Taylor McQuillin, the 2015 pitcher from Mission Viejo, Calif., is a great example of what it means to be a “student-athlete.” 

The senior at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High carries a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and on the field this year has won a high school national championship, a club national championship with the OC Batbusters-Haning/Stith team and the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award.

In her latest blog, Taylor writes about the importance of academics and how her senior year classes are shaping up as she prepares to go to college next year.

The Southern Calif. native is ranked as the No. 5 rated prospect in the 2015 class and has committed to the Univ. of Arizona.

However, Taylor’s greatest accomplishment could be that she has done all this despite having to overcome birth defects making her completely blind in the left eye and with only partial hearing on the left side.

Be sure to check out Taylor’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!

Video of Taylor receiving the Gatorade National Player of the Year

Official Gatorade National POY announcement

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In my life, sports are hugely important to me but academics are just as important because it is the key to get into college or even to being eligible to play in high school.

Applying yourself in the classroom is more important than proving yourself a on the field. Nowadays, people are starting to “slack off” with their grades and focus more and more on the sport they play.

As great as it is being able to step out and play on the field everyday and show everyone what you can do, you need to prove to your coaches, parents, and team that you are more than just a ball player.

In the world today, colleges look for athletes who are competitive in the classroom AND out on the field. If you don’t have the GPA to play, then you are ineligible until you get your grades up.

When getting recruited by colleges, they look at more than just your athleticism; they focus their recruiting on the “well-rounded” players or the ones that are considered scholar athletes.

Colleges will not accept you if you can’t continue to do your work in the classroom and that goes for everyone—not just athletes. Athletes just have to work harder to manage their time to get their schoolwork and fieldwork up to par.

This is the first year I am not enrolled in AP, honors, or IB classes. Transitioning to the college prep classes is easier than advanced classes for me on a personal level; however, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have to do the work.

I still have to study and keep up with class work and homework to maintain good grades and know what the concepts for each class are. Being that I needed very few credits to graduate, choosing the classes to take was the hardest part.

This year, my senior year, I was required to take English 4, Government/Civics, and Economics. At my school, five classes are required per semester meaning I was short classes so I decided to take Statistics even though my math credits were filled for high school, the University of Arizona, and the NCAA clearinghouse.

The hardest part about picking and choosing classes is to be able to meet the requirements for not only one area, but for all three of these areas.

My brain works better with number and letters, memorization, and equations so you could definitely say I lean toward the math subject interests more. However, I also enjoy writing and creativity as well.

When I get to Arizona, I am tentatively looking into sports psychology and sports management although forensic psychology is up there as well.

I am really interested in how the mind works as well as the thought process behind the actions people choose to take in certain situations. Being so into sports, I thought sports psychology would be something of interest to me but until the time comes to decide my major, anything can happen.

If I could give any advice to younger athletes about schoolwork and education, it would be to continue to work hard with everything you do.

Academics are a large part of your life and getting to the next level of your education isn’t easy, but don’t settle for anything and maintain good grades because getting training and a degree in the field you love will be a bigger and longer part of your life than softball will be.

— Taylor McQuillin