Pitcher Hailey Nutter, a second team All-American, found the positivity she wanted at Kentucky.
Kentucky signee Hailey Nutter has always loved playing softball, and her parents taught her how to pitch at a young age. However, growing up in Texas, she also sometimes found time to do other things.
“I used to go mudding with my family, and one time my friend was driving my four-wheeler and she went into reverse and I fell off and she ran over me,” said Nutter. “My dad’s side of the family, especially my PawPaw, loved mudding. It became like a family thing. Even my mother did it.
“My friend didn’t know I fell off when she ran over my leg when I was like 12 or 13. I was lucky I didn’t break my leg. The park eventually closed down, and I don’t ride anymore.”
Instead, she became an elite softball pitcher who cannot wait to play at Kentucky.
“I loved the team chemistry and how they do things as a team. You cannot have a successful team if players do not get along,” Nutter said. “I want to be somewhere that everyone is uplifting and there are no negative things to bring people down.
“Out of all my visits, Kentucky just felt the most like home. I liked that Lexington is not a big city like Houston. Everyone is so nice and sweet. I live in a small town (Clear Lake) outside Houston, and it just felt like it does here, so I knew this is what I was looking for.”
Nutter, who has played every position, including catcher, during her softball career. She tried cheerleading, dance, jazz, tap, ballet, and gymnastics.
“My mom played softball, and my brothers played baseball. I think mom and dad wanted me to play softball, so even when I was trying other things, softball was always my favorite,” she said. “My parents had me start picking up a ball when I was 3. Mom and Dad mostly taught me how to play.
“I was in 12U and our catcher dislocated her shoulder. We didn’t have another catcher, so I caught three games. That made me appreciate just how hard that position is,” Nutter said.
She didn’t start taking pitching seriously until she was playing 13U, when she realized she had to focus more if she wanted softball to take her to a higher level of play.
“I quit playing other positions then. I would occasionally hit, but not a lot,” the UK freshman said.
She’s so good now that her travel team recently played two games on national TV, including one on ESPN.
The right-hander’s fastball hit 69 miles per hour during a summer tourney in Colorado, and she hits 67-68 consistently. Her most consistent pitches, other than the fastball, are her curve, backdoor curve, and rise ball. She also has been working diligently on a drop ball.
“It has always been my dream to play in the SEC. I always just wanted to go big,” she said.
She had 18 strikeouts in a Class 5A Division 1 semifinal to send her team to its first state title game since 2001. She had a 0.84 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 33 innings in the playoffs. In her junior year, Nutter threw 144 innings with a 24-4 record and 267 strikeouts
“The state semifinal was one of the best games I have pitched,” Nutter, a second-team Max Preps All-American, said. “The other one was when my select team won the national championship, and I pitched the first game of the series and threw a shutout against one of the best teams in the tournament.”
