Through her first three seasons in Iowa City, Iowa softball’s Nia Carter has missed just one game. When she’s on the diamond, she is one of the Hawkeyes’ best players.

As a freshman during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Carter sported a Big Ten-best .509 batting average and appeared in 21 games as Iowa finished 17-5 before the pandemic interruption. She finished 11th in the NCAA in batting average and became the first Hawkeye to win Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Week honors in the same week.

Carter’s sophomore season was solid, as she started all 44 games. It was a step back from her first year on campus, however, as she just hit .296.

Despite a down year by her standards in 2021, Carter exploded back onto the scene as a junior in 2022. The 5-foot-1 slugger from Rancho Cucamonga, California, was one of the few bright spots on a struggling Iowa squad. Carter started all 52 games in the outfield for the Hawkeyes. She batted a team-best .405 average and registered 66 hits, which both ranked second in the Big Ten.

Iowa head coach Renee Gillispie said Carter’s ascension is even more impressive considering the improvements she has made to her batting technique.

“Her first year here, she became a lefty hitter,” Gillispie said. “She basically won Freshman of the Year in the conference while hitting a way she hadn’t done before. Two years ago, she started slap-hitting, and this past year, she’s started to bunt more often. She’s a real triple threat right now.”

Carter was voted to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s Midwest All-Region First Team after her outstanding season despite a subpar year from a team standpoint. Iowa finished 21-31 on the year, including a 3-20 record against Big Ten opponents.

Carter said at Iowa’s 2023 media day on Jan. 26 that her standout junior season provided a much-needed morale boost.

“It was a pretty big confidence boost coming after my sophomore season, which wasn’t as successful,” Carter said. “I think I proved to myself that I can do it and I am capable, so I can do it again this year.”

Now as a senior, Carter is looking to build upon her stellar junior season and help the Hawkeyes improve as a team. Carter said she feels this year’s squad has a more aggressive attitude than last season’s edition.

“I feel like we’re going to play with a chip on our shoulder,” Carter said. “We have nothing to lose and everything to prove. People aren’t going to be worried about us, but we’ll show them once we get to play them because we’ve been working really hard this year.”

Despite her accolades and reputation in the Big Ten as a hitting threat, Carter said she feels the need to further prove herself.

“Even though it is my senior year, I still have a lot more to prove,” Carter said. “I’m excited for this last year, and I’m going to leave it all on the field for my last year.”

As one of just three seniors on the Iowa roster, Carter said she stepped into a leadership role. She takes pride in helping the Hawkeyes’ 10 incoming freshmen adjust to the program.

“I’m really close with the freshmen,” Carter said. “I try to show them how we do it here, what our culture is all about, and lead them along the way.”

Carter’s teammates back up her claims. Freshman utility player Anna Streff said Carter has been very vocally supportive of her during her first collegiate training camp.

“She’s always picking me up,” Streff said. “If I have a bad at-bat, she’s always there saying, ‘You’ll get the next one,’ or when we’re in the field, she’s just communicating with me back and forth.”