Today’s spotlight takes us to Virginia to learn more about a Super Sophomore who started out at one position until a scary incident led her to put on the catcher’s mask. In time, she developed into one of top backstops in the country and will be playing in the ACC in a few years…

Name: MEGAN Dray
Grad Year: 2017
Pos: catcher/third base
High School: Brookville (Lynchburg, Va.)
GPA: 4.0
Club: Lady Lightning Team Miken Gold                               
Club Stats: last summer with Lady Lightning 16U – Fister hit .358 with six doubles and two home runs in 23 games
High School Stats: hit .410 with eight doubles and four home runs in 27 games; in the state championship game had two RBI and threw out a runner
Honors: 1^st Team All-District and 1^st Team All-Conference at catcher, 2^nd Team All-State    
College: North Carolina

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FullCountSoftball.com: You started out as a pitcher, tell us how you became an ACC-caliber catcher?
Megan Dray: When I played 10U I was a pitcher and in one game I was throwing against a team I knew well. A girl hit a line drive back at my face and, despite having a face mask on, the ball hit me in the right temple and cracked the mask. It knocked me down and my forehead was swollen with a nasty bump. My coaches came out and took me out of the game, but that really deterred me from pitching as I was always afraid of getting hit in the head. I felt safer as a catcher and worked on it from there on. What’s funny is my catcher then, Megan Richards, is now my pitcher with the Lady Lightning!

FCS.com: You’re not just a softball player, you’re actually a three sport varsity standout. Talk about your other sports besides softball…
MD: Last year as a freshman I started as a middle hitter for volleyball and a shooting guard in basketball. Volleyball is my new sport—I started playing it in eighth grade and I’m still getting used to the varsity style. In basketball I used to play travel ball.

FCS.com: Which are you better at and which is more fun?
MD: Softball to both questions, but basketball was my first love. I always told my parents I wanted to go to North Carolina to play basketball but as I got older I fell in love with softball; it has always been fun to go out each weekend and play.

FCS.com: Tell us how you were first seen by the UNC coaches and how the recruiting process evolved over time…
MD: We live two hours from Carolina and they had Monday night clinics which I’d go almost every Monday with Coach Boo Gillette before she moved to Arizona State. She was the pitching coach and the first one to really see and notice me. I went every week to the clinics starting at the beginning of 8^th grade and it just fell into place. They offered me the next October and it was about a year after I started going. John (Corn, head coach of Lady Lightning Gold Team Miken) called me and said I had to call the coaches. I was super nervous! They invited me to come down to the seniors’ official visit and we did the whole weekend thing, including the football, basketball and volleyball games, and toured the campus. The last day before we left (Head) Coach (Donna) Papa offered me.

FCS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
MD: I committed in December of last year (2013) and the reason was I always loved Carolina. Growing up, my grandpa and my dad always loved the Tar Heels and it was where I knew I wanted to go.

FCS.com: How did you tell the coaches, in person, on the phone, on an unofficial visit?
MD: I called Coach Papa and I got to talk to all the coaches that day, they were all in the office, when I told them I’d be a Tar Heel.

FCS.com: Describe your emotions around telling them, were you more nervous or more excited?
MD: I was very excited. The waiting after they offered me was the hardest part because I knew that’s where I wanted to go, but I had waited and visited some other places to make sure it was the best fit for me. When I called it was like the happiest day of my life and was a big weight off my shoulders.

FCS.com: Was distance a factor in your decision at all?
MD: I would have considered as school farther way, but it was an easy decision because I knew school is close at UNC and my parents could come up and see me play.

FCS.com: What do you think (or have others said) are your strengths as a softball player?
MD: I think the major recruiting point colleges liked about me is my catching. It was always, “You’re catching is good and keep working on your offense.” I agree with that, it’s my catching and my strength is I enjoy helping my pitchers with the framing. I think I do pretty well with blocking too.

FCS.com: What’s been a top memory or two for you in your athletic career?
MD: My high school team won state for softball last year at the AA level and we had actually played that same team we beat in region finals and ended up playing them in state finals and won something like 10-4. That was probably my best hitting game of the season—I had a single, a double and walked once.

Quick Hitters (short answers)

Fill in the blank… I’m happiest when:_________________
… I’m playing softball.

What makes you the most happy?
Just knowing my family is behind me in everything I do, especially in sports, and that they’re always at my games.

Favorite food:
Pizza.

Least favorite food:
Red meat.

Favorite place in the world:
Disney World.

What’s your dream vacation?
It’d be to go to Ireland and London.

What type of bat do you use?
I just started using a Miken this year.

How would you describe yourself in one word?
Competitive.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one thing with you, what would it be?
My pillow pet… it’s a pillow shaped like a turtle!

Do you have any softball superstitions or rituals?
Not really, I don’t do a lot of superstitions although I have do routines when I go up to bat. I envision what will happen and what pitch will be coming in that at-bat. I stare at the plate for a couple seconds which calms me down and everything else—any distraction—goes away.

Other than family, who’s your hero or someone you look up to most?
Probably Jen Schroeder, I got to work with her when I went to California and thankfully got to have a lesson after PGF Nationals with her. She’s great!

Team you love to hate:
Duke, although they don’t have a softball team yet. I hate them because of basketball.

What’s your “guilty pleasure,” something you hate to admit you love?
One Direction. I have a poster of them in my room.

If you could have a super power, what would you want it to be?
I would want to be able to fly so I wouldn’t have to drive to tournaments!

What’s playing in your earphones/buds right now?
Taylor Swift.

If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
It would probably have to be Taylor Swift.

What did you want to be when you were little?
I wanted to be a UNC basketball player.

Favorite athlete:
I always looked up to Tyler Hansbrough (former UNC basketball player, now with Toronto in the NBA).He was at Carolina when I was younger and he was someone my dad and I looked up to.

Nickname(s):
My team calls me “Dray” because we have like six Megans on the team. My parents call me “Bubba” or “Bub.”

Something on your “must do” list:
Probably to travel the world with my sisters Ally (17 years old) and Brittany (23).

Best thing about being from Virginia:
The town I live in is very tight knit and it’s nice to go around and know everything about my town.

With Thanksgiving coming up, what are you most thankful for this year?
My family and my team, which is like a second family to me. They’re always there for me, especially my coach.

What is your No. 1 Christmas gift request from Santa?
Right now it’s a Monster’s University baseball hat!