Hylton Senior Verbally Commits to Softball at Marshall

Hylton senior Shae Braxton verbally committed to play softball at Marshall University last week and will be joining her sister, Kristina, with hopes of soon playing in an NCAA tournament.

Braxton, who last year led the D.C. and Virginia area in home runs, committed to Marshall after her official visit to campus last weekend, which was her first official visit to any recruiting school. She had unofficially visited Delaware State, Penn State, and James Madison, but the community feeling of Huntington, West Virginia, won her over.

“Through all that, it didn't seem right,” said Braxton about her unofficial tours. “The campuses were great, they were beautiful, and the people there were so nice, but it didn't seem like home to me. Walking into Marshall it just felt right. You know when something just feels like you're supposed to be there, and it feels like you're in the right place at the right time and this is your moment? That's what it felt like.”

Going through the recruitment process, Braxton learned that it was best to keep her thoughts and decisions about each school to herself, and didn't even tell her sister that she was thinking about attending Marshall until after she had committed.

“One piece of advice that I would give to people is that going through it you should keep the recruitment process between your mom, your dad, and you,” said Braxton. “If you say you like a school, some people will run and tell people you are going to that school. That may not be what you meant, and people will try and push you towards different schools because that's what they want.”

Shae and Kristina played on the Glory Gold travel team this past summer, and after going undefeated to win the ASA Eastern Gold Nationals, the two looked at each other and cried, thinking they may never play softball together again.

“We looked back and laughed,” said Braxton. “We're not done yet; we have some unfinished business. During [Kristina's] years in high school we made it to the first round of regionals every time and we never made it further than that. So, her and I have some work to do. We want to at least make it to the NCAA tournament. That would be pretty awesome!”

Although Shae loves playing softball with her sister, she insists that family had nothing to do with her decision to commit to Marshall.

“Sometimes I thought in my head, 'I don't want to go to school with my sister,' and other times I thought, 'I miss my sister, I want her back,'” said Braxton. “So, I decided that when I got there I was gonna base it off of the school and not Kristina. Going through my visit I noticed that the people actually cared, and it was more of a hometown feeling than a city feeling. I really liked that about Marshall.”

Braxton has received a scholarship covering full tuition plus books, and she plans to either major in physical education or culinary arts.