Dear Louisville...

Jennifer Leonhardt, a graduate transfer from the University of Southern Indiana, played her final collegiate season at UofL in 2021 while attending dental school. The right-handed pitcher, and Louisville native, was second on the team with 83 strikeouts and stood third in the ACC with four saves.

Dear Louisville,

I really wasn't supposed to be here, but here I am finishing my softball career about 12 miles away from where it started when I was four years old.

When COVID ended my 2020 senior year at the University of Southern Indiana, I was ready to hang my cleats up for good. I was blessed enough to have accomplished a lot in my three-and-a-half years of college softball, so I saw the abrupt ending as a sign from God to quit while I was ahead. Little did I know that He had other plans for me!

Balancing softball at such a high level and attending dental school has been one of the toughest challenges I've faced. But that's the beauty of this game—it brings you opportunities that you can look back on in the future and know you are a better person because of it.

Being an athlete at Louisville has meant the world to me. I grew up loving UofL sports before there was a YUM! Center, before there was a Cardinal Stadium, and I couldn't tell you the number of softball and baseball camps I went to when I was little.

I'd like to thank the coaching staff at Louisville for opening this door for me. Thank you for letting me play out this last year and having the opportunity to give it my all every time I stepped between those lines.

Even though I've only been here for a year, my teammates act like I've been here this whole time. I've never met a more supportive bunch whether it comes to having the ball on the mound in the seventh inning, or if it's midterms week at school. They have been right there cheering me on. Now it's my turn to sit back and cheer them on from the stands.

Thank you to the game of softball for giving me countless best friends, memories, and teaching me to be a strong woman in more ways than one.

And last, but not least, thank you #CardNation for welcoming me home and making my 'victory lap' worth every minute.

Jennifer Leonhardt

University of Louisville Athletics

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