The CT Softball Blog

SOUTHINGTON—When it came time to choose where she would spend the next four years, Alexa Poutouves didn’t begin with softball.

She began with business.

For the recent Southington High School graduate, who recently committed to continue her softball career at Bentley University, the nationally respected business program was the deciding factor long before she thought about batting practice, conference standings or the Falcons’ lineup.

“I want to go to school to study business, and Bentley is one of the best in the whole country,” Poutouves said. “When I had my top three schools, Bentley was going to give me the best education. That’s really what led me there.”

It was a decision made with the long game in mind.

Poutouves plans to major in business management and finance, with hopes of one day working in the finance industry in Boston.

“I hope I’m with some big company in Boston doing finance,” she said. “I really enjoy numbers.”

That future became even more appealing knowing Bentley sits just outside the city.

The university’s proximity to Boston, combined with a study abroad program available to student-athletes, only strengthened her decision.

“They have more than 50 campuses around the world,” she said. “I can study abroad for a semester, and athletes are encouraged to do it. That’s something that’s really important to me because not every athlete gets that opportunity.”

Bentley recently hired a new head coach, Brook Capello, after the coaching staff that originally recruited Poutouves departed. Rather than second-guessing her decision, she embraced the change.

CT Lightning 18U coach Kas Hoag, who is also Poutouves’ step-mother, said the family knew Bentley was the right fit almost immediately.

“As soon as all of us walked on the campus and we saw her face light up, we knew,” Hoag said. “She loved Bentley. She loved the academics, the opportunities and everything it offered. Sometimes the journey isn’t the quickest one, but she ended up exactly where she needed to be.”

“I’ve met Coach Capello a couple of times now, and I’m really excited,” Poutouves said. “She’s done a great job communicating with all of us, and everyone I’ve talked to has great things to say about her.”

That perspective reflects the same approach she took throughout the recruiting process.

Before Poutouves even mentioned the Bentley softball program, she talked about the school itself because she knew that was the most important thing.

“Definitely,” Poutouves replied. “Academics have always been very important to me.”

A center fielder by trade, Poutouves’ athletic journey didn’t begin on the softball diamond.

She competed as a gymnast before eventually turning her attention full-time to softball, a decision that accelerated her development in remarkable fashion.

“She came to softball later than a lot of our travel players because she was a gymnast,” said Hoag, who is the varsity softball coach at Mercy. “She accelerated very, very quickly. She worked incredibly hard to get herself on par with everyone else, and by the time she got to Southington, her mission was to earn a starting job.”

Poutouves also played volleyball and basketball before softball became the sport she couldn’t leave behind.

“I’ve played lots of sports,” she said. “But softball was just the one. It has the highs and the lows that no other sport gives you. Even during times when I thought maybe I didn’t want to play anymore, I always came back to it. I just love the game.”

Poutouves also believes remaining a multi-sport athlete helped her become the player she is today.

Basketball kept her conditioned, but perhaps more importantly, it gave her a break from a travel softball calendar that rarely slows down.

“A lot of girls only play softball now, and they get burnt out,” she said. “During basketball season, I actually missed softball. I missed being on the field and being with my teammates. I think that helped me keep loving the game.”

Growing up in Southington didn’t hurt, either.

One of Connecticut’s most tradition-rich softball programs, the Blue Knights have long expected championships, not hoped for them.

“Every year the goal is a state championship,” Poutouves said. “That’s just what Southington softball is. The competition inside the program pushes everyone to get better because if you want to play, you have to earn it.”

Hoag believes Poutouves embodies exactly what has made the Blue Knights one of Connecticut’s premier programs.

“She’s fiercely competitive,” Hoag said. “She’s kind of the perfect all-around softball player. She can hit for power, she creates havoc on the bases and she’s the kind of player you want at the top of your lineup.”

While her athletic ability is obvious to anyone who watches her play, Hoag says the biggest reason Poutouves earned the opportunity to continue her career at Bentley happened long before the first pitch.

“Everybody goes to practice,” Hoag said. “The kids who go on to play in college are the ones doing the extra. They’re in the gym, they’re hitting, they’re putting in the work when nobody is watching. Alexa did all of those things.”

Hoag paused before adding one final thought: “She put the work in. She did the little things that most coaches never get to see.”

Now, after helping carry on Southington’s championship tradition while carving out her own legacy, Poutouves is ready for the next chapter.

One built around business classes, Boston, Bentley… and, of course, softball.

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