By: Matt Florjancic '07
BEREA, Ohio – “No matter where.” Those three words are tattooed on the left forearm of Baldwin Wallace University softball senior first base/designated hitter Avery Curran (Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA/Resurrection Catholic), but they might as well be emblazoned on her heart, as they represent friendship and family. Along with several teammates from the record-setting 2025 Yellow Jackets softball team, Curran got the tattoo to symbolize the bond built with her friends after she transferred from California University of Pennsylvania. “Luckily, I met Maddie Lester, and she was my best friend there,” Curran said. “She had known Lucia Wolford and Gillian Ryser from summer ball here, and they’re like, ‘Come to BW. Come to BW.’ “We both entered the portal together and came here. They said the atmosphere here was just so incredible, ‘It’s so relaxed. Everyone’s having fun, and that’s why we win. It’s fun.’ We all come here, and we’re fun. We all hang out every day outside of softball. It’s such a great time here. It’s been the best three years of my life, honestly.”
No Matter What
In addition to being there to help welcome her to the Yellow Jackets softball team, current and former players gave Curran the kind of support required to get through a season-ending injury in 2025. During preseason practice, Curran took infield work as she normally would, but that was the final time her right (throwing) shoulder “felt normal” for quite some time. After waking up the next day with “the most excruciating pain in my shoulder,” Curran went through a battery of tests, only to find out that she suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum. “Honestly, from the start, when you tear your shoulder playing an overhand sport, I didn’t know if I was even going to be able to play, so it was a lot of hard work on my end from the rehab side of things,” Curran said. “With the new girls we got this year, and then, a combination of our entire team, we all just kind of rallied together, and they were my biggest support system and biggest cheerleaders who just continue to encourage me every day. “I went to the cage with them. They’re all the ones who made me better, and in the end, they took the reps with me. They’re always there to support me. Honestly, it was my team.”
Supporting the Team
Rather than undergoing immediate surgery, Curran stayed with the Yellow Jackets throughout the 2025 season and repaid the support she got after suffering the injury. Despite Curran being out of the lineup, BW posted a program-best 32-6 record and 15-1 mark in Ohio Athletic Conference play. The Yellow Jackets won their first OAC Regular-Season Championship and played three games in the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament. “It did teach me a big lesson though because I realized I could help in different ways, not necessarily on the field,” Curran said. “I was still there to support them every day. I showed up every day, every practice, every game. I was still here, and I was just able to give them that verbal and that teammate support that we need. “That’s so crucial, and so many of these girls are so great at it. Then, I was able to come back this year and give them more support on the field in addition to that, so I was able to just expand my game. I think I’m better for it in the end, honestly.”
Surgical Intervention
Following the conclusion of the 2025 season on May 16, Curran returned to her hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. There, she had surgery on May 31st, which was done by Dr. Jason Smith, a consulting orthopedic surgeon for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. After surgery, Curran spent six weeks with her right arm in an immobilizing sling with an ice machine constantly running to help in recovery. What followed was the start of physical therapy, where Curran said “even moving it is terrifying.” “It was so scary because I hadn’t done it in six weeks,” Curran said. “Initially, it was a lot of manual manipulation from the physio. Then, we gradually moved to bands, and then, strengthening as much as we could until we had the complication. Then, one steroid shot later and more strengthening. Here we are today.”
Early Setback
During the physical therapy portion of the recovery process, Curran experienced Adhesive Capsulitis, which she described as “a frozen shoulder.” Because the joint was in a sling and not used regularly for six weeks, it was stuck. A catcher for most of her career, Curran said getting back to throwing and hitting was “a huge, huge hill to overcome.” “I couldn’t lift my arm above my head,” Curran said. “It was way too much pain to be four months out and five months out. We started looking into things, and then, Adhesive Capsulitis came up. In December, right before I went home for Christmas break, I got the steroid shot. “Then, I’m like, ‘I need to be in Florida for my team. I need to be playing in March for my team.’ “Basically, I did a four-month throwing program in three weeks. It was stressful also because I didn’t know what my role was going to be on the team. Coach was able to give me some reps at first, obviously way less stress on my arm, and then, DHing as well. We were able to adapt and make sure that my shoulder wasn’t going to flare up again.”
