After four years as the ace starting pitcher for the Santa Fe Lady Indians, five years in Division I college softball with LSU, a summer of professional ball and with a young coaching career already launched, Shelbi Sunseri said she was at peace with hanging up the cleats for good.
“I prayed about it, and said, ‘if it’s in your will God that I’m no longer playing softball, then that’s OK; I understand,’” Sunseri said.
But, then the opportunity to continue to play professional softball beckoned, and the 24-year-old 2017 Santa Fe High School graduate is now getting ready for a return to the field.
“Being able to play professionally is a goal in itself for me; it’s something I’ve thought about ever since I was a little kid,” Sunseri said.
Following her successful college career, which included a bonus year of eligibility after the COVID-19 pandemic pressed pause on sports, Sunseri got an invite to play for one of the two teams in the burgeoning Women’s Professional Fastpitch league last summer.
On the heels of that stint, Sunseri then accepted a job as the pitching coach at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with coaching being her long-term career goal.
“It’s my first coaching gig,” Sunseri said, adding she plans to return to the McNeese State coaching staff after the WPF season concludes. “I’ve really found that coaching is a passion of mine.”
With the WPF expanding to four teams this season, Sunseri got a call from the expansion Texas Smoke franchise based in Austin, and their offer to give her a chance to play one more summer of pro softball and to do so in her home state was too good to pass up, Sunseri said.
“Immediately when I heard that, this overwhelming feeling came over me, and I got the feeling that I’m not ready to give softball up, and I hadn’t felt that way since I left LSU,” Sunseri said. “It was kind of God’s way of telling me I’m not done with my playing days just yet.”
Sunseri is set to report to the team by June 1, and the regular season will stretch into August, she said.
“I didn’t ever stop working out, so as far as physical shape, I’m probably in better shape than I ever have been,” Sunseri said. “Softball shape is coming around, and I feel like I’ll be ready by the time summer comes around.”
