We’re excited to introduce Carly Potts to our Line Drive Softball blogging team… Carly is a 2026 pitcher and infielder for Gibson Southern High in Fort Branch, Indiana, where she plays varsity softball and soccer.

She competes on the travel ball level with the Tennessee Mojo – Gregory team which has won the 14U and 16U Power Pools at the Colorado 4^th of July tournaments the last two years.

It hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows, however, and in her initial blog for Line Drive, she talks about how persevering has resulting in some rewarding accomplishments including this week where she was contacted by 15 different college coaches.

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My name is Carly Potts—I play softball and soccer, and I love to travel! I have been to six countries, and I can’t wait to travel more.

I grew up in Haubstadt, Indiana, which is a rural town in Southern Indiana with a couple gas stations and one grocery store.

Growing up, my life revolved around typical small-town life including playing sports with my friends, school, and looking forward to fun summer vacations.

My Mom and Dad are both athletic, so the benefits of sports were instilled in my sister and me from a very young age. From the time I was a toddler, the local ball field was where I spent a lot of my time.

My older sister’s games are a strong core memory of my childhood, and also the first time I started to feel a love for softball.

I was five years old when I started playing tee ball.

The thing I remember the most was that I couldn’t wait to slide into home. I was so proud of my first “strawberry.” It is safe to say I was driven to be as good as my sister and certainly ready to outwork her even though she was four years older!

I really looked up to her and I would even go down to our basement and try to pitch like her. My aunt and uncle both played college ball, so it didn’t take long before I started saying I was going to play too. It’s been the goal for me from a very young age.

After tee ball, my dad coached our 8U local team, but my early years were not easy especially when I started travel ball at seven years old. I was one of the youngest on the team and was definitely the worst!

I had no idea how bad I was at the time, I just loved being out there.

I loved my teammates, and I always wanted to work hard, so my parents told me that as long as I wanted to keep trying, they would keep supporting me.

I didn’t really start to feel like I was a benefit to the team until I was in 12U. I think those years of frustration and early struggles trying to prove myself are what has shaped me as a player and teammate today.

It taught me patience, resilience and mental toughness. Those qualities have become a big asset for me, because I still fail a lot more than I would like.

As I got a little older, it seemed like I was always facing some sort of injury from one of my sports, and I also encountered some unique health issues. I truly think the “just keep working” mindset I had acquired from when I was little helped me persevere through those times.

And, all of the hard stuff makes the accomplishments mean so much more!

For instance, making All State, All Conference, All County, and All SW Indiana my sophomore year after missing half of my freshman season due to a broken foot and surgery was such an amazing feeling.

The comeback is always worth it!

As for my recruiting journey, I am really looking forward to playing softball at the next level. I have narrowed it down to a handful of different schools that I am interested in. I’m just looking for the best fit academically and somewhere that I can make an impact for the next four years.

As of now, I would really like to go to med school, so finding a place where I can have guidance academically, as well as play the sport I love, is so important to me.

I can’t wait for the next step!

— Carly