When UCF Softball pitcher Alea White hangs up her jersey at the end of the 2021 season, she will do so as the Knights' all-time winningest pitcher.
With 79 career victories, White is now just one win shy from tying Shelby Turnier for the all-time record, and just two away from taking sole possession of first place with 81 career wins.
"Alea is one of the heartbeats of this team. She is the rock and she is the face of the program," said UCF Softball head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "No doubt among anybody on the team, Alea outworks not only herself, but everyone in our program and most people in the nation.
"Her ability to mix pitches and throw all pitches, I haven't coached many pitchers that can do what she does. Alea continues to strive for such a high level and has gotten better every year since I've been here, even in her fifth year this year, the fact that she is still getting better is just awesome to witness."
With 11 wins under her belt just halfway through the 2020 season, White was on pace to claim the record before the cancellation of the season due to COVID-19.
"When our season got cancelled, Alea was only four games shy of breaking the record, so we were all devasted when we heard the news that we were done in 2020, but I think Alea was more upset that she didn't get to finish out an amazing season with such a special group of players," said Ball-Malone.
"When I called her to tell her she would get another year, she told me she had been praying that we would get another shot to all play together. So, for Alea, it has never been about breaking records. It's been about being able to complete what she started here, being able to compete with her teammates and continuing to grow with all of us."
This past summer, White, along with two other senior teammates accepted the extra year of eligibility to return to UCF for the 2021 season.
"I knew coming into college that I wanted to be given the opportunity to play all four years and to make the best impact I could," said White. "I don't really look at the stats or anything. I just love to play the game and play with the girls behind me."
White already owns several other top-10 program career records at UCF as well, including ERA (2.36), strikeouts per seven innings (4.85), innings pitched (767) and appearances (143) just to name a few. During the 2020 season, she tossed three complete game shutouts and was named American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 10), marking the ninth time she earned the award in her career. Despite all of that, White knew she wasn't done at UCF.
To nobody's surprise, coach Ball-Malone called on White to the start in the circle for UCF on Opening Day 2021 against FGCU on the road. White dominated, tossing a complete game shutout, the 19th of her career.
"Alea's ability to mix pitches and throw all pitches, I haven't coached many pitchers that can do what she does. Alea continues to strive for such a high level and has gotten better every year since I've been here, even in her fifth year this year, the fact that she is still getting better is just awesome to witness," said Ball-Malone.
What White has accomplished is impressive in itself, but even more so when you realize the adversity that she has gone through to get to the point she is at today.
"I was born just one and a half pounds," said White. "I was supposed to be blind and paralyzed. I was supposed to have Cerebral Palsy and the doctors told my parents that I would not see the difference between light and darkness.
"I wear the number 27 because I was on life support for 27 days until I could breathe on my own. I know that I am here for a reason and that drives me. I'm just using softball and this opportunity here at UCF as my platform to show it."
White's parents will be in the stands when she captures wins number 80 and 81.
"I think it will be very special for them because of how I was born and how my life started," said White. "They have been through a lot, so I think it will be a special moment for all of us and I'm just glad we will all get to be there together."
Despite the challenges she has had to overcome, White has already cemented herself as one of the greatest to ever wear the black and gold. There's no saying for certain when she will break the record. It could come as soon as her next outing, presumably against New Mexico State, but when it does happen, White will only strengthen her legacy at UCF.
"Honestly, I am trying my best not to think about it. My goal is just to go game by game and enjoy every moment, and whenever it happens, it happens," said White.
"I am honestly just so grateful for the opportunity, grateful for Shelby and Mackenzie to set the standard so high and set that bar so high for me to just want to chase that. So, I just want to give a big shoutout and thank you to them. I am just grateful to be recognized and honored with them because they set that bar so high."
When White finishes her career at UCF as the Knights' all-time winningest pitcher, the bar will be even higher.