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Emily Arp signs to play softball at D2 Colorado Christian
McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook Community College sophomore Emily Arp has signed a letter of intent to continue her softball at Colorado Christian College in Lakewood, Colo.
After transferring from Hastings College after her freshman year, the McCook High School graduate appeared in 46 games for MCC this past season, batting .376 with 12 doubles and 18 RBIs in 141 at bats. She had a .414 on-base average and slugged .461 playing outfield, catcher, and infield.
“I’d love to have her for another year,” said MCC Coach Kevin Kaalberg. “Not just from a talent standpoint – she is very talented – but as talented as she is, she is a better teammate and a better person and that is what you want a player in your program to be.”
Kaalberg said last year before the fall semester, it didn’t long for Arp to convince him in their initial conversation that she was a good fit for MCC.
“She sold me after a 10-minute conversation the first time I met her. It’s the passion in her voice, she loves the game and she loves life and that’s why I had to have her in the program,” Kaalberg said. “She was a great teammate, probably one of the best I’ve ever had in all the years I’ve coached.”
Arp said she chose CCC because it’s a Christian school with a great softball program, a great school and a gorgeous campus.
“I felt God calling me saying ‘hey this is the place’ so I took the leap of faith and decided to go for it,” she said.
Colorado Christian is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They went 29-13 last season and fell in the finals of the RMAC Tournament to Colorado Mesa 9-7. The Cougars are coached by Larry Hays, who just completed his second season at CCC. In 2010 he led Lubbock Christian to a 54-7 record and an NAIA National Championship. He also spent 21 years coaching baseball at Texas Tech where he went 1,509-860 earning Big 12 and Southwest Conference Coach of the Year awards. He’s a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame, the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
“That’s a high-level D2 softball program, the competition is going to go way up, and I’m excited for her because she has a higher ceiling,” Kaalberg said, “She’s not there, but with continued work – which you know she is going to do – her level of competitiveness is just going to increase with that level of competition.”
Kaalberg said in talking with Coach Hays, it was apparent that he want’s Arp to play catcher.
“They have recruited me to be a catcher so I’ve been working with Coach to sharpen my skills before I head off there,” she said. “I’m really excited, it’s been my dream position or a long time.”
“I’m excited for her because she is a good catcher and she makes her pitchers better, she has the ability to just smile at them and when they’re having a bad practice she can just smile at them and walk up to them and I don’t have to say a thing because the pitchers are comfortable with her and that’s what you want in a catcher,” Kaalberg said.
Arp admitted that she had a rough start to her 2021 season but as things progressed she “found her mojo” and credits Coach Kaalberg for helping her turn things around.
“I’m happy with the numbers, but I’m not really a ‘numbers girl’ but as long as I can get out on the field and make a difference for the team that’s what I’m looking to do,” she said.
Kaalberg said Arp gave his squad some valuable versatility and that made her an appealing prospect to four-year schools.
“She really came on as a catcher to the point she was our number one catcher and you can also put her in the outfield - where she saved a game for us in the outfield with a diving catch,” Kaalberg said. “She works extremely hard and encourages her teammates and that’s part of what made this team special was the bond they had playing for each other.”
The Lady Indians finished the year 38-14. Those 38 wins are the second most ever by an MCC softball team, trailing only the 2015 team that finished with 45 wins.
“We had a great season and I was really proud of every single one of these girls and they fought until the very end and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from my teammates,” Arp said.
Arp believes Kaalberg has done a good job with the MCC program – especially coming in just before the start of the season a year ago, dealing with the pandemic stopping the 2020 campaign, six straight weekends of Covid-19 related cancellations in the fall and even more extending to the 2021.
“He’s done a good job with the program, coming in and having to feel things out with everything but he’s come to McCook and developing a program into something that I was so honored to play for and I think there is going to be many more better seasons to come,” Arp said.
Arp plans to major in Business and Health Administration at CCC.