Two years ago, Skylar McCarty—a talented 2015 player from Arizona—had narrowed her college choices to Washington and Arizona State and eventually committed to the Huskies.

As a sophomore back in 2013, she was an All-American due to her speed and ability to hit for average and power. Her batting average in her three-year prep career prior to this season at Centennial High in Peoria, Ariz. was .549 and in 2014 as a junior Skylar hit a sparkling .596.

The 1^st Team All-State pick has shined on the club scene as well, playing for the AZ Firecrackers with other standout players like pitcher Bree Macha, who’s having a stellar freshman campaign for the Sun Devils.

She also earned a spot on the 2015 Hot 100 list as one of the top prospects out of the West.

Skylar grew to become close with her fellow Washington signees—pitcher Taran Alvelo (Ohio), catcher Morganne Flores (Calif.), outfielder Amirah Milloy (Washington) and infielders Tannon Snow and Brittany Werre (both from Calif.)—and she eagerly looked forward to playing with her future teammates.

Everything looked positive as she anticipated finishing off her senior season, which included the jump a few months ago to the Beverly Bandits club team based out of Chicago.

The versatile athlete—who plays outfield in the club world but infield at the high school level—even flew to Illinois one cold February Sunday to practice with the team during day and then return back home that night.

“She was a little tired,” her mother, Joanne, laughs, “but went back to school on Monday.”

But what wasn’t so funny were indications that, even though Skylar signed an official Letter of Intent in November, her entrance to Washington was in jeopardy.

When the Pac-12 team travelled to Tempe the weekend of Valentine’s Day for a tournament, Huskies head coach Heather Tarr met with Skylar who received devastating news: she wouldn’t be able to attend the University of Washington.

“The Washington coaches let us know they couldn’t get her in and she wasn’t an academic fit,” Skylar’s mother says of the meeting that took place a month ago.

“Washington has been very open and communicated well about grades. Skylar isn’t a 4.0 GPA student—that’s not her personality, although she does have a 3.0 GPA—but Coach Tarr was great in letting us know that if she did get in, there would be concerns if she’d be able to succeed there.”

The future home in the Northwest that Skylar had looked forward to for two years was suddenly no longer an option. Equally painful, she’d not get to play with the other five standouts in her class whom she had become close to.

“It was a shock at first, then a scramble,” Joanne McCarty says of the family’s initial reaction. “We weren’t bitter or angry, we just had to get moving because Skylar had nine to 12 weeks before graduation and didn’t have a home. We were thinking, ‘Would she play Juco ball?’ ‘Could she find another D1 school?’”

“We were looking most at what Skylar wanted to do. We (her parents) told her that there are situations in life where you fall down and have to figure out how you’ll get up. This was one of those times.”

The first step was securing a release through the NCAA that put Skylar back on the market.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry for too long about where her future softball career would be.

When she was recruited by Arizona State previously, it was by the staff of Clint Meyers, now at Auburn. However, the new coaches at ASU, including Head Coach Craig Nicholson, had seen the Arizona standout while watching current Sun Devil freshman Bree Macha pitch for the Firecrackers and the staff was impressed with what Skylar brought to the field offensively and defensively.

One of the first calls by the McCarty family was to Bill Conroy, Skylar’s new coach with the Beverly Bandits.

“We let Bill know of what happened and he was the first to contact Craig (Nicholson),” explains Joanne. “He took it by the reigns and set up an appointment.”

Ironically, Conroy and the Bandits’ organization was aware of Skylar because she came highly recommended by Taran Alvelo the ace of the Bandits Gold squad and one of the Washington signees last fall.

“Skylar came out to a practice and we were impressed with her—not just her great personality but the skills on the field,” remembers Conroy. “She has a cannon for an arm, hits for average and has pop and good speed. Skylar is a well-rounded kid and is a great addition to our Bandit program.”

“When I did hear about the late news that could have been very traumatic for anyone at that time, after signing the NLI to come to find out you’re not getting into the school of your dreams, we were fortunate to learn that ASU really liked her and they happened have to have a scholarship to help her land on her feet.”

The meeting with ASU, which is only about 35 miles from the McCarty home, took place on Monday. There wasn’t a tour—Skylar was already familiar with the school—but there was a memorable discussion between the ASU coaches and Skylar.

“We sat down and asked Coach Nicholson what his thought process was and he said he wanted to extend an offer. It was a pretty simple deal—he asked Skylar if that was what she wanted and she said absolutely, that she was very excited to play for him.”

Skylar always dreamed of playing for a prestigious Pac-12 school, her mother says, but the circuitous route wasn’t exactly what the family had in mind.

Still, in the end, the silver lining is that the Arizona senior will get to play at home in front of family and friends. And there were some lessons learned in the process.

“When Skylar chose Washington,” continues her mother, “we were happy for her because, as a parent, you want your kids to grow up and have them make the choices of where they want to go.”

“It was a shock initially, the situation with Washington, but we knew it was going to make all of us stronger. It would have been a great opportunity but wasn’t meant to be. Coach Tarr was very open and up-front with us and, as tough as it is, we understand and get it.”

“And you never want to see something like this happen to kids. Skylar’s sad about not playing with her friends at Washington and for Coach Tarr, but we told Skylar about how great it is with her being close to home and being able to play for another great coaching staff.”

“She has her senior year to go, Centennial is currently 2-1, and the plan is to have a great senior year, send her to play with the Bandits in June and hang with them all month including playing at Fireworks and then playing in California for the Nationals after that.”

“It is,” the proud mother concludes, “going to be an exciting year.”

Adds Coach Conroy: “It’s one of those stories that could have turned tragic and we couldn’t be happier for her and her family and for Arizona State. It just so happened that they had scholarship available and, as it so happens, Skylar will get to see Washington several times a year after all!”