Like many people, 2020 hasn’t been the best year. Orangefield senior to be and softball star catcher Emma Humplik was off to a great start with the Lady Bobcats. They were expected to make a big push in the playoffs.
But their season was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Then another setback.
She had committed to play at Texas A&M after her freshman season. Something that hasn’t happened around here before. But with the coronavirus, college seniors were given the option to play another year so the Aggies basically pulled or were going to restructure her full ride scholarship to keep some of those players.
“I was really devastated,” she said. “I had many family members attend A&M and my grandparents live in College Station. I was looking forward to November 13 which is signing day.”
But things are starting to look up. Humplik has continued to workout with her hitting coach Jeremy Green at JG Bats here locally. But she also got to start playing with her select team the Bombers 18U Gold National Team. Not having to worry about it before, she was now having to shop her skills to a new school.
Then came “the video.” Many players use the internet to showcase their skills so coaches and scouts from all over the country may see them and put them on their radar.
So Humplik, with a push from her mom, posted a video of her hitting bomb after bomb for 45 seconds with Coach Green.
When I spoke with Emma Thursday, the video had gone viral with 1.1 million views on Twitter. By the time I posted this story Thursday night on KOGT, it was up to 1.8 million.
Humplik has been busy answering calls, texts, and emails since.
“I don’t know how this viral thing happens,” said John Carpenter, Emma’s select coach. “But at 4pm I’m sitting in a parking lot and was amazed it was at 124,000. Now it’s crazy.” And how does he explain it? “Who wouldn’t want to watch that swing,” he said.
The video has been retweeted by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Bleacher Report, Athletic Recruiting, The Score, and Baseball Bros to name a few.
The coronavirus took something away from Humplik, but now it may have put her in a better situation as sports fans search the internet and social media for something real in sports instead of just talking about it. Well they found it this week. I believe there’s a saying, “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together,”
Humplik is in touch with as many as 15 schools, one of those being Rutgers, who saw the video and invited her for a trip to New Jersey.
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
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