Junior Madison Young has made a non-binding oral commitment to play softball at the University of Kansas.

“They find interest in you in the summer normally when you play sports,” she said. “They keep in contact with you, you go on a couple of visits, and then you find out if you like it. You just call them up and say ‘hi, how are you doing?’ Talk to them a little bit, then say ‘I’d love to be a Jayhawk.’ ”

Since a child, Young has set her eyes on the University of Kansas.

“When I was little I was like ‘oh my gosh, you know how cool it’d be to go there?’ We always used to love KU basketball. It’s pretty exciting,” Young said.

Young’s older sister, Kenzie, currently plays softball for Butler Community College. Young feels she is following in her older sister’s footsteps.

“I’m super excited. She has been looking into KU, too,” Young said. “They should know if they have money for her by the end of the year, so they’ll figure out if we will be going to college together.”

Keeping family first, Young credits her athletic success to her siblings.

“My brother and sister, they tell me what to look forward to, what to do and what not to do. I learn from their mistakes, so that helps me out a lot,” Young said.

Working toward an athletic career in college requires dedication, but Young feels as if there are more things that contribute to playing in college.

“Make sure you talk to your family about it, make sure you pray a lot because that’s what helped me out most,” Young said. “Make sure you feel comfortable there. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big D1 — you need to have fun or it isn’t going to be a good experience.”

Young plans to pursue a degree in special education.