It’s about a 650-mile drive from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Columbus, Ohio and a big difference in the climate too. But at The Ohio State University is where Maddy Humphrey has spent the last 4 years studying and making her way into the record books on the Buckeye field hockey team. In her sophomore year of high school she was heavily recruited by many local colleges but in her junior year, the bigger schools across America really started to take notice of her great abilities.
“I was reached out to by several colleges,” Maddy stated. “Some of those schools were Maryland, Louisville, Indiana, and Wake Forest. Ohio State was my 8th school I visited and I remember when I visited it was cold and rainy and I still got that feeling that everyone talks about”.
And she knew in her heart right then and there that it would be her new home. Growing up a 5-minute bike ride from the beach and leaving her family behind was a tough thing especially trading in the sand and sunshine for Midwestern cold rain and snow. But in her heart, she knew it was the right place for her. And she has proven it on and off the field.
This last season, her senior season, she led the team in goals scored with 9 and etched her name in the Buckeyes record books. She has been a perennial goal scorer for all four years she has been a Buckeye and she led the Buckeyes in goals scored in three of the past four years. Her freshman and junior campaigns were highlighted by scoring 12 goals in each season. Her 43 goals scored slots her in the No. 8 position all time in the Ohio State field hockey record book.
“Every goal I was able to score this year was for my Pop, who recently passed this summer, and I’m beyond grateful to give him many goals,” Maddy happily exclaimed!
Not just focused on scoring goals, Maddy paced the Scarlet and Gray in assists in 2016 and 2017 with nine and seven respectively. In the points tallied category, Maddy was the top-point scorer three out of the past four years with 32 points as a freshman, 33 as a junior and 25 as a senior. The 114 in her career are the seventh most to be scored by a Buckeye. She also had a knack for being clutch in game time with 10 game-winning goals, tying her for 7th most in the esteemed Buckeye program history.
Maddy, who has been playing field hockey since 7th grade, has earned her share of awards on the way also. Along with earning second team all big ten for the third time (she earned the award in 2015 and 2016 also) she has been named NFHCA first team All-West Region (2016), NFHCA second team All-West Region (2014), and Three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (9/9/14, 9/23/14, 10/14/14).
Maddy attributes much of her ability to her older brothers Macon (30) and Bryce (27), who gave her all the toughness that you would see in her on the field hockey pitch. Her brothers are very competitive and have been sponsored surfers for many years, and she emulates them in many ways.
While Maddy could have gone most anywhere to play field hockey and she could have stayed closer to home, she does not regret playing for the Big Ten Conference so far away from her family because she feels that most of the girls in the Big Ten are the best and elite in the country and she is proud to be a big part of that list.
Although far away from her parents Steve and Marcia, they have supported her all the way in any way they could, traveling all over the country to watch their daughter play always being there sacrificing for her.
“My parents are the best support system there is and you don’t even want to know the miles they drove over the four years to watch almost every game I ever played as a Buckeye,” she proudly states.
Finishing the season and her four-year career is sad and hard for Maddy and it’s been a real adjustment for her. It’s a surreal feeling as she cleaned out her locker for the last time and had her exit meeting with her coaches, Jarred Martin, Homero Pardi, and Kate Lipton.
Maddy still remembers her favorite game in her freshman year, when her Buckeyes upset UVA at UVA and they were ranked in the top 5 at the time. She had about 32 family and friends there to see the team win and to see her score a goal in that game and they all went crazy and were cheering loudly for her. Her favorite moment in her senior season was the overtime win celebrations because everyone was so happy for the team and you could see it on all their faces in their screaming and jumping up and down in celebration.
Maddy is going to miss playing field hockey for such an elite University but along the way, she has made new friendships and created bonds that cannot be broken and will last a lifetime. Her 10 player senior class has been extremely close even before they stepped foot on campus and they have continued to grow closer over their four years together.
“It has been a great ride playing with these girls for four straight years,” Maddy said. “Those girls are my best friends for life! This year was special for the whole team, playing for a new coach, and I loved how we played hard for each other throughout the season and ended with a winning record.”
Maddy will be ready to start the next chapter of her life as she is going to graduate with a Strategic Communications degree. This can involve, PR, Communications Management, Advertising, and Marketing. She is unsure which city she will end up in next year, as most seniors right now, but she is hoping for a great opportunity she will enjoy.
