🥎 Keeping Up With The Freshmen: Haleigh Harper
Kansas softball’s 2020 season came to an abrupt end due to the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving an entire team of student-athletes in shock. In this latest series (Keeping Up With The Freshmen), we talk with the 2019-20 freshmen student-athletes to discuss how their first year of college went and what they learned from the experience. 
Freshman Haleigh Harper appeared in 16 games for the Jayhawks and finished with seven runs scored and one stolen base.
Q. How do you think your first year at KU went?
“My first year at KU was so much more than I expected. I had the opportunity to learn more about the sport from many different perspectives which allowed me to grow as a player.”
Q. What was your favorite moment of the 2019-20 year?
“My favorite moment of the 2019-20 year was getting the opportunity to play at the Clearwater Invitational in Florida.”
Q. What was the biggest change going from a senior in high school to a college freshman?
“The biggest change going from a senior in high school to a college freshman for me was the level of competition. I valued showing up to practice and having to compete every day.”
Q. How are you using what you learned this year to prepare for 2020-21?
“This year I learned the importance of being mentally tough. I faced an injury early in the fall that forced me to quickly change my mentality. In order to be where I wanted to be as a player required hours and hours of rehab. Although it wasn’t the most ‘fun’ thing to do, taking care of my body and focusing on the little things that I could control helped me get through the pain.”
Q. What advice do you have for the incoming freshmen to make their transition easier?
“A piece of advice I would give the incoming freshmen is to come in with an open mindset.”
Q. What is one thing you wish you would have known prior to starting your freshman year?
“One thing I wish I would have known prior to starting freshman year is that I would be spending every pre and post-practice in the training room.”
