Phoenix native comes home with Northwestern softball team to face Arizona State
Northwestern softball coach Kate Drohan had an unorthodox way of recruiting her starting shortstop.
“I sent her videos of Derek Jeter every day,” Drohan said. “I think that’s what we’re asking of her, to be really consistent, to be really steady, to be dependable.”
Bridget Donahey was sought after by many universities out of her hometown of Phoenix but made an oral commitment to Northwestern when she was in eighth grade.
“When I first took over the program, we came here like 12 years in a row to open those seasons,” Drohan said. “It’s a place we recruit from a lot, we have a great fan base, and we love the stadium.”
Drohan and the Wildcats are visiting Arizona State's Farrington Stadium this week for the Kajikawa Classic. In a rematch Friday of the 2022 Super Regional that sent Northwestern to the Women’s College World Series, defeated ASU again, this time 2-0.
For Donahey, a sophomore who was starting her first game, it was a return to the city where she was ranked the 14th best overall player in the Class of 2022 by MaxPreps for Xavier College Prep.
“We knew she was going to be good and she by far exceeded all the expectations,” said Xavier coach Bradley Downes.
The decision to leave Arizona for the sometimes frigid climate of Evanston, Illinois was, in the end, an easy one, she said.
“I was looking all over but when you find a place as special as Northwestern,” said Donahey, who’s in Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy, “it doesn’t matter where it’s at. You’re OK leaving home.”
Donahey’s parents, Carolyn and Michael, opened their Phoenix home to the team this week and Downes' presence is never far away for Donahey.
“He was an awesome guy and prepares us well for college,” Donahey said. “He sends a lot of kids to competitive schools.”
That group included Donahey’s older sisters, Megan and Katie, who went on to play softball at Princeton and Yale, respectively.
Downes philosophy was straightforward. “The coaches always told me, ‘Just play against the most competitive pitching that you can and that will prepare you the most,’” Donahey said.
Donahey’s youth fits right into the profile of the 2024 Wildcats, a team Drohan said reminds her a lot of the 2019 Wildcats’ team, an inexperienced squad that ended up going 47-13 and advancing to Norman Super Regionals.
Donahey was 1-for-6 in two games Friday, including a 4-3 loss to Boise State, but Drohan said she liked what she saw.
“She’s looking to do a little bit more at the plate, but she’s so solid for us out there defensively,” Drohan said.
For now, Northwestern feels at home in Phoenix.
“We’ve been here a lot and love playing here,” Drohan said. “We are staying in the same hotel that we did in 2022. So there are a lot of fond memories.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix native comes home with Northwestern softball team to face ASU
