PEABODY — Well, one of the best players in Massachusetts has found a home. Peabody senior Abby Bettencourt committed to the admissions process to play softball at Brown University Wednesday.
“It feels really good. It’s a relief and it definitely feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders going into my senior year,” Bettencourt said. “It’s a Division 1 school and a good academic school, so I have to keep pushing to keep my grades up. I’m excited.”
Brown has a special relationship with the family as Bettencourt’s mother, Lauren, graduated from Brown and was a part of the 1997 Ivy League-winning team.
“Growing up, my mom told me stories about when she was at Brown and the relationships she built there,” Bettencourt said. “I was there when I was younger and I know stuff about the school, so it helped in my decision because I know my mom had a great time there.”
Despite the family ties, Bettencourt said her parents didn’t persuade her to go to a specific school, but rather, allowed her to choose her next destination all on her own.
“They didn’t pressure me to go anywhere specific. I know they would be happy with whatever school I chose,” Bettencourt said.
At Brown, she says she can “explore my options.”
“Brown has a very open curriculum which I like because I don’t really know what I want to do after college,” Bettencourt said.
It’s close to home, too.
“I definitely wanted to stay close,” Bettencourt said. “I have two younger siblings in high school and I know how good it was when they were there to support me while I was playing. I want to be able to catch a game every now and then and help be a part of their recruiting process.”
The future Bear admitted the recruiting process was “stressful,” but wanted to get it out of the way early to enjoy her final year of high school.
“It was definitely a stressful time. It’s not the easiest, but I got through it,” Bettencourt said. “It feels really good to be done with it. My goal was to be done with the recruitment process going into my senior year.”
Bettencourt admitted it was a dream of hers to play at the Division 1 level knowing both her mother, and father, Mark, played at Division 1 schools.
“It has been a dream of mine to play at the Division 1 level ever since I was little,” Bettencourt said. “Both of my parents played Division 1, so it was something I always dreamed about.”
Now on her way to Rhode Island, Bettencourt said she’s looking forward to focusing on just two things: school and softball.
“I’m looking forward to the team environment and just playing softball every day,” Bettencourt said. “It’s fun being a three-sport athlete, but I’m really looking forward to focusing just on softball and putting my all into softball and school. I feel I can only get better.”
After a 266-strikeout season with an ERA of 0.88 across 120 innings, the star pitcher said she still has one more goal before she leaves Peabody.
“Win a state championship,” she said.
