By: Todd Lindenmuth
LongwoodLancers.com

FARMVILLE, Va. – When Longwood and Big South newcomer USC Upstate take the field Sunday to play in front of a national audience on ESPNU, the game will take on a special meaning for one Lancer.
 
When Longwood center fielder Chelsea Whitcomb transferred to Longwood from ACC and Commonwealth rival Virginia Tech over the summer, she was seeking a fresh start and the opportunity to compete for a championship with a Longwood team that is seeking its fifth Big South title in the past seven seasons.
 
On the heels of an injury-riddled four seasons at Virginia Tech, Whitcomb is now thriving as part of the Lancers. A multi-tooled player, she has put her skills on display from the outset, causing havoc around the diamond with her blend of speed and power.
 
"Right when I stepped on campus, my teammates really welcomed me," Whitcomb said. "This team is one that really bonds together. Every one of them helped me enjoy softball and being around each other. I can count on every single girl on this team to have my back, fight for me, to do whatever they can to help me."
 
Coming off a dynamic high school career at Cosby High School in Chesterfield, Va., that included three state championships at the 6A level and culminated with her becoming the only three-time Metro Player of the Year as named by the Richmond Times Dispatch, Whitcomb was destined for greatness.
 
It was a high school career that led Longwood head coach Kathy Riley to call Whitcomb, the best all-around athlete recruited by Virginia Tech softball.
 
"She gives us good all-around athleticism," Riley said. "She's strong, she's fast. There's a lot of ability that she has to work with from the get-go and it all comes very natural for her. She runs the bases at such a high level and is a difference maker because she can help us score runs in a number of different ways." 
 
That's high praise from a head coach that captured her 700th win with Longwood last Sunday and was a two-sport athlete at East Carolina in an athletic career that has Riley's name enshrined in the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
"I have the ultimate respect for coach Riley," Whitcomb said. "I've always respected her and she's somebody that I don't ever want to disappoint."
 
Whitcomb's high school career led her to receive an offer to join ACC program Virginia Tech, choosing the Hokies as her college destination after being impressed by the top-notch facilities they had to offer. Competing in the ACC was also a draw, allowing Whitcomb to utilize her blazing speed, untapped power potential and versatility to help lead the Hokies back to the Women's College World Series for the first time since the 2008 season.
 
Before becoming the starting center fielder for the Lancers that has seen her lead Longwood with a .347 batting clip through the first 27 games of the season, Whitcomb entered her career set to have an immediate impact for a Virginia Tech. A program that has boasted four All-America selections and has accrued more than 250 wins while advanced to four NCAA Regionals in the seven seasons prior to her arrival to campus.
 
However, it wasn't always easy for Whitcomb during her time with the Hokies. She endured a rash of injuries in her time in Blacksburg that cost her parts of three seasons of playing time and derailed, at least temporarily, a once-promising career.
 
That first injury came before Whitcomb even stepped foot on the field as a Hokie. It was an ankle injury that time, but she overcame it to take part in the United States Junior Women's National Team tryouts that takes place every season in early January. Whitcomb was one of 22 athletes from across the collegiate softball landscape to receive an offer to compete at the World Cup of Softball.
 
Then disaster struck, and at least indirectly, it was her natural speed that instigated it.
 
On the final day of tryouts, Whitcomb stole second base and then tried to go for third when the ball got away from the shortstop. However, she got caught in a rundown and then felt a tweak in her knee that sent her to the ground. An MRI later revealed that she had torn her ACL, essentially guaranteeing that she would be forced to sit out not only the Team USA opportunity after earning her way on as an alternate but her first season as a Hokie as well.
 
Whitcomb was forced to transition from preparing for her first college season to a grueling rehabilitation protocol where she would have to spend months regaining the strength, power and speed that once made her a highly-touted high school product and earned her a spot as a Team USA alternate, even with the injury.
 
However, she overcame that knee injury and for the second time was back on track to fulfill the potential she showed throughout her dominant high school career.
 
"There were ups and downs with my ACL, I'd be good for a week and then I'd have a setback for a week," Whitcomb said. "I was a freshman at that time, so the transition was really difficult for me in dividing my time with school, training for two hours a day, study hall. Going to all of the meetings I had to go to and doing everything I needed as a freshman was challenging."
 
During that season, Whitcomb hit .261 and led Virginia Tech with 11 stolen bases while combining her speed with power with seven home runs – the second-most on the Hokie roster. Whitcomb served as a versatile player, spending time as a pitcher, third baseman and in centerfield all while playing through an ankle injury through the latter part of the year.
 
Following her breakout redshirt freshman season, Whitcomb appeared not to miss a beat and was primed to help Virginia Tech back among the top teams in the ACC and to the NCAA Regional.
 
However, more hurdles were on the way. Whitcomb's last two seasons in a Hokie uniform were decimated with more injuries, as she was limited to just 19 games due to a broken hand and was limited to being a pinch runner while wearing a cast. As if the hand injury wasn't decimating enough, during an examination, she learned she had a condition called spondylolysis, which is a crack or stress fracture in one of the vertebrae – the small bones that make up the spinal column.
 
"Everything was a mental game for me," Whitcomb said. "It was mentally challenging to progress to getting back to the way I used to play. I used to get upset at myself for not being that person immediately after recovering."
 
After the grueling road Whitcomb traveled at Virginia Tech, she was ready for a fresh start after graduating with a bachelor's in human development in May, 2018. As an NCAA graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining, she set her sights on Longwood, a school who offered her a roster spot before she even committed to Virginia Tech in high school. Head coach Kathy Riley found a spot for her, and she enrolled in Longwood's MBA program.
 
It's been a perfect match for both sides.
 
Whitcomb has played a key role in Longwood's  16-11 start to a season, which included a 10-3 start to the year. Now Longwood is bearing witness to her skillset, demonstrated in her ability to beat out a bunt, hit for power or beat opposing teams with her speed.
 
And her impact hasn't just been on the field. Whitcomb has been a standout in the classroom, boasting a 4.0 grade-point average in Longwood's 15-month masters of business administration program.
 
"Longwood was the first school I researched when I decided to transfer, and I knew coach Riley knew what type of player and person I was," Whitcomb said. "I love every single one of these girls. We work together. I think that's all because of coach Riley. She's a coach that you don't want to disappoint."
 
Whitcomb has had an immediate impact on the Lancer roster as well, as she's part of a six-woman senior class, along with her two teammates in the outfield in Jordan Clark and Jessica Smith. Those three form the core of one of the Big South's top defensive outfield units, combining for eight outfield assists this season, of which Whitcomb has a team-high five.
 
"She meshes really well with the team overall and always playing the game hard, with a lot of grit," said teammate and sophomore pitcher Arleigh Wood. "She's never afraid to speak her mind and support us when we need her. She treats everybody as equals. I always feel that I can go to her and trust in the guidance she gives to me on and off the field."
 
Whitcomb came to Longwood looking for an opportunity to compete for a championship and the chance to play for Riley, now she'll get both of those opportunities on the national stage on ESPNU Sunday afternoon at Lancer Field.
 
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