading into her sophomore campaign, Sokoloski has her sights set on another trip to the WCWS in June. She believes this OSU team is ready for the challenge.

"Nothing on this team is given," Sokoloski said. "We have such a young, new team this year that everyone is going to have to fight - nothing will be given to us. We need to focus on taking it day-by-day and on what we can do better in the moment to make ourselves and our teammates better."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Summer Softball: What Haidyn Sokoloski Learned From Her Experience this Summer

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