What a career it has been so far for Syracuse softball senior Madison Knight, a Belcamp native and Patterson Mill High School graduate.
In 2023, she became just the second player in program history to be named to the ACC All-Freshman team. She has been perhaps Syracuse’s best pitcher since she came to campus, posting a career 3.33 ERA and 362 strikeouts through 98 appearances and 471.1 innings pitched entering the Orange’s doubleheader against Colgate.
Oh, and Knight has also been one of the program’s best hitters the past four years. She is hitting .244/.370/.493 with 23 home runs and 83 RBIs in 158 games entering the doubleheader against Colgate.
“For me, I’m just living out my dream that I’ve always wanted of playing college softball and being able to pitch, hit and field,” Knight said. “… I want to go out there and make my family proud, make my coaches proud, my teammates proud, but most importantly, I want to make myself proud.”
Not many are able to make it to the Division I softball level and produce in one facet, let alone multiple, but that’s exactly what Knight has been able to do.
Syracuse gave Knight the opportunity to be a two-way player in the ACC, and she has exceeded all expectations in her four-year career in upstate New York.
“It’s awesome for me,” Knight said. “I’ve always been someone who pitches and hits. I’ve done it all. That’s exactly what I looked for when I was getting recruited. I wanted to go to a school that would challenge me but also give me the opportunity to be a two-way player. … On the field, pitching helps me so much with hitting and hitting helps me so much with pitching.”
This year, her sister Mackenzie, a freshman outfielder who also graduated from Patterson Mill, is at Syracuse as well. The stars aligned perfectly for the two to play in high school and now college together. That has only enhanced Madison’s college experience, especially as a leader.
Not only does she have her younger sister looking up to her, but also the rest of the underclassmen on the team who hope to take Syracuse to bigger and better places in the future.
“For me, I stem my leadership from my team,” Knight said. “I want the absolute best for my team if we’re losing, if we’re winning. I don’t care what the end result is. I want this team to be able to see what their full potential is on and off the field. I want them to believe in themselves. Honestly, putting my team before myself is a huge part of it.
“… If they can see me have a good at-bat or have a shutdown inning, it gives them confidence. That’s exactly what I want to do for them. When I leave this program, I want to leave my mark so that they can look back and say, ‘Wow, Madison really showed me what it’s like to be a leader.'”
Knight’s final season with the Orange is a bittersweet one, but it has also served as a celebration of her time with the program and her success the past four years. She doesn’t intend on straying too far away from softball in the future and hopes to begin coaching soon after graduating.
But for now, this entire journey as a player, one that will come to a close in May, has been the most memorable journey of her life.
“You don’t hear very often anymore about someone staying at the same school for four years,” Knight said. “I love Syracuse. I love my teammates. I love my coaches. I came to this school for a reason. … I’m going to go out and give it all I have. When the season is over, the season is over. I will forever be part of the Orange family.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Syracuse Athletics