Former Northside standout Massey ends her college career at Prairie View A&M

With the end of her college softball career now complete, Cailin Massey – the former Northside High School standout who pitched for four years at Prairie View A&M University in Texas – remembered the beginning and the end.

“I remember how hard the start and end of my college career were,” Massey said. “There were times it was mentally draining and didn’t feel worth it to keep playing, but it always turned around and became enjoyable again.”

Massey finished her career with the Panthers having won 42 games, recording seven shutouts and struck out 250 batters in nearly 445 innings. In her just-completed senior season, she went 11-5 and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Pitcher of the Year.

“I think softball introduced me to more people and opportunities than I could’ve ever imagined,” Massey said. “The time playing is over, but the connections and lessons I’ve learned will stay with me forever.

“Looking back, I’ll never remember every pitch but the people I met along the way are what stand out. Obviously every athlete has big game-time memories, but now that it’s over I mainly reflect on how much the sport made me grow as a person.”

And when Massey reflects on her time at Prairie View A&M, the good moments definitely outweigh the bad.

“I’m very happy with my college career,” she said. “There were definitely some lows, but I’m proud of how I handled them and bounced back. I truly think I made the most out of every opportunity and stayed true to myself through my entire career.

“I do wish I would’ve fought harder to stay in the lineup consistently, but I knew my main priority was pitching and stayed where my coach felt my team needed me the most.”

Massey went to the plate 118 times during her college career and hit four home runs and had 20 RBIs. Her first home run came in Massey’s initial college at-bat.

“That might be one of the biggest highlights of my career,” she said. “I remember thinking I do belong after months of not facing live at-bats.

“I also remember my first – and only – home run at Northside’s field. It was the end of season and I had hit home runs at other places, but never one at home.”

In her first two seasons at Prairie View, Massey got to pitch in the NCAA regional tournament. As a freshman, she faced her favorite team growing up – Oklahoma – which went on to win its second of four straight national titles; then the following season, Massey faced LSU in the NCAA’s.

“Playing the Power 5 schools (OU, LSU and Texas A&M) was definitely an experience I’ll always remember,” Massey said. “Growing up, I didn’t plan on pitching at the Division I level. I figured if I played DI softball, it would be as an outfielder/hitter. Showing up versus bigger schools and even just getting a couple strikeouts or throwing a few solid innings was something I’ll never forget and always be proud of myself for.

“Winning back-to-back SWAC championships was also unforgettable. I remember i pitched four or five games in the (SWAC) tournament my freshmen year, including a 10-inning game to get us to the championship.”

Massey also has fond memories of her coaches at Prairie View.

“I was super close with all of my college coaches,” she said. “Being so far from home, they became family very quickly. Knowing your coaches want you to be successful and being able to play for a great staff made the game stay fun.

“Even when I was mentally struggling, there were coaches on the staff who saw me as more than an athlete, which made me want to push through for them and my team. Our coaches also always fought for us to get new gear, field upgrades, and travel budgets. Seeing how much support we gained and how much exposure we got just in my four years made me want to keep going and now makes me want to give back.”

Now, Massey – who will graduate this August from Prairie View with a degree in mechanical engineering – wants to give back to softball by possibly being a coach herself.

“I love to coach,” she said. “I’ve been doing lessons with girls younger than me since junior high.

“Coaching has always been in the back of my mind, and if a good opportunity presented itself, I would most likely take it. … I told myself to try (using her engineering degree) out for a few years and if engineering isn’t for me, I can always go back to school or hop in to coaching full time.”