Albany’s Hebel signs with University of Louisiana
By Donnie A. Lucas
Thanks to her determination over the last eight years, senior Elia Hebel signed last week with D1 University of Louisiana at Lafayette to play softball for the next four years.
Hebel, an Albany softball standout both for the Lady Lions and her travel teams, is part of what has been determined as the top-ranked recruiting class this year in NCAA softball. She will join six of her Houston-based travel club teammates at UL Lafayette to play for the No. 8 ranked Ragin Cajuns beginning in the fall.
She formally signed the offer to play at UL Lafayette on Nov. 11 at the high school library on the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.
Hebel had at least three other offers including Abilene Christian, Texas State, and the University of Houston, but made her choice based an several factors.
“I really like the university and the atmosphere there,” she said. “It is a beautiful campus.”
The added bonus of several members of the Hot Shots travel team also signing with UL helped her make the decision too.
“Also, the head coach didn’t care that I tore my ACL my sophomore year,” she said. “He kept the offer on the table.”
Hebel was a starter for the Lady Lions as a freshman in 2018 when the Lady Lions qualified for the Class 2A state tournament. She was recovering from knee surgery during the 2019 season, and the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 season before it got to the district part of the schedule last March.
Hebel explained that the athletic scholarship accounts for about 45 percent of the cost of attending UL Lafayette, but she earned a full ride with the addition of an academic scholarship that pays the balance.
She plans to major in kinesiology at UL Lafayette, then pursue a post-graduate degree in physical therapy back in Texas after her eligibility runs out.
“It all doesn’t feel real yet,” she said. “I have signed my life over for four years, which I think will hit me when I actually start packing this summer.”
She offered a special thanks to her parents, Kirk and Rose Hebel, along with Lady Lions coach Jimmy Fuentes, for the support she has received. She also thanked her teachers who have helped her keep up with class work through absences required to continue with select club softball even during the school year.
“My dad was an assistant coach on my first travel club based out of Dallas,” she said. “He played baseball in high school, but after I told him I wanted to pursue club ball when I was about 10 years old, he threw himself onto learning everything he could about softball, especially hitting.”
When she switched to the Hot Shots two years ago, she had to rely less on her father and more on herself.
“I had to learn to be more independent after I joined the Hot Shots two years ago since my dad wasn’t out there helping coach me,” she said. “It was weird at first, because he had always been there to suggest adjustments I needed to make during the games.”
Hebel said she will join the Hot Shots when her senior softball season in Albany ends, playing or practicing almost weekly until her move-in date in Louisiana during early August.
