For most athletes, there is an offseason where rest and recuperation are needed before the start of a new season, regardless of sport. For Cairo High School softball star Mackenzie Puckett, however, there is no offseason, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
The daughter of her high school coach, Puckett has lived and breathed softball from an early age, and her dedication to the sport paid off when she committed to play for Florida State University, which houses one of the most prestigious softball programs in the NCAA.
“It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get a scholarship,” the Syrupmaid said of her offer. “I went to camp after camp after camp. There was one point in the summer before I was offered my scholarship that I spent two straight weeks on the road only to go home for one day and be back out of town for another week. Softball was practically all I did that summer. But I thank God for giving me the ability to play because without him none of this would be possible.”
Puckett has posted video-game-like numbers thus far in her Cairo career, as she boasts a near .600 batting average and a slugging percentage over 1.000. While her talent is God-given, the softball star stands out even more because of her tireless work ethic.
“A good leader is someone that everyone looks up to; they give 110 percent no matter what,” Puckett said of how she plans to lead Cairo during her senior season. “To be a good leader, you need to work hard and do your part, and when others see that, they hopefully will follow and do the same. Good leaders do their best on and off the field.”
“This season I plan to lead Cairo alongside our other senior Hannah Wilde,” Puckett said. “We lead by getting to the field early and getting ready quick to start taking extra ground balls and hopefully speed up the underclassmen so that they get to practice a little quicker as well. We try our best to keep everyone focused and in the game. We try to start off every game with a couple of good at bats, and we also try and lead the cheering from the dugouts while our team is hitting. We talk it up on the field and try to pick everyone up.”
It wasn’t only the flashy numbers that caught the attention of big-time college coaches. It was the lead-by-example attitude. In addition to Florida State, which she notes as her “dream school,” Puckett earned offers from names like Florida, North Carolina, and Auburn, making her easily the most sought after recruit in the history of Cairo High School.
“The recruitment process as a whole was kind of nerve racking,” she said of her experience with the several colleges that wanted her services at the next level. “I seemed to always be a bit nervous. But once you get to know all the coaches and realize they are just people too, then things get a little easier.”
As is often the case with talented high school athletes, Puckett is much more than just a one-sport star. During her senior season, she will be involved in five different clubs: Key Club, FFA, Cairo Youth Council, National Honors Society, and FCA. In addition to her impressive slate of clubs, the Cairo softball star will take all AP and Dual Enrollment classes with her 4.0 GPA. Couple this with the fact that she is the first ever Division I softball commit from Cairo High School, and Puckett has quite the résumé.
But as her final season gets underway, expect the Syrupmaids’ senior leader to be all business.
“My expectations for my team this season are that we go out and do our best and hopefully come away with a win every time we step on the field,” Puckett said of her team goals. “I guess you could say we are hoping to get a ‘big number’ this year, as in a big number of wins. We are working towards setting a new school record for the most games won in a single season.”
Personally, Puckett has equally high expectations. For opposing teams on Cairo’s 2016, that should be a terrifying thought.
“This season I’ve set the bar pretty high for myself,” Puckett said. “I hope to, first off, have my best batting average out of all four of my high school seasons and to also hit more homeruns than I’ve ever hit. I just want to go out there and do the absolute best I possibly can.”
Puckett currently resides on the left side of the infield for Cairo, as she plays mostly shortstop and third base. She cites Alex Powers, Florida State’s first baseman, as her on-the-field role model, as the Lady Seminole has overcome two ACL tears to contribute for the Noles. Ironically, Puckett also plans to make the move to first base once she gets to Tallahassee.
The Lady Syrupmaids star has countless achievements on the field, but her favorite softball memory thus far was something she accomplished with two of her teammates.
“My favorite high school softball memory was hitting back-to-back-to-back homeruns with my teammates Hannah Wilde and Caitlyn Nowell,” Puckett said. “We were the first, second, and third batters, and we all hit homeruns over the fence in the first inning.”
The oldest of four children, Puckett plans to major in Biology at FSU and then further her education by “doing something in the medical field.”
“My goals I have for myself after high school are to go play college softball and make it to the Women’s College World Series, then graduate from college with a degree, and hopefully after that get a job helping people,” Puckett said.
If her track record at Cairo is any indication, the Syrupmaid star is in for ample success in the future, both on and off of the softball field.
ITG Web Content
Hard Work Pays Off: Cairo Syrupmaid Turns Diamond Success Into Big-Time College Scholarship
Written by Jacob Dennis
Photo by Lindsi Jones
