A Port Alberni athlete has signed with a college in Georgia to play softball on a scholarship.
Hannah Rust first started playing softball when she was five years old. She played for the Blazers for several years, transitioning in 2021 to playing in Nanaimo with the U19-B Nanaimo Diamonds. She considers herself a utility player, adept at second base and shortstop.
In the fall of 2022 she participated in a college prospects tour in a few southern United States called Canada Futures. Coaches select the top talent from around Western Canada and take them to the southern U.S., “showcasing some of the best high school softball players Canada has to offer,” Rust said.
One of her coaches, Joni Frei, founded the Canada Futures program and invited Rust to tryouts in August 2022. The tour in October saw players who made the team compete in six doubleheaders against six college teams, including Brewton-Parker College (BPC) from Mount Vernon, Georgia.
“By going on that tour I was able to achieve a dream that I have had ever since I was a young softball player,” Rust said. “The level of competition was something I had never experienced, and helped me develop a lot as an athlete and as a person.”
On the third day the team visited Brewton-Parker College, and Rust knew where she wanted to play. “I really enjoyed the culture of the team that I saw and I loved the school,” she said. “I reached out to the coach, told him I was interested in the school. I got home from the trip and I re-connected with the coach and it unfolded from there.”
Rust signed with Georgia’s Brewton-Parker College in February during a virtual signing ceremony. Her family helped set up a table with BPC clothing, balloons and a rack full of Rust’s uniforms from her youth in the background.
Rust is a multi-sport athlete, having played soccer and high school basketball in addition to softball. A Grade 12 student at ADSS, Rust played for the girls’ basketball team that made it to provincials in 2022.
“I really value being a multi-sport athlete,” she said, adding that she is grateful for the time she spent playing youth sports in the Alberni Valley. “I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish this goal of mine to be a college athlete without it.”
Playing more than one sport is a trait college coaches look for when recruiting players, she said.
Rust will start college on Aug. 14. In addition to playing softball she will pursue a Bachelor of Science degree with a focus on biology. She would like to return to Canada after that and add an education degree. “I would love to become a high school science teacher,” she said.
Rust said her goal as a college athlete is “to capitalize on all the opportunities given to me.” She hopes to inspire young athletes in Port Alberni and beyond that coming from a small town is not a limitation.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from,” she said.
Edited: This article has been updated to reflect that coach Joni Frei is the founder of the Canada Futures program.
susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com
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