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Callaway soccer star Mary Kate Baswell is off to a blazing start to her senior season in red and black. She has four goals and three assists in four games to start her final season as a Cavalier.

“We have had some hoops that we’ve had to jump through early, but we are getting through them,” Baswell said. “Autumn (Brown) got injured and we’ve had to move some people around and I had to play out of position one game, but we have figured it out and it’s been a good start.”

Baswell is back at attacking midfield where she has been a stalwart in the starting lineup since her freshman season. She made an immediate impact on the varsity team after spending her eighth-grade season as a standout on the high school JV team. 

Now, when her cleats touch the field as she runs on the field to start the game, she feels full of confidence, but this was not always the case.

“I was feeling very nervous when I started as a freshman,” Baswell said. “I was the youngest girl out there and then time flew by and now I’m one of the oldest on the team.”

As a senior, this is Baswell’s final run in red and black. After helping the team break records during her first three years as a Callaway soccer player, Baswell wants to make even more history. The senior wants to be a part of the first team in program history that puts a banner up in Callaway’s new gym which is accomplished by doing one of two things: making at least an Elite Eight appearance or winning a region title.

The end is nigh for Baswell at Callaway, but her soccer journey is set to continue at the next level. She is committed to playing soccer at LaGrange College starting in the fall.

“Around my junior year I started to think about playing in college because I love this sport so much and want to play it until I can’t anymore,” Baswell said. “Callaway is a big family and I feel like LaGrange College is going to be the same way.”

Soccer has coursed through her veins since she was just four years old and found a love for the game. 

“I think it was kind of love at first sight,” Baswell said with a chuckle. “I started playing when I was four and loved it even more the more I played.”

That love has fully blossomed during her time at the high school level. The current team shares a bond like no other, she says.

Baswell has grown attached to the hip to another senior on the team — Autumn Brown — who knew next to nothing about soccer before Baswell recruited her out.

“She used to play lacrosse, but I convinced her to come out when she transferred here,” Baswell said, laughing. 

While soccer is her lifeblood, it is far from the only sport she has played. The senior has spent nearly all of her free time on a ball field or a practice field these last several years. Baswell was also a member of the flag football team, volleyball team, track and field team and competition cheer team during her time at Callaway High.

Simply put, Baswell bleeds red and black. If it is Callaway, she wants to be a part of it. The Cavalier is her second family.