Student-athlete spotlight
Taking advantage of an opportunity: Kayla Hill '20
by Abram Choate '98, M.Ed. '17,
assistant director of athletics for athletic communications
Not thinking that she would ever play competitive softball again, Howard Payne University graduate student Kayla Hill ’20 got an opportunity and is making the best of it.
As a two-year letter winner for the Lady Jackets, Kayla started in 53 of 54 games in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. She excelled on the field, being named 3rd Team All-Conference as a designated player in 2019. She was also the 2020 winner of the Tami Pattillo Memorial Award, given to the HPU female student-athlete who most represents the HPU spirit, as chosen by the university’s coaching staff.
A 2015 graduate of Maypearl High School in Maypearl, she also excelled in the classroom. She was named to the Academic All-Conference team in 2020, finishing her undergraduate degree in kinesiology from Howard Payne in December 2020. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from HPU.
After her 2020 spring season was cut short due to COVID-19 and then following back surgery in December 2020, she took a graduate assistant position in the HPU athletic department. From that point, God would open another door for her, and she would get another opportunity at what she thought she had lost.
After first attending a junior college, how did you get to Howard Payne?
K.H.: The coaches at the junior college helped with the process, receiving many out-of-state offers from schools and even one Division I school. I had already been six hours from home for two years, so I was not very interested in going even further from home. Coach Jose Mata and assistant coach David Foster at Howard Payne had reached out, and I came on a visit. I loved the feeling I got from being here so much, I came back two more times with my other teammates from the junior college to try to get them here with me. After I had decided to attend HPU, the HPU coaches came to watch our regional tournament in Lubbock. There I played against my current HPU teammate Alexis Sullivan before coming to HPU.
“My hope … is to impact people’s lives just like mine has been changed at Howard Payne.”
What has been the most significant difference between your previous school and HPU?
K.H.: The most significant difference is a Christ-centered campus – being able to hear about Christ and getting to talk about our faith with students, professors and teammates.
In what ways have you been involved on campus outside of softball?
K.H.: I was a kinesiology major in my undergraduate program, and we had “Family Game Nights” with our whole department. It really made it feel like home. The professors would cook for us, and we’d watch sporting events, play games and just have fun. In the last semester of my senior year, I also had the opportunity to do an internship for Hunter Sims, the HPU athletic director. I really got an inside look at the athletic department and how much goes unseen by student-athletes. He really helped me gain so much knowledge on being a leader and taking on the responsibility for other sports and not just my own.
What had cut your playing career short?
K.H.: Well, I didn’t return in the spring of 2021 because I had back surgery in December of 2020. Thinking that I would not get another opportunity to compete in another season of softball, I was just thankful to get the opportunity to be a graduate assistant and thankful that Hunter Sims made it happen for me.
What spurred the thought of returning to play after taking the graduate assistant position in the HPU athletic department?
K.H.: One day in January, I was at the softball field early throwing front toss to HPU’s third baseman so she could get extra practice. I asked her if she could let me hit some balls. She tossed to me, and I felt great again. Coach Jose Mata came up and said, “You better cut that out, or I’ll put you in a uniform.” Jokingly, I said, “I’m ready – put me in a uniform.” Coach Mata told me to talk to Hunter Sims and HPU’s athletic compliance director, John Wilson. I went right at that moment to ask. Later that day, Hunter told me if I chose to play again, I would lose the graduate assistant position’s financial benefits and that it would be up to me to make that choice. After talking to my parents, I moved forward to be with the team where I was needed.
What type of role will you take as a player this season?
K.H.: I can’t play catcher anymore, but the plan is to just be an extra bat in the lineup and play a position if needed. Especially this year with COVID, I’m here to fill a hole and help the team if someone goes out.
What is your plan after HPU graduate school?
K.H.: After this spring semester, I will rejoin the HPU graduate assistant program and help with softball until I finish my graduate degree. Then, I plan on finding a collegiate program that is looking for an assistant coach. My hope is to give to a softball program and impact people’s lives just like mine has been changed at Howard Payne.
What is your favorite memory on the softball field for the Lady Jackets?
K.H.: My favorite memory would be from my junior year playing Hardin-Simmons at home. HPU was down 2-4, and Alexis Sullivan was up to bat before me. She hit a single, and she looked at me: “Now it’s your turn to hit a base hit, okay?” With two outs and two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, I just didn’t think about it, got in the box and blanked out. I ended up hitting my first-ever walk-off home run to win the game. The Lady Jackets won 5-4.
What is your favorite thing about HPU?
K.H.: My favorite thing from HPU, in general, is meeting lifelong best friends. I think the student-athletes in all the sports at HPU get along well, and we are all like a giant family. I have met so many friends here that I will have for the rest of my life, and I’m forever grateful for that.
Photo: Kayla Hill ’20, a two-year letter winner while an undergraduate at HPU, resumed softball while pursuing an MBA.
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