'I knew as soon as I walked on campus': Freedom softball champ announces college choice

A Fayetteville softball champion has announced her college commitment ahead of her senior year.

Freedom Christian softball's Savannah Graham has made her verbal commitment to University of North Carolina at Pembroke just before the start of the 2024-25 school year, according to Freedom Christian's X account.

"UNCP was the school I knew I wanted to go to all summer," Graham said. "I'd been to a couple camps and loved working with Coach Graz and Coach Hawley. It’s close to home and the area is about the same as where I’ve grown up so I knew as soon as I walked the campus and talked to the coaches that’s where I wanted to be."

As a junior, Graham ranked seventh in the NCISAA D-III in RBIs with 30 on the year. She was a key contributor to the Patriots' undefeated season and a factor en route to their fourth NCISAA Division III championship.

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She also ranked third in the Sandhills Conference and No. 10 in the NCISAA in runs with 32 on the season, and notched a spot on the NCISAA D-III first-team all-conference squad.

Since her eighth grade season at Freedom Christian, Graham has accumulated a .385 career batting average, 57 RBIs and 59 runs scored. Now that she has committed, Graham is heading into her senior year with a goal of returning to the NCISAA D-III state title.

"I'm looking forward to be able to focus in and better myself before going to play next year," she said. "I’m also really excited to make some amazing memories with my girls and make a run at back-to-back state titles."

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 'I knew as soon as I walked on campus': Freedom softball champ announces college choice