BENNETT TO ATTEND UVA-WISE — Alleghany senior Shannon Bennett will play college softball at the University of Virginia at Wise next year. Front Row, left to right: Shannon’s father David Bennett, Shannon Bennett and Shannon’s mother Kim Bennett. Back Row: AHS athletic director John Hutchison, AHS assistant softball coach Joe Mayes, AHS head softball coach Ty Dobbs and AHS principal Dwayne Ross. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
BENNETT TO ATTEND UVA-WISE — Alleghany senior Shannon Bennett will play college softball at the University of Virginia at Wise next year. Front Row, left to right: Shannon’s father David Bennett, Shannon Bennett and Shannon’s mother Kim Bennett. Back Row: AHS athletic director John Hutchison, AHS assistant softball coach Joe Mayes, AHS head softball coach Ty Dobbs and AHS principal Dwayne Ross. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
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Shannon Bennett gets it done.
In the classroom and on the softball diamond — Bennett, a senior at Alleghany High School, has excelled over the last four years.
Monday morning, Bennett signed her letter-of-intent to attend and play softball at the University of Virginia at Wise.
“I looked into some bigger schools and some smaller schools,” said the Mountaineer standout. “I was mainly looking into walking on somewhere like Yale, Virginia Tech or Furman. When I got the offer from U.Va.-Wise, I looked into it and found out they had the only software engineering program in Virginia. That made my decision to go there because it had what I was looking for degree wise.”
U.Va.-Wise is transitioning to an NCAA Division II member of the Mountain West Conference. A year ago, the Cavaliers were 37-14 and won the conference tournament title.
“The facilties are really, really nice,” said Bennett. “The softball field is amazing. I’ve played on it twice now and it’s one of the best fields I’ve played on.”
And she’s played on plenty.
Bennett began playing in local recreation leagues as a 9-year old, played with a travel team out of Roanoke and most recently, over the last three falls and couple of summers, played with a showcase team out of Charlotte, the Charlotte Magic.
“We traveled all over the east coast, we played from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to Virginia Beach to Atlanta, Ga.,” said Bennett. “Every weekend from Wednesday to Sunday. That’s all we did, play softball.”
Along with that experience, she has helped Alleghany to 43 wins over the last three springs.
A career .387 hitter as a Mountaineer, Bennett has scored 54 runs, drove in 54, stolen 20 bases and has committed just two errors in her first three high school seasons.
“Shannon is one of those kids that when she started to come to some open gyms when she was young, I knew she was going to be a special player,” said AHS coach Ty Dobbs. “Her work ethic says everything about her. She’s probably played over 1,000 games in her life and that just makes you better. Along with that, she’s so smart. She’s right there at the top of her class. For her to be that disciplined and to work that hard academically and still play all those games, all the time. That says how much she works at everything. She’s the perfect example of what it takes to get to the next level.
“Obviously, she has had so many opportunities, but because of how hard she’s worked, those opportunities have developed for her,” he added. “She’s been a huge part of our program for the last three years and I’m expecting even bigger things out of her this year.”
Bennett praised her parents — Kim and David Bennett — for their support.
“My parents carted me everywhere,” Shannon said. “They’ve made a lot of sacrifices so I can do what I love to do. To play my dream and accomplish my dream. They’ve been my biggest critics, but they’ve always supported me as well.
And Coach Dobbs, he’s helped me through everything. He gave me the chance as a freshman to play. He’s helped kindle the fire of me loving the sport.”