Set free by Ole Miss, St. Charles North’s Abby Zawadzki signs on with Ohio State: ‘It was a little stressful.’
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When push came to shove, St. Charles North’s Abby Zawadzki did what she had to do. She bet on herself, continued to work hard and made the most of it.
Fortunately, a familiar connection struck again on the Aurora-Elgin area softball scene.
“It was a little stressful,” Zawadzki said. “Especially after the high school season ended and not knowing where I would be going.”
She knows where she’s going now. Zawadzki signed on June 30 with coach Kirin Kumar at Ohio State, where she’ll be reunited with Sara Tarr, a former summer teammate and West Aurora alum.
Zawadzki, the North Stars’ pitching and first base standout, reopened her recruiting last September after originally committing to Ole Miss of the SEC. Now, she’ll be in the Big Ten.
“I knew there couldn’t be a lot going on as far as a recruiting basis this spring because the college season is going on at the same time,” Zawadzki said. “When high school ended, I had to pick things up and get rolling. I had really good support.”
That included Lauren McNulty, who was the 18U Dennison Silver Hawks coach for Zawadzki and Tarr the previous summer.
“Lauren has a lot of contacts,” Zawadzki said. “She helped me a lot and is a big part of this.
“It’s extremely important being active, doing as much as you can by going to camps, emailing coaches and getting your name out there on social media.”
Zawadzki wanted to stay closer to home, but there’s more to her recruiting story.
She was happy with Ole Miss and her decision at the time, but things changed when the NCAA established a hard roster limit of 25 players for softball that took effect July 1, 2025.
Zawadzki verbally committed in 2024.
“Before the change, the limit was 35 players,” Zawadzki said. “There were 13 in my Ole Miss recruiting class and five of us were pitchers. It was crazy.”
The Ole Miss coach then called to tell Zawadzki she was one of the incoming players whose offer was being withdrawn.
“I was already committed there for a year,” Zawadzki said.
Still, she had a big fan in Kumar, whose program was one of several that expressed interest. This past spring was Kumar’s second season leading the Buckeyes after leaving Miami of Ohio.
Tarr was originally a Miami of Ohio commit but followed Kumar to Columbus, starting 28 of the 31 games she played in this season as a freshman, with time at shortstop and first base.
Tarr hit .206 with three doubles, four home runs and 14 RBIs for the Buckeyes (26-27), who won 45 games the previous year and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
The Ohio State coach has had recruiting success in the area, landing Yorkville’s Madi Reeves, who was the MAC Freshman of the Year at Miami of Ohio. Reeves stayed one year after Kumar left before transferring to Louisville.
“I knew of Sara before,” Zawadzki said. “My sophomore year a lot of my summer teammates had played with her and we played against West Aurora at St. Charles North. She wasn’t on campus when I went on my recruiting visit in mid-June, but I’m excited to play with her.
“We traded texts and have talked and she came to our (Silver Hawks) game the day after I committed along with several other summer teammates from last year.”
Zawadzki made the most of her senior year, going 12-0 with a 2.07 ERA for coach Tom Poulin. She also hit .420 with 11 homers and 45 RBIs. The 2026 Beacon-News/Courier-News Softball Player of the Year was first team all-state.
Will she do both in college?
“She asked if I would want to hit and I said, ‘Yes!’” Zawadzki said of Kumar. “But what happens from there is depending on how I produce.”
It might not be wise to bet against her.
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