In-Season Success
Curran has done far more than just being in Florida with her team when the Yellow Jackets got the season underway. Heading into this weekend’s Ohio Athletic Conference Softball Tournament, Curran leads the third-seeded Yellow Jackets and is third in the league with a .475 batting average (38 hits in 80 at-bats). Additionally, she has five doubles with nine home runs (second-most in the OAC and on the team), 32 runs batted in and 14 walks drawn. Curran’s production has been a welcome addition to a lineup that lost six seniors to graduation following the 2025 season. “It’s awesome, honestly,” Curran said of her success. “It’s great. Obviously, the numbers are great to see, and it’s awesome to be there for my team and just to help us win because we are, it’s such a special program at BW. The past few years I’ve been here have been incredible. “It’s great to just be able to show, ‘Hey, we are still BW. We are still great.’ Then, it’s just having success and confidence, like ‘I know I can do this. I know I’m better than the pitcher out there.’ I just want to be contagious to our team also. Everything I do, I want them to do. I just want success for everyone.”
Difference Maker
When the Yellow Jackets added Curran to the program through the transfer portal, Coach Tom Spencer and his staff knew they were getting a top-of-the-order hitter who had power. After missing Curran’s bat in the lineup for all of the 2025 season, there was hope that she would be able to step up and replace some of the production lost to graduation. However, even Spencer admits that expectation was “not to this extent.” “It’s unbelievable how she’s stepped up,” Spencer said. “She’s gotten clutch hit after clutch hit. We went down to Capital, and she couldn’t make it because of a requirement for graduation. We had multiple instances where she would have been up in the lineup, and we lost both games by one run. I firmly believe if she was there, we’re getting at least one of those games, if not two. She’s just been unbelievable this year. “We knew she could hit. That was her strength coming in here when she transferred. I thought, ‘Well, Avery could hit seven to eight home runs,’ but I never expected her to hit seven to eight home runs and hit about .500. Simple answer is I expected her to hit well, but not nearly to the extent. I don’t think any coach ever expects a girl to hit nine, 10 home runs and hit .500. That’s very unusual.”
Leaving Home
Curran wants success for her team, but also, to make everybody back home proud, too. Along with her teammates, the “No Matter Where” tattoo accurately describes her family bond. She is extremely close to her father’s parents, Janet and Bill, whom she affectionately calls Nana and Papa. “My grandparents are over on the weekends watching our games, a watch party,” Curran said. “They’re the biggest support system ever. They’re my first call on the way to my car after a game. “My grandparents are my best friends, and they don’t have passports, so they can’t come. Every time I go home, it’s not easy leaving, but then, every time I leave here, it’s not easy going home. I’ve just created such a great family here that I’m lucky and so grateful that family is in both areas now. “All the parents here, they all say I’m their adopted child. I have family here, and I have family at home now, too. It’s only five hours, so I’ve been able to make the drive. My parents have been up to quite a few games, so we’ve really made it work. I FaceTime all the time, so it hasn’t been as bad as I thought, and I’m glad I’m not too far from home also.” Family means so much to Curran that she finds reminders of those lost loved ones just walking across campus. Shortly after Curran transferred to Baldwin Wallace, she lost her maternal grandmother, Laurel. However, there are many times where her grandmother makes her presence known. “She was a huge Blue Jays fan, so baseball was her thing,” Curran recalled. “Actually, it’s ironic. I transferred to Ohio, and Ohio’s State Bird is a cardinal. That was her favorite bird. Every day, at every hard thing, I would see a cardinal. It was nice, like I know she’s there watching me, and I’m just so glad that I can succeed for her, too.”
Family Comes First
Family is a big reason why Curran took a chance on transferring and came to Baldwin Wallace. Curran grew up in a family of baseball fans, and her father, Randy, represented Team Canada in the 1988 Olympics. Curran honors her father by wearing his old number, 22. “He had a lot of success in his baseball career, so I think that was a big deciding factor,” Curran said. “He traveled the world to play, and so, I’ve just always wanted to be like him. He’s taught me so much. My swing is almost exactly like his. He’s been such a big inspiration and driver. I just always wanted to be like him.”
Future Plans
Curran is days away from graduating from Baldwin Wallace with a degree in biology and minor in neuroscience. Curran will weigh her options for the post-playing days, which includes going to Physician Assistant School in the United States. However, before then, she is hopeful to take her redshirt year from the injury-ended 2025 season and give it one more run with the Yellow Jackets while turning her minor into a second major. “I just love softball, love playing,” Curran said. “We step on the field, and everything is gone. It’s so much fun to be here. Going up to the plate, there’s not a single thought in my mind. It’s just going with the plan in place. That’s the only thing I’ve got going, and I just hit the ball.”
Credits:
Matt Florjancic '07