As her career at Alabama winds down, senior infielder Kaila Hunt has a great deal of success to look back on, but it’s not the legacy she wants.
Last year, she was named an NFCA second team All-American and a Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American. The same year, Hunt led the team in home runs and RBIs, with 15 and 60 each, respectively.
(See also “Kaila Hunt hits walk-off in first SEC game“)
When she was a sophomore, she garnered NFCA second team All-American honors and Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District honors while leading the SEC with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs. That year, the softball team won its first national championship.
As a freshman, she was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll and the NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete list.
However, all of this is not what she wants to be remembered for.
“Honestly, I just want to be known as a good teammate, because when it comes down to it, numbers really don’t mean anything,” Hunt said. “I mean, they’re on a paper, but at the end of the day, I want my teammates to be my best friends in 20 years, and that’s what I want to be known as.”
She may go down in the record books anyway. Hunt is second in career RBIs with 203. Former Crimson Tide pitcher and utility player Charlotte Morgan owns the top spot with a distant 264.
Hunt is currently in third place in career home runs with 55. Past greats Kelly Kretschman and Morgan hold first and second with 60 and 58 home runs, respectively. Hunt has the chance to knock off two-time Olympian Kretschman who owns nearly every career offensive record. There are only a few career offensive records that Kretschman doesn’t top off or place on the top 10 list.
“It is humbling, and it is cool to be mentioned with people who are like Kelly Kretschman and Charlotte Morgan, but at the end of the day, it’s about developing relationships with those 17 other people in there,” Hunt said.
Hunt has been a model of consistency in her time at Alabama. Her career batting average is just under .335, and she is hitting .365 in her senior season. She leads the No. 3 Alabama softball team in home runs with nine.
“I think as a three-hole hitter for Alabama, everybody’s going to pitch you the toughest on the team,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “And I think she’s got that in her head right now that that’s her role, that’s her job, and the pitcher, whenever she gets up to bat, she’s going to throw the best pitches so she’s got to realize that and then sit back and take what they give her.”
(See also “Coach Patrick Murphy aims for depth of roster“)
On Saturday, Hunt went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader against Arkansas. She hit 3-for-3 in the first game. Her last at-bat of the day ended in a lineout to right field, but Murphy wasn’t concerned.
“She’s been doing that too,” Murphy said. “She’s been getting a lot of change ups and just putting the ball in play. And for the three-hole, that’s who I want to be the most consistent.”
She isn’t just a consistent hitter; she’s a consistent leader, too. Sophomore utility player Leona Lafaele said Hunt is not only a great player, but also a great person, who wants everyone to do well.
“When I mess up on the field, the first person I go to is Hunt, and I’m like, ‘Hunt, man, I’m so anxious. What do I do?’ and she always has the answer,” Lafaele said. “And she’s calm. She knows what she has. She’s not cocky. I mean, she could be cocky. She’s one of the best players ever, but I mean, she’s just a team player. And I love, genuinely love playing for her, Jackie [Traina], our senior class. They’re a great bunch of girls.”
(See also “Murphy leads UA toward success“)
