Danville High School’s softball coach, Whitney Cruver, was inducted into the UC Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 at the University of the Cumberlands in October. She was honored for her achievements in softball during her time as a student and was inducted along with three other individuals.

“It’s very special, because that’s not just my lifetime — my name will always be there for as long as it’s standing,” she said. “So that’s pretty special, to be included with the other athletes … among the talent of the class that was inducted this year.” 

Formerly Whitney Priar, the 2008 graduate still holds records at the university. She was also inducted into her high school’s Hall of Fame in 2014. She went to Bloom-Carroll High School in Carroll, Ohio. There, she played softball, volleyball, and tennis. She was also on the cross country team. 

At the University of the Cumberlands, the records she still holds in softball are for career wins (45), career strikeouts (598), and innings pitched in a single season (186). She’s also the “only Patriot in program history to be a four-time Mid-South Conference All-Conference selection” and “the first and only Patriot pitcher to be named MSC Pitcher of the Year,” according to a press release.

“I had a lot of people there who supported me and who, I think, fought for me to be included in this class, and I am very appreciative of that,” Cruver said. 

After visiting the university for the induction ceremony, she said she is “still at a loss for words.”  

“It was very, very nice to be able to be there with my whole entire family,” she said. “My husband and my kids got to be there.”