Known for her celebratory dance when she catches or makes a basket, freshman Zoie Lee is here to stay. Lee’s a double threat, taking on softball and basketball in her freshman year. 

“It’s pretty cool being a new freshman for softball and basketball. It starts easy in the session but as it progresses you can’t get away with as much as you could at the start of the session,” Lee said. 

Lee’s position for softball is a left field while for basketball she’s a post. 

“My mom has been my biggest supporter throughout it all, especially when times got hard. For example, I struggled with hitting the ball during softball and shooting during basketball but, I had my teammates, coaches, and my mom who were all supportive,” Lee said. When asked who she preferred when it came to coaching her answer was her softball coaches, Kalik May and Mitch Fusco. 

“I had gotten close with everyone but during each session, I hung out with Precious, Celeste, and Phoenyx the most during softball. With basketball, I grew closer to Celeste and became friends with Malac,” Lee said. “My favorite memories from each session was every time we won, especially during softball since we had been on a losing streak.” 

Zoie isn’t the only one with great memories. Coaches Kalik May and Jenny Cluts do as well. 

“Zoie was brand new at the spot but, her willingness to want to get better and her positive energy made her stand out to me,” Head softball coach, Kalik May, stated. “When she first started you could tell she was new at the sport and she continued to learn each day. It was just her fundamentals improved and she’s improved since day one.”. 

May stated that Lee had improved the most defensively as she was better at getting flyballs and her throwing had gotten better as the season progressed. 

“Zoie was very fun to have around even when she asked for snacks every day. My favorite memory would have to be when a pitcher during one of our games had thrown a ball that bounced and Zoie swung so well that it made it to the outfield. It still amazes me to this day,” May explained. While May believes she has the potential to play softball at a college level she still has some work to do but, with her work ethic and ambition, he can see her getting there. 

While May already had experience with coaching, basketball assistant coach, Jenny Cluts was new to it all. “What stood out to me about Zoie was that she came to every practice and her willingness to learn and improve,” Cluts said, “Her positive attitude was always a joy to be around.” 

Cluts states that Lee has improved a lot as a post, letting her play a lot more later on in the session.

Also stating that she’s a strong rebounder and gotten better at her free throws. “Everyone loves her and enjoys having

her around as their source of positive for practice. She’s very good at communicating about things with us, Warner and I when it comes to anything whether it is that she can’t make it to a game or practice or offering to help out at the concession stand,” Cluts explained.

Two of the things Cluts enjoyed seeing Zoie do were her dance after making a basket or every time she lost her headband on the count. Like May, Cluts also believes that Lee can go college level with basketball as long as she keeps up the great work. It seems like Zoie Lee is making quite a name for herself at Hancock and is here to stay.