Vick was second in country in NCAA batting average this year
LEXINGTON, Ky. – May 4, 2020
Kentucky Softball player Bailey Vick announced on Monday that she will be forgoing her extra year of softball eligibility in 2021 and moving forward with her professional career after graduating this semester with a degree in Finance. Vick already has a full-time job lined up with a financial company in Lexington and will begin in December of this year.
Vick was second in the nation this past year and led the Southeastern Conference with a .556 batting average, the highest of the four-year career for the Paducah, Kentucky native. Vick scored 33 runs on 35 hits with four doubles and two triples on the year. Her on-base percentage for 2020 was .616 which was also a new career high by over 200 points.
Vick released the following letter to the Big Blue Nation on Thursday:
Big Blue Nation –
Wow. What a ride it has been. The last four years have been the best of my life and being able to put on a jersey with Kentucky across my chest has been an honor that I will never forget.
The past few weeks have been challenging, as I have had to come to grips with my senior season being taken away from me. We had a special team this year that was poised to do great things and I would have loved nothing more than to play in the Women’s College World Series.
Having said all of that, life must go on. The thought of another season in a Kentucky uniform is something I would die for. But I must move on at some point. I have accepted a full-time job already, and therefore, today, I am announcing that I will not be returning to Kentucky in 2021.
To Coach Lawson, Coach Himes, Coach Belcher and the entire Kentucky staff – nothing has been more meaningful in my life the past four seasons than Kentucky Softball. My dream was to play for Kentucky, and because of you, I was able to live it.
To Big Blue Nation – thank you for your endless support the past four seasons. Taking the field at John Cropp Stadium will forever give me goosebumps and you make being a student-athlete at Kentucky an experience that can’t be replicated anywhere else.
And to my teammates – thank you for embracing me for who I am. It was an honor to step between the lines with you for battle every game. You all made the last four years of my life unforgettable and we will be sisters forever.
– Bailey Vick
Rachel Lawson added this to the announcement by Vick:
“Kentucky Softball is predicated off the premise of playing softball at the highest level for four years and then moving on to the student-athlete’s chosen career path and being successful people in life. That is exactly the case for Bailey Vick. Coaching Bailey this season was one of the highest joys of my coaching career and seeing her succeed at the level she did was rewarding for me, but also spotlights the program’s ability to recruit and develop successful players and people. Bailey was a fan favorite for Big Blue Nation and her infectious attitude was always carried between the lines onto the field. We will miss her in 2021, but we can’t wait to see her take all the skills that she’s learned at Kentucky and put them to work in the finance world.” – Rachel Lawson