Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Wacaser remains true to Florida State commitment
CENTERTON — When Hallie Wacaser made her verbal commitment to play softball at Florida State, she said there was nothing that could change her mind.
That commitment came when she was a freshman three years ago. Wacaser made good of her word Wednesday when the Bentonville West standout signed her national letter of intent with the Seminoles, who have been touted as having one of the nation’s top signing classes this season.
“It’s crazy because now I’m one step closer to getting to FSU,” Wacaser said. “I’m just so excited to be a part of that program and just ball out for Florida State.
“My parents grew up in Georgia, and we always grew up as Florida State fans. I grew up loving Florida State, and that was my dream school. I knew at a young age I wanted to go there. It’s the school for me. Once I stepped on that campus, I knew I wanted to go there.”
Wacaser, one of the original West players since the program began in the spring of 2017, hit .481 with a teamhigh 12 home runs, 41 RBIs and 43 runs scored as the Lady Wolverines won their first 6A-West Conference championship and reached the semifinals of the Class 6A state tournament.
During her three years at West, Wacaser has established a .511 batting average with 25 doubles, 9 triples, 36 home runs and 140 RBIs, and she was named the Gatorade softball player of the year for Arkansas in 2018. In her 330 career at-bats, she only struck out 15 times — just once last season.
Wacaser, mainly a shortstop who occasionally pitched at West, could be seeing a different position when she arrives in Tallahassee. There has been some talk about her playing an outfield spot or even second base.
“It just depends,” Wacaser said. “Wherever they need me, that’s where I will play. In the meantime, I’ll just play softball here at West, get my work in and see what I can do.”
Wacaser isn’t the only West athlete that will make a return to her roots for college. Volleyball standout Kortney Puckett, who grew up in the Austin, Texas, area when she was younger, will head back that direction after she signed her national letter of intent with Texas-Arlington.
“A lot of stress has been relieved, just knowing that I’m ready for the next step and it’s actually happening,”
Puckett said. “Right now, I just want to focus on getting stronger and getting better before I go to college. I want to make sure I’m at the level with everybody else who is playing with me.”
Puckett is the first Lady Wolverine volleyball player to become a four-year letterwinner and was a two-time all-state player. She finished the season with 411 kills, 37 aces, 39 blocks and 219 digs and helped West reach the state tournament for a third straight year.
For her career at West, Puckett finished with 1,185 kills, 121 aces, 204 total blocks and 403 digs. She plans to be playing in the middle at UTA after playing a number of positions at West this fall.
“There are three middles there now, and one of them is fixing to graduate,” Puckett said. “So they want me there so I can get on the court as soon as possible. So I might be starting next year if I get up there.”