Finding family on, off the field

At first, it was hard for North Idaho College’s Ashlyn Winn to come to Coeur d’Alene from Pocatello after graduation from Highland High.

No, it wasn’t second thoughts about her college decision — that was just fine.

“It was a little rough in the beginning,” Winn said. “I found out my mom had a brain tumor right before moving up here. It was a little hard for me to deal with being away from my family, which I’m really, really close with.”

Once she arrived on campus, Winn knew she had all the support she needed.

“It’s such a family culture here,” Winn said. “Everyone was always checking on me, asking how things where going. I felt like this was where I needed to be, even though my mom was in the hospital. It ended up being an amazing experience through the entire thing, because I grew a ton as a person.”

Still, she wondered if she should just go back to Pocatello.

“For a minute, I thought about staying back home,” Winn said. “I’ve got three younger siblings and I was thinking I couldn’t leave my dad alone with the rest of my family. I’ve always been the helper in the family, but as my mom was going into surgery, she told me I needed to go and get an education. She really wanted me to go and play ball. During those months of fall ball, and through her recovery, I was playing for my mom.”

NIC softball coach Don Don Williams let Winn know that her door was always open whenever she needed it.

“We were always checking in, asking how her mom was doing,” Williams said. “From the get-go, we told her that we’re a family, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate. And she felt that, and knew she could lean on us. And it wasn’t easy, because her heart was at home. And she was trying to do classes and fall semester of her first year in college and softball, so it was tough. At first, I think she was a little guarded, but as we moved along, those things kind of went away and she realized she had a family here. She had sisters and others to take care of her.”

Winn’s family was able to make it up for a few games last season when the Cardinals finished 50-3 and won the Northwest Athletic Conference championship.

“They’ve been up for a couple games (last season), but haven’t been able to make it yet this year,” Winn said. “They’re planning on coming up for sophomore night and the NWAC Tournament.”

Winn’s mom is on the road to recovery as well.

“She’s improved a lot,” Williams said. “She’s doing great.”

Winn, a outfielder as a freshman, has moved around the infield this year. Winn is batting .392 with eight home runs and 21 runs batted in. She’s also scored 21 runs.

“She’s just so athletic,” Williams said. “I know that I could put her anywhere on the field and know she could get the job done. She’s played shortstop, third base, second base and the outfield. If I had to have her catch, she’d do it. And if I needed her to pitch, she’d say, ‘let’s do it’ and go out there and do it. And she pitched in high school. I just love watching her play. Her game has elevated and it just keeps getting better each week.”

Out of high school, Winn was deciding between Salt Lake Community College and NAIA Valley City State University in Valley City, N.D.

“When I’d officially decided to come here, it was a beautiful place,” Winn said. “It was a good distance from my hometown in Pocatello. When I came up here, it felt like a second home. Don Don is like a second mom to me. I just knew I’d fit in here and knew this was somewhere I’d do well in my first time away from home.”

As a freshman, Winn hit 20 home runs and drove in 73 runs, finishing the season with a .432 batting average (70 for 162) and 10 stolen bases.

“It felt like a family,” Winn said. “Everyone was here doing what I love and that’s playing softball. I was a little intimidated when I got here because Don Don recruits really good players. As a freshman, it was a little intimidating at first, but then I realized I was here for a reason and felt really comfortable.”

NIC finished the 2018 season on a 23-game win streak.

“In fall ball, we played really, really well,” Winn said. “Don Don was trying some different lineups and moving people around, so we weren’t really sure just how good we were. Last spring, on that Florida trip, we just connected and really clicked as a team.”

Winn hopes to play next year at Idaho State, where she’s been accepted to continue her studies. ISU hasn’t offered Winn yet.

“I’ve been looking at a couple of different schools and was accepted into Idaho State, so that’s my No. 1 right now,” Winn said. “Hopefully, I’ll play there next year and move back to Pocatello. I’ve been looking at Utah State as well.”

And if softball isn’t in the equation, she’s already got big plans with her life after the game with fiancé Dawson Keller, a redshirt freshman on the Treasure Valley Community College baseball team. Keller is a Pocatello High graduate.

“I’d probably be working with a full-time job,” Winn said. “I’m currently engaged, so I might have been married a little earlier. He went to (Community Colleges of) Spokane last year to play baseball and is now at Treasure Valley, We’ll move back to Pocatello this summer and live there.”

The couple will be married on Aug. 10 in Pocatello.

And Winn has grown in all kinds of ways since arriving at Coeur d’Alene.

“My motherly instincts have grown here for sure,” Winn said. “I get teased a lot for kind of being the mother on the team. Also, it’s helped me become more responsible and a better leader. In school, I’ve had to be a lot better with time management. In high school, sometimes you can just slide by and get away with it. When you come to college, you’ve really got to hunker down and focus.”

“Her maturity level has grown so much,” Williams said. “She wants to go into coaching, so she’s constantly asking questions, learning and soaking in things. She also wants to go into education, so she did some job shadowing with (NIC assistant coach) Laura Fierro at Lake City High. The kid is just driven. She works hard and is a great leader. She’s just done a great job since she’s been here.”

NIC is 11-7, 9-3 in conference entering today’s NWAC doubleheader against the Community Colleges of Spokane at Spokane Falls Community College starting at 2 p.m.

“This group, we have a strong group of freshmen that have came in,” Winn said. “They’ve really bought into what we’re trying to do as a program. If we keep building like we’ve been doing, and keep getting confidence — and we’ll still have some bumps in the road — but we’ll be able to overcome them and get back to the NWAC Championships.”