« Softball 2018

Ivie Drake

School
Georgia State University
Position
Catcher
Major
Early Childhood Education

Classroom

Ivie Drake is an exemplary student who has maintained a 3.91 GPA while balancing her softball duties with a major that includes a heavy workload outside of normal class times. As an early childhood education major, she regularly visits classrooms in the community for experience and for class credit. Since she was a freshman, her dedication in the classroom has been evident through her commitment to not only getting her schoolwork done, but also getting it done well. Georgia State’s President’s List honors students who earn a 4.00 GPA in a given semester. She has been named to the President’s List in three straight semesters since the 2016 fall semester. Before that, she was named to the dean’s list four times. She was also recognized on the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.

Character

Drake is a high-integrity individual who has blossomed into a leader on her team. As a freshman and sophomore, she led by example with her performance at the plate, but in her junior and now senior seasons, she has become a vocal presence that her peers look to for leadership on the field and in the classroom. She is a caring and selfless person and often is more worried about the well-being of others than she is her own self. If she notices a teammate having a difficult practice, Drake will be the first to pick her up and provide encouragement. Off the field, she is modest and humble, seeking to stay out of the spotlight and fly under the radar. She is well-respected by teammates and opponents alike and has a reputation for being a relentlessly hard worker when it comes to softball and her academics.

Community

Apart from wanting to be a school teacher for the purpose of giving back to the community, Drake also actively seeks to give back in other ways. One example is a project she participated in last winter. Living in downtown Atlanta, most people ignore their homeless neighbors. Drake and her teammates organized a food and supply distribution weekend where they brought different items and created care packages. They then went out onto the streets and handed out those packages to those in need.

A lot of her efforts have been focused on youth in the community. On the first day of school this past fall, she woke up bright and early and headed to nearby Dunbar Elementary School and welcomed students at the entrance to get them excited to return to the classroom. Another initiative she has been a part of is called Panthers Tackle Obesity, an event hosted by GSU student-athletes that promotes activity and a healthy lifestyle with local school children. She led children through football drills and also taught them why it’s important to stay active and stay healthy. She also participated in Build-A-Bike, where she spent several hours one night putting together bikes to hand out to children around Christmastime.

Competition

Drake will go down in history as one of the most decorated Georgia State student-athletes in school history. With 47 career home runs, she has been named All-Sun Belt Conference all three seasons (first team 2017 and 2015, second team 2016) and was also the 2015 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. She was a finalist for NFCA National Freshman of the Year and was an NFCA All-American in 2015 as a freshman. She’s also been named to the NFCA All-Region team twice in three years (second team 2017, first team 2015). In 2016, Drake also was named to the USA Softball Player of the Year watch list.

Heading into her final campaign, she held the GSU record for best career batting average and ranked second in runs scored, second in home runs, third in walks, fourth in RBI, sixth in hits and seventh in doubles. Her 47 career home runs also ranked ninth in the NCAA Division I among active players. She has also set a plethora of single-season records at Georgia State including batting average, hits, home runs, RBI and runs scored.