Zabella Hickenbottom '26 Recruiting Profile

Hi coaches! My name is Zabella Hickenbottom and I know I can achieve my goal of playing fastpitch at the highest level. I am a 2026 graduate and I have a 3.85 GPA. I am a 5'2 second baseman and outfielder that has a large softball IQ and leaves everything on the field every time I play. I have played softball ever since I was 10 years old and started playing at the 14U level at age 11. Ever since I started playing, I have noticed that the toughest person on me was myself. I work with great drive and I make sure that I always correct what needs to be fixed and make it so that everything I do in life will make me the best softball player I can be. I believe that my mindset, perseverance, and self-discipline have gotten me to where I am today. 

Academics are also an extremely important part of my softball journey. I have dreams of being an FBI agent. I want to attend a college that will push me very hard to become who I want to be.  I want to major in criminology to become an FBI agent to help solve cold cases and find missing persons. I go to a small private school that doesn't offer very many AP classes, so I challenge myself by taking the hardest classes my school has to offer supplementing with online classes. My character in softball carries over into my academics as well. This has led to me winning the "Mary Award" for Christian character which was chosen by my teachers. As in school, with softball, I strive to take every opportunity available to me. For example, I made one of the USSSA All-American 13U teams in Viera, FL, made the Classic Softball Academic Achievement Games in Wheeling, IL, and made the 16U PD team for the Softball Factory Fall Classic in Savannah, GA, and much more. You will be recruiting a coachable and determined student and athlete who will work hard on and off the field to represent your school's ideals.