#88SSY Check-Ins: Baylee Klingler, Washington Husky softball
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The Seattle Sports Star of the Year Awards, hosted by the Seattle Sports Commission, are the place to be for all things Seattle sports and their accomplishments on and off the field of play. Whether that be professionally or collegiately, the awards show features the biggest athletes, media, and sports personality to grace the Pacific Northwest from the past, the present, and the future. Converge Media and Circling Seattle Sports were on site at the Westin Downtown Seattle to get the sights and sounds of the night, including six sit-downs with athletes from differing teams, and a separate sit down with a mascot. The fifth interview of the night was with University of Washington softball infielder, Baylee Klingler.
Baylee Klingler, Washington Husky softball infielder, sits down with Charles Hamaker of Circling Seattle Sports and Converge Media (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Klingler, who transferred to Washington from Texas A&M after her freshman season in 2019, was nominated for female athlete of the year in the Seattle region. OL Reign midfielder Rose Lavelle won the award, but that is in no way possible a slight to Klingler or her ability on the diamond. The Husky third baseman posted an incredible 2022 season the Washington, racking up accomplishments such as: PAC-12 Player of the year, USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist, PAC-12 Triple Crown Winner, All-American First Team, All-PAC-12 First Team, PAC-12 All-Defensive Team, NFCA All-Region First Team, and Honda Sports Award for Softball Finalist. For a players entire collegiate career, those accolades would be incredible, but all of that in one season? Klingler was putting up video game numbers, simply put. With big blast power (Currently tied for the most grand slams in program history at the time of this posting) and stellar defense on the hot corner, Klingler is a huge reason for the programs success since she first put on the purple and gold in 2020. The Houston, Texas native is already a program legend despite only playing two full seasons for the Huskies and currently participating in what looks to be her third.
“I think just just the way that we compete and the way that we love each other. Our team chemistry is amazing, and we pride ourselves on family. I think you can really feel that whenever we play, like we play for each other. It’s not ever about any individual statistic or whatever. We just play for the love of the game. And that’s part of the reason why I came here and knowing that coach Tarr kind of sets that culture and it’s a special thing to be a part of. So I guess I would say to anyone wanting to come out and watch. If you do it, it’s for just the pure love of the game and just to grow the game, and it’s something bigger than ourselves.”
“Oh, it’s undeniable, just loyalty. People who always have our backs. It’s amazing to see the support that we have, especially as a women’s sport and just getting that extra support from from people all over Seattle, people coming out and in really dedicating the time, season ticket holders. And it just means a lot, we don’t we don’t that doesn’t go unnoticed. So we really appreciate it and it’s just it’s just loyalty. So, I have so much love for Seattle and the fans of Seattle.”
Special thanks to The Elite Collective for their outstanding video production on behalf of Converge Media.