East Surry High School senior Maegan Banks officially signed her NJCAA National Letter of Intent and will continue her academic and softball careers at Surry Community College.
“Playing college ball is a dream come true for me,” Banks said. “I’m excited to start on this journey.”
Banks joins a Surry Community team that is coming off one its best seasons ever. The 2022 Lady Knights won a program record 35 games, finished second in Region 10 play and ranked as high as No. 18 in the National Junior College Athletic Association DII National Poll.
In addition to their team success, Surry Community’s coaching staff of Blaine Bullington, Joel Jones and Gary Stone was named the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
“Surry is close to home and offers a great start toward my degree and career path,” Banks said. “I really like the coaches, and felt a connection with them from the start. I have already been taking classes at SCC while in high school, so it feels like home.”
Banks was a four-year varsity starter with the Lady Cards softball program. She was an All-Conference selection her junior year, and helped East Surry win the Northwest 1A Conference Championship that same season.
Maegan played pitcher and outfield during her time at East. Banks’ reliability and willingness to do whatever the needed made her a vital piece of the Cardinals’ team.
“The best way to describe Maegan is consistent and confident,” said Cardinal coach Randy Marion. “I have always known that – as a coach – I could count on Maegan to give her best, and that the moment wasn’t going to be too big for her.”
Playing college softball has always been Banks’ goal, she said. She began playing at age 8 in East Surry Little League, then went on to play recreation, travel and high school softball.
“Travel ball has been the biggest factor in preparing me for being a college athlete,” Banks said. “I’ve worked hard, putting in countless hours and days, as well as overcame a couple of injuries to get here.”
She carried this work ethic into East Surry and became a leader for the Lady Cards.
“One of the great things about Maegan is she leads by example. She doesn’t mind putting in the extra work and her teammates see that,” Marion said. “She has worked extremely hard toward getting physically stronger over the course of her high school career, and it definitely paid off the last couple of years for her out in the field and at the plate.”
Banks extended gratitude toward multiple people for helping her get to this point:
“I’d like to thank God for leading and directing me through life in every way. I’d also like to thank my parents for taking care of me, driving me to countless practices, pitching lessons and tournaments and for always supporting me. They’ve always cheered me on no matter what.
“Thank you to all of my coaches through the years, for the good and tough times, for the support, instruction and encouragement, which has helped me become the softball player I am today.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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