For Adee Morgan, softball isn’t just a sport — it’s part of her identity and deeply rooted in her family’s history.  

“My mom played her entire life and she went to the college to be a vet, she couldn’t play anymore, so she got me into it when I was really young,” the Warrenton senior said. “Everybody plays in our family, and my great grandma was one of the first women ever to play softball. It’s a big part of our family.” 

Despite growing up with such strong ties to the game, Morgan had long planned for her softball career to end after high school — that is, until her senior year made her reconsider. 

“I realized it was my last season and if I didn’t go further, that was the end,” she said. “It made me cry every night and I just wanted to play.” 

This led her to sign her official letter of intent to play college softball at East Central College on March 28. 

“I started to realize softball was just a part of who I was,” Morgan said. “It’s year round, I do it every day, it’s a part of me.” 

Morgan credited her high school coach, Chad Berrey, for playing a key role in helping her take the next step. 

“He was the one who gave me the opportunities, I wasn’t really searching,” Morgan said. “He built my confidence and he built me as a player, and made me realize I was able to play at that level.” 

Berrey first coached Morgan when she was in sixth grade on the Black Hawk feeder team and to this day, he still remembers his first impression of her.

“She was the smallest softball girl I’ve ever coached, but she had a beautiful swing,” Berrey said. “From her first swing, I knew she was going to be a stud.” 

Morgan was often a versatile player for the Warriors, playing in different positions after other players suffered injuries. In her senior year, she recorded 12 runs, a .383 batting average, a .419 on-base percentage and 23 RBIs 

She was named to the second team GAC North all-conference and earned first team all-district honor this past season. 

“Her senior year, she really turned some heads. I remember the Winfield coach said ‘we hate seeing that Adee girl come up to the plate, because we know it’s not going to be a short at bat,’” Berrey said. “It’s going to be really hard to replace her next year.” 

Morgan explored multiple colleges, but East Central stood out. 

“After the tour and all the information I was given, it seemed to be the only option because it was the best one,” Morgan said. “I also have an old teammate (Sheila Doeorica) that’s going there, she was a big part of me wanting to go there. It’s close, it has the classes I need – it just worked out really well.” 

Morgan plans to major in health science in hopes of completing her pre-requisitions for a physical therapy degree at a four-year university. 

She is also looking forward to personal growth. 

“With athletics and being on a team, it’s a lot of different personalities and morals and types of people. They influence you a lot as you grow and I hope to be influenced as a better person and player,” Morgan said. 

When asked what advice Berrey has for the soon-to-be college freshman, he compared high school as a roller coaster. He hopes Morgan will remember what she learned at low points. 

“I think the most you can learn from is your failures. I hope she remembers her struggles and when she goes to college, I hope those memories propel her to be the very successful girl that every single person in our program knows that she’s going to be,” Berrey said. “She’s a great person with a huge heart and whenever her time comes where she has to put the softball down for the very last time, she’s going to be a very strong professional with whatever avenues she chooses.”