Kiley Hyde, a 2016 Georgetown High School graduate, signs her letter of intent to continue her softball career at Midway University.

2016 Georgetown HS graduate back on track for college softball career in wake of St. Catharine closing – 

By Wade Linville – 

When graduating from Georgetown High School in 2016, Kiley Hyde had her future planned out. She had already committed to continue her softball pitching career at the collegiate level at St. Catharine College in Kentucky. While a junior at GHS, she would set school pitching records for wins and strikeouts in a single season, and as a senior she would snap her own school records in wins and strikeouts for the season. She would also break the school’s career strikeout record before graduating from GHS. With such success on the high school level, Hyde was confident she would be a fine addition to the St. Catharine women’s fastpitch softball team, but she would never get that chance. Nine days prior to enrolling for courses at St. Catharine, Hyde was notified that the college would be closing due to a legal dispute with the U.S. Department of Education, according to her father Geoff Hyde.
“It was really scary because I wanted to play college softball and after St. Catharine announced they were closing I wasn’t sure if I would even get to go to college,” said Kiley Hyde, whose situation with St. Catharine caused her to miss deadline applications to other colleges.
Crushed to see her dreams of playing college softball at St. Catharine come to an end, Hyde would pass up the scholarship offers from several other colleges, walking away from the sport and entering the workforce.
This spring, Hyde chose to become a volunteer coach for a 12U girls softball team, and it was working with the young girls that would get her back into the groove of the game.
Hyde then went back to her pitching coach, throwing two to three days per week to get back in shape. When she was ready, the former Georgetown High School pitching star ventured to Midway University in Kentucky for a tryout, a school that had already offered her a softball scholarship to sign.
On May 23, Hyde signed her letter of intent with Midway, accepting an excellent scholarship offer to pitch for the college’s softball team in the fall.
“When St. Catharine closed I thought it was the worst thing in the world, but now that I’m at Midway I feel like things worked out for the best,” said Hyde.
Hyde’s experience stands as a good example of why student/athletes should never give up on their dreams of playing at the next level, even when faced with adversity. For Hyde, it was the love of the game that kept her moving forward, leading her to a brighter future.