Iowa softball’s Allison Doocy is graduating with a master’s this spring
Since she walked-on to the Iowa softball team in 2017, Allison Doocy has become one of the most accomplished pitchers in Hawkeye history. She’s graduating this spring with a master’s, having already notched an undergrad degree.
Iowa right handed pitcher Allison Doocy throws the ball during a softball game against Nebraska on Friday, May 7, 2021 at Pearl Field. The Hawkeyes defeated the Huskers, 1-0.
May 10, 2021
Before she graduated high school, Allison Doocy considered several colleges — most of which didn’t offer her a chance to play collegiate softball.
So, when the University of Iowa and its softball team gave her a chance to walk on and don the Black and Gold, she took it.
This May, Iowa’s dominant pitcher — who has struck out more than 700 batters in her career — will graduate with her second degree in her four years as a Hawkeye.
Both of Doocy’s parents attended the UI, so she grew up a Hawkeye fan.
“I guess I would explain it as a dream come true that I never knew was a dream of mine,” Doocy said.
Now, Doocy is a fifth-year UI senior with more than 700 career strikeouts and a no-hitter under her belt.
The Ankeny, Iowa, native uses her experience to mentor her younger teammates and pass her wisdom on to them.
“I think she’s done a really great job of helping all of us younger girls, especially the ones that are underclassmen,” freshman center fielder Brylee Klosterman said. “She’s really a great leader, somebody that I have looked up to. I think she carries herself very well on the mound. Like I said before, when somebody makes a play, she’s cheering, pointing at them, the first person to give them a high-five when we get off the field. I just think she’s been a great role model with her experience, and she’s just a great person overall as well.”
Softball only accounts for a fraction of Doocy’s busy schedule. After three years of classes, she completed an undergraduate degree in psychology. She then enrolled as a graduate student in the UI’s higher education and student affairs program. She’ll graduate this month with a master’s degree, adding it to her list of accolades.
Doocy is also an academic adviser for First Gen Hawks, helping first-generation college students adjust to life at the UI.
“It’s taught me a lot of how to time manage and keeping my schedule blocked out moving from practice to work and then to homework at night,” Doocy said. “It’s definitely allowed me to compartmentalize my life a little bit and really turn things off when I need to and turn them back on when I need to focus on them.”
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Iowa’s last regular-season game is scheduled for May 16 against Illinois. If the Hawkeyes don’t receive an NCAA Regional berth, the game could serve as the last of Doocy’s Iowa career.
Doocy does have the option to return to Iowa in 2022, however, as the NCAA granted all its spring sports athletes an additional year of eligibility because of COVID-19.
Whenever Doocy does end up exiting the field in the Black and Gold for the final time, she’ll leave a legacy and a lasting mark on Iowa softball behind her.
“She’s someone that all the little girls around Iowa look up to because she’s an Iowa girl and she’s made it big in Iowa and she’s made a name for herself in the Big Ten,” Hawkeye softball head coach Renee Gillispie said. “She’s going to be really missed because she’s brought a lot to the program for five years.”
