Many of Iowa’s athletes have praised the school for its atmosphere, culture, and respect for athletics. For a great number of these athletes, their career as a Hawkeye starts upon eligibility, balancing academics and sports as early as their freshman year. For others, however, Iowa is a later step in their journey.
Iowa softball fourth-year Hannah Lindsay is an example of this trend. After 80 appearances and 62 starts at New Mexico State, the catcher decided to start a new chapter as a Hawkeye.
Like Kylie Feuerbach of women’s basketball who transferred from Iowa State or quarterback Mark Gronowski, who started his career at South Dakota State, Lindsay quickly acclimated to the Big Ten after transferring from the Aggies just in time to start her third year.
“I think the University of Iowa has an amazing culture and an amazing group of girls that I’ve gotten to play with the past two years,” Lindsay said. “This year has been a winning environment, do everything that we have to do as a team to put that forward.”
The fourth-year also credited Iowa’s supporters as one of her favorite aspects of her career.
“I think the alumni and the fan base at the University of Iowa are phenomenal, and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Lindsay said. “I love this, seeing all the kids waiting for us to sign balls and stuff.”
Hailing from Surprise, Arizona, Lindsay’s high school career saw her lead her team to the 2021 AIA Softball State Championship semifinals, boosting her stock as a recruit significantly. Lindsay rode this momentum through a season at New Mexico State with 26 starts, totaling 88 putouts, 10 assists, and gunned down five runners at second.
After a second season with the Aggies, this time with 36 starts, the then-rising third-year found her way from the Southwest to the Midwest.
Iowa softball’s acting head coach Karl Gollan praised Lindsay’s consistency, particularly this season, where the Hawkeyes finished the regular season 35-17 overall, including 15-7 in conference play.
“She’s just steady, never too up, never too down,” Gollan said after Iowa’s 4-0 home win over Rutgers on May 4. “She’s willing to compete, she cares about her hitting. It’s a nice, steady, calming influence.”
Gollan also credited the team as a whole for their performance this season.
“A lot of times, you see teams do things a certain way to get in a position to play late in the season,” Gollan said. “Once they get there, they feel like they’ve got to change everything. We’re just going to continue to do the same thing. If we do what we do well, we’re willing to let the chips fall, wherever they lead us.”
For her part, Lindsay also recognized the efforts of the coaching staff to emphasize focusing on individual players and overall wellness.
“I think our coaches coach us as people, not as just players,” Lindsay said. “I think they care about us all around as an athlete and as a human, more so than just, ‘you’re a player with a number on your back.’ I think we’re people first.”
Third-year infielder Avery Jackson spoke highly of Iowa’s programs that allow transfer athletes to merge seamlessly.
“I think that with our team being the family that we are and with the culture that we all bring, it’s never really hard for anyone to come and fit in,” Jackson said. “I think [Hannah] came in and fit into our team and got along with everyone pretty well. We just mesh together.”
Despite only playing with Lindsay these last two seasons, Jackson also praised her teammate’s hard work and grit.
“I admire her dedication,” the Illinois native said. “She’s very hardworking. She will go out of her way to do extra, to go into the cages. She helps me with hitting all the time, she works hard in any aspect, whatever role she has. She does it to her best ability and she’ll go above and beyond to make herself better for our team.”