Oklahoma State University Athletics
Madison Hoffman's journey back to the diamond
January 30, 2026 | Cowgirl Softball
It was the first practice back from winter break, less than one month away from the start of Madison Hoffman's freshman season.
The month away from Stillwater felt like an eternity, and she couldn't wait to take the field with her teammates again as she geared up for her first collegiate season in America's Brightest Orange.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
As she ran to catch a ball during a drill, she took a sharp turn, felt a pop in her knee, and instantly crumpled to the ground.
"I've never hurt anything before, except for a dislocated finger in high school, and it kind of felt like that," Hoffman said. "Then I remember Bailey [Enoch] (OSU graduate manager) and Mike [Barlow] (OSU athletic trainer) helping me off the field."
The seemingly minor knee injury quickly turned into something more serious when the team doctor mentioned her ACL. After some imaging and testing, it was confirmed that Hoffman had fully torn her ACL and sustained a deep bone bruise.
Her surgery was successful, but she had a long recovery ahead of her, both mentally and physically. For a very active person, like Hoffman, who was a 10-time letterwinner in four different sports at Blue Springs South in Lee's Summit, Mo., the typical recovery time of seven to nine months felt like a lifetime.
"I'm a very active person, and I just couldn't believe that I couldn't do anything for that long; it was just weird," Hoffman said. "I mean, it messes with you mentally, because you're not doing what you've been doing every day for the past 15 years of your life. I've always had practice."
Due to surgery, everyday freedoms that people don't think about are taken away. Walking, doing laundry or even driving a car can seem impossible or just incredibly difficult. Physical therapy is not just a physical battle; it is a mental one. Every new skill or exercise calls into question how the knee will handle it or how bad it will hurt.
The small wins become the best parts of a week. The first time the leg brace gets unlocked to allow for movement, the ability to walk without crutches or even the amount of everyday pain slowly going away, it can take its toll after a while.
Even though watching her teammates do what she loves, along with physical therapy, was mentally draining, Hoffman knew her time on the Cowgirl Softball field would come.
This came true when she returned to pitching in June, just five months after her surgery. While she wasn't cleared for full activity, she remained patient and continued to work hard for her inevitable return to the game she loves.
"During the season, I learned so much, especially from a hitting standpoint, on how to prepare against college pitchers," Hoffman explained. "I feel like I have an edge, because I know how to attack elite pitchers and what our hitters have to go through."
After going through her second fall campaign and first set of winter practices, Hoffman is looking forward to that first moment she steps on the diamond for a collegiate softball game.
Sure, it wasn't the path she had in mind when she first stepped on campus nearly 18 months ago. It's felt like a lifetime. But it's the path that made her, that taught her invaluable lessons of perseverance and patience.
She knows she can't rewrite what happened on that day in January over a year ago.
But she can control what comes next.
"I'm just going to leave everything out there," Hoffman said.
After everything she's overcome, that promise means more now than ever.
The month away from Stillwater felt like an eternity, and she couldn't wait to take the field with her teammates again as she geared up for her first collegiate season in America's Brightest Orange.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
As she ran to catch a ball during a drill, she took a sharp turn, felt a pop in her knee, and instantly crumpled to the ground.
"I've never hurt anything before, except for a dislocated finger in high school, and it kind of felt like that," Hoffman said. "Then I remember Bailey [Enoch] (OSU graduate manager) and Mike [Barlow] (OSU athletic trainer) helping me off the field."
The seemingly minor knee injury quickly turned into something more serious when the team doctor mentioned her ACL. After some imaging and testing, it was confirmed that Hoffman had fully torn her ACL and sustained a deep bone bruise.
Her surgery was successful, but she had a long recovery ahead of her, both mentally and physically. For a very active person, like Hoffman, who was a 10-time letterwinner in four different sports at Blue Springs South in Lee's Summit, Mo., the typical recovery time of seven to nine months felt like a lifetime.
"I'm a very active person, and I just couldn't believe that I couldn't do anything for that long; it was just weird," Hoffman said. "I mean, it messes with you mentally, because you're not doing what you've been doing every day for the past 15 years of your life. I've always had practice."
Due to surgery, everyday freedoms that people don't think about are taken away. Walking, doing laundry or even driving a car can seem impossible or just incredibly difficult. Physical therapy is not just a physical battle; it is a mental one. Every new skill or exercise calls into question how the knee will handle it or how bad it will hurt.
The small wins become the best parts of a week. The first time the leg brace gets unlocked to allow for movement, the ability to walk without crutches or even the amount of everyday pain slowly going away, it can take its toll after a while.
Even though watching her teammates do what she loves, along with physical therapy, was mentally draining, Hoffman knew her time on the Cowgirl Softball field would come.
This came true when she returned to pitching in June, just five months after her surgery. While she wasn't cleared for full activity, she remained patient and continued to work hard for her inevitable return to the game she loves.
"During the season, I learned so much, especially from a hitting standpoint, on how to prepare against college pitchers," Hoffman explained. "I feel like I have an edge, because I know how to attack elite pitchers and what our hitters have to go through."
After going through her second fall campaign and first set of winter practices, Hoffman is looking forward to that first moment she steps on the diamond for a collegiate softball game.
Sure, it wasn't the path she had in mind when she first stepped on campus nearly 18 months ago. It's felt like a lifetime. But it's the path that made her, that taught her invaluable lessons of perseverance and patience.
She knows she can't rewrite what happened on that day in January over a year ago.
But she can control what comes next.
"I'm just going to leave everything out there," Hoffman said.
After everything she's overcome, that promise means more now than ever.
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