When it comes to loving the game, betting on yourself and having great energy, Olivia Thornton possesses all of those. Thornton just wrapped up her summer in the Scenic City Collegiate League, where she came in as a transfer out of Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. She knew what she had in her bag and took to the SCCL to showcase those abilities.
Thornton played on the Bandits team of the SCCL and led the team in nearly every offensive category. She finished the summer slashing .650/.674/1.500 with 9 home runs, 24 RBIs, 7 doubles and 19 runs scored. Thornton also took home team MVP honors.
When speaking with Thornton at the beginning of the summer, her energy is what stood out the most. If you need a person to wake you up and set the tone for the day, Thornton is the person. She is just being her and that is the best way to be.
“I just say play, be authentically you,” Thornton said. “When you play like yourself, you play the best. If you’re trying to be somebody else, you’re trying to be too serious, or you’re trying to be really quiet, or you’re trying to do something that’s not in the norm, I feel like it’s way harder to play the game.”
Even in this summer league where some may think it means nothing, Thornton had one night where she put the team on her back and led them to a come-from-behind victory. The Bandits were down 12-2 going into the bottom of the fourth, and things started to turn around.
“It really is like the saying, play easy, just go see ball, hit ball, just go play,” Thornton said. “Just go play the game. And I feel like that’s just kind of what I did, just got in the box. I wanted to win. I really, really wanted to win this game. And I even told them that in the beginning. I was like, let’s win this fricking game. And we put it all together through seven innings. There was a three-hour game, pitch black outside, and we just all put it together. Everybody did their part in that game, and it was just phenomenal.”
Thornton and the Bandits went to work, and even when the Smoky Mountain Rain punched back, they answered the call throughout and pulled off a 19-16 win. Thornton finished the night 5-for-5 with 3 home runs, 7 RBIs, 1 double and 4 runs scored. That is the type of talent and drive that her new school, South Florida, is getting. Thornton announced on June 28 that she was heading to Tampa, Fla., in the fall.
How did South Florida come about and why? Thornton began with much credit to the Scenic City Collegiate League and Michelle LaCourse for playing a major role.
“I will give this league, and Michelle, my biggest gratitude,” Thornton said. “They really displayed me to them, and it really helped give me some exposure. And from that point on, he [Ken Eriksen] looked further into me, because at the end of the day, transfers in the portal, it’s a business. It’s tough to get people that you want, and for them to also feel the same about you. So just the way that we connected and we got together was a blessing.
“Truly, that’s where I wanted to go. I wanted to be in the American. I wanted to play for a team that was super competitive, that really wanted to win, and that just looks like a great environment as well, and that’s exactly what South Florida was, and I absolutely wanted to be a part of it. And coach Eriksen, everything that he talked about just sounds great. That is everything that I would ever want in a program, in a coach, and I know he believed in me, and I haven’t even stepped foot on the field or practiced with them yet, and I’m super excited. I’m so excited for the opportunity.”
When I asked what she’d bring to USF and what the Bulls are getting, she made it very simple and honestly gave the best answer.
“Yet again, just be me,” Thornton said. “There’s nobody else like yourself. You have a purpose, like you were put on this world for a purpose. You were put on this earth for a reason. Everybody has a reason, and I just want to be a part of a team and be a different energy, or a different culture, or a different something for a team to push them and make them better, because at the end of the day, I want to be the best player that I can be, but at the same time, if I can make other people the best players that they can be, that’s the ultimate goal. And that’s everything I would want.”
