The dream to play professionally became a reality for one Chowan student-athlete, Haley Cooper, as her name was announced as the 54th pick in the American Softball Association's (ASBA) draft by the Performance Lab team.

"I honestly don't know how to feel right now. I'm kind of star-struck. I am still trying to wrap my head around it," said Haley Cooper.

The ASBA is in their second year of existence comprising of four teams: The Performance Lab, E1 Pro Ballers, The Field, and Moh-BEEL! USA.  The league is held from June 14-July 30 at Pat Hicks Softball Field in Satsuma, Ala.

Cooper, a Perquimans County, N.C. native, was a four-year standout for the Hawks' Softball program.  The catcher turned infielder helped the program to four straight CIAA Northern Division Titles, back-to-back CIAA Softball Championships (2017 and 2018), and back-to-back NCAA Atlantic Regional appearances (2017 and 2018).

Cooper capped off her career, like only a few Chowan student-athletes, having been named to the all-conference list all four years.  She started off her career as the 2016 CIAA Rookie of the Year and was named First Team All-CIAA as a catcher.  In 2017, she picked up another First Team All-CIAA distinction.  Her final two seasons with the Blue and White, Cooper moved to second base where she would earn First Team honors in 2018 and a Second Team honor in 2019.

During her career, Haley finished in the top-10 in program history in seven offensive categories sitting third in hits (207) and RBI (129), fourth in doubles (39), fifth in batting average (.367) and on-base percentage (.437), and seventh in slugging (.502) and home runs (11).

 "I will take each opportunity and step with a humble heart and always remember where I came from."

For more information on the ASBA go to their website at www.asbasoftball.com.