Gabi Deters, who broke Trenton softball hearts with a go-ahead 11th inning home run in the Class 2 state championship game in 2018, has announced a transfer to the University of Missouri, heading “home” after playing her freshman season at the University of Kentucky.
Deters, in a 1-1 duel in October 2018 against Trenton, gave Bowling Green a lead against Trenton’s Lady Bulldogs at the Killian Sports Complex in Springfield. Tom Johnson had the call on Hot Country Z 101.7:
The homer gave Bowling Green back-to-back state championships and served as a culmination to an outstanding prep career that saw 38 home runs, fourth all-time among Missouri preps, and a senior year with 11 homers and a .430 batting average.
At Kentucky this spring, Deters hit .259, playing in 21 games while starting 11, playing either third base or catcher for the Wildcats. Due to NCAA transfer rules, she will have to sit out the 2021 season at Missouri, then have a full four years of eligibility remaining.
Coming out of BGHS, Deters was ranked the #41 prospect in the country according to Extra Innings Softball, and earned the 2017-2018 Gatorade Missouri Softball Player of the Year award.
In various interviews concerning the decision, Deters admitted the opportunity to “play closer to home and family” played a factor in the transfer decisions. The Bowling Green native also cited how impressed she was that a Missouri program rocked by a postseason ban last year saw zero transfers this spring for second year Head Coach Larissa Anderson.
Photo credit – Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press / Longwood, FL
