KNOX, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Natalie Bowser wasn’t about to compromise.
The Keystone senior knew exactly what she wanted from her athletic career at the next level.
(Pictured above, Natalie Bowser at her signing to Penn State DuBois with her father, Tom.)
A standout in three sports — volleyball, basketball and softball — Bowser had plenty of options and plenty of offers on the table from various colleges and universities.
But she had a very particular set of requirements, namely that she play both basketball and softball.
Penn State DuBois was one of them.
Bowser signed to play there late last week, bringing an end to a long recruiting process.
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
“It was very different, I feel,” Bowser said. “I didn’t have a freshman season for softball, so that definitely took away some time off my recruiting. But the recruiting process was very enjoyable because a lot of the coach would take time out of their personal life to talk to me and give me real experiences.”
Several schools, like Penn State DuBois, offered Bowser the chance to play both basketball and softball.
That made making a choice all the more difficult for her.
But when she visited the Penn State DuBois campus and mingled with the coaches and athletes, the decision was so much easier.
“It just has that at home feeling,” Bowser said. “The feeling of home away from home. I loved the environment when I went to visit and everything just felt right. I also loved the girls on the basketball team and softball team. Everything there was just perfect to me, and I can’t even explain how perfect the feeling was.
“I knew I would be an asset for both teams,” Bowser added. “I felt that it was the right option for me because the team was a family and that was a very important factor to me. Almost every school in my top five was offering me to play basketball and softball, so they weren’t the only ones.”
And for good reason.
Few have made as big an impact as Bowser has made at Keystone in multiple sports.
In basketball, Bowser joined the select 1,000-1,000 club — 1,000 points and rebounds in her career. The 6-foot-1 center was nearly unstoppable in the paint, averaging 14.5 points and 15.6 rebounds per game this year as a senior.
In her career, she scored 1,046 points to go with 1,042 rebounds.
Softball, though, is the sport in which Bowser is the most dangerous.
As a sophomore, the first baseman/pitcher turned in one of the most dominant seasons at the plate in Pennsylvania history, batting .766 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs — she had more home runs than outs made.
Last year she turned in another impressive campaign, hitting .629 with 11 homers and 30 RBIs.
That made her a hot commodity on the softball diamond and she received looks and offers from bigger schools.
But they just weren’t a fit for Bowser, who was committed to her goal of playing two sports in college.
The interest, though, didn’t go unnoticed by Bowser, who appreciated it all.
“It makes me speechless, honestly,” Bowser said. “I’m so blessed that I had the coaching and the coaches I did for each sport who believed in me. I was blessed that I had a lot of options to make my decision easy, but hard, at the same time.”
Now that her choice is made, a sense of relief has overcome Bowser.
“It has been so nice finally knowing where I’m going and what I plan on doing out in front of me,” Bowser said. “I feel like there has been a little weight off my shoulders now because my future isn’t uncertain now. I know the plan and where, so now I can just enjoy the rest of my senior year.”
Bowser believes playing two sports will make her a better athlete and student.
She can’t wait to see what she can do.
“I’m very excited and blessed that I get the opportunity to be able to play two sports in college,” Bowser said. “I’m really excited to take this challenge on and build my athletic career even more, but also mature more, which will make me the young woman I’m supposed to be.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
Fall Sports
Rocky Grove and Lakeview Team Up for Mason
