How Nat Lesnicki’s Love of the Game Led her to Division I Softball 

When third-year infielder Nat Lesnicki was growing up, she said she would follow her older brother Alex around, trailing after him and retrieving the balls he’d hit when he played baseball. Now, Lesnicki is the one standing at the plate, achieving her dreams of playing Division I  softball and ripping a 1.034 OPS.

The Illinois native started playing T-ball when she was four years old because she wanted to do everything her brother did. She started with a community team in her hometown, Plainfield, and from then on she played with different recreational leagues until she joined the Naperville Diamonds, a travel ball team, at 9 years old. 

Although Lesnicki credits her start in softball, as well as her competitiveness, to her older brother, she said she quickly fell in love with the sport, and through it, she learned discipline, accountability and time management.

“I was very competitive as well when I was younger because of my older brother,” Lesnicki said. “I wanted to do everything better than him, so I think that’s where I got my competitive drive from, definitely from my brother — and wanting to be better than him.”

Through her time playing with the Naperville Diamonds, Lesnicki was exposed to the idea of going DI. At 10-years-old, her hitting coach took Lesnicki to watch the coach’s daughters play with their college team, showing Lesnicki she had the potential to play at that level. But vying for a DI spot wasn’t something she took seriously until college exposure tournaments started when she was 14-years-old.

Once Lesnicki entered high school, she had to learn how to balance Plainfield North’s team with travel ball and academics. Because the Naperville Diamonds are on a year-round schedule in addition to the high school’s four-month season, Lesnicki was constantly figuring out how to manage her time.

Her life consisted of out-of-town games, moving from school to practice, and oftentimes having to eat dinner in the car, but her love of the game trumped the chaos.   

“It was very busy, but I enjoyed staying busy,” Lesnicki said. “I didn’t mind missing out on things with my friends as I got older through middle school and high school because it was something that I truly loved.”

Softball took up Lesnicki’s life, and her dedication to it paid off as she finished her high school career with a 0.465 batting average and 0.800 on-base percentage. Once student athletes were allowed to start talking to DI coaches — her junior year — Lesnicki had a call with head coach Alicia Abbott. Soon after, she visited campus and within a month decided it was the place she wanted to call home.

During the quick recruitment process, Abbott said one of the first things she noticed in Lesnicki was her versatility on the field, as well as the overall grittiness and athleticism she portrays. 

“She was actually our first commit in that class,” Abbott said. “She played for a smaller team, a smaller organization, but just stood out in all of the ways, was constantly getting hits, playing multiple positions on the field and was just really a leader for her team.” 

Transitioning into college was overwhelming at first, but Lesnicki’s parents, along with her teammates, were a support system for her. She said the experience was like going from being the best on her travel ball team to joining a team full of players who were also the best, but it only drove her competitiveness to prove herself. 

“You definitely have to wait your turn and earn your spot, but that’s exactly what I loved about softball — earning your spot and just competing and driving each other to the best of your abilities,” Lesnicki said.

Now, having settled in and played at the college level for three seasons, Lesnicki has seen an upward trend in her stats. Going from only a 12 RBI her first year to reaching 25 in the middle of her third season and improving from a 0.219 batting average to 0.402. Lesnicki’s stat increase helped prompt her Atlantic 10 Player of the Week accolades April 14.

Having experienced the first year learning curve as well as hitting career highs, Lesnicki said what motivates her to continue improving is remembering the position she’s in now is the one she spent so much time working toward.

“I think it’s just taking a deep breath and slowing things down and when things get challenging, just remembering that this is all I’ve worked for my entire life,” Lesnicki said. “And now I’m actually living out the dream, so it’s okay when things aren’t going my way, they will eventually turn around.”

In addition to growing in her athleticism and on the stat sheet, Lesnicki said one of her personal goals this season is being able to separate her identity from the sport that consumes so much of her time.

Through the last few seasons, she’s learned to remind herself there’s life after softball and not to dwell on the strikeouts and failures.

“I just wanted to continue to grow in the sense that my sport doesn’t define me,” Lesnicki said. “Sometimes I find myself like, ‘Oh, I didn’t do good,’ I let it decide my mood, but that was probably one of the biggest goals I had for myself was just let whatever happen and let the chips fall. Whatever happens, happens. I mean you can’t control it, you can’t control the outcome, but you can control your attitude and the way you carry yourself.”

Although Lesnicki has matured in many aspects, Abbott said she has also remained true to who she is as a person. Now, she continues to see her hard work as well as a growth in the way she supports her team.

“My favorite thing about [Lesnicki] is honestly the consistency in who she’s been and how well she knows herself and the things she needs,” Abbott said. “Where I see her grow the most is just as a teammate, in being there for her teammates and being a person for others. I think she’s always been very good at that, but I’ve only seen her get better at it.”

With only one more season left playing for Loyola after this year, Lesnicki has post-graduate plans to move back to the Plainfield suburbs and become a police officer. She’s currently studying criminal justice and said she hopes to make a difference in her community.

With both parents in the first responder field — her mom working as a nurse and her dad as a police officer — Lesnicki said she has long known what she wants to do. For now though, Lesnicki is deep in the regular season and is still playing another year. Her final goal bears similarity to most D1 players: to win a championship.

“I would really love to win a conference championship and get a ring,” Lesnicki said. “I think we’re right there this season, and I think we can do it; I think we will be able to get that championship this year.