Prior to the 2008 season, the New England Patriots were 16–0, just barely missing a perfect season after losing the Super Bowl. But in the first game of the following year, their star quarterback, Tom Brady, went down with a torn ACL and MCL, instantly changing the trajectory of the team’s season. At Trinity Prep, the stakes were much smaller, yet losing senior McKenna Hawley changed the progression of their 2026 season.
Hawley has been on varsity since middle school, has committed to the University of Central Florida (UCF), and has led the Trinity softball team in both performance and leadership. Entering her senior year, the team was built around her presence in the circle.
“She’s been on the team since she was in sixth grade, was a starter in sixth grade,” head coach Becky Starling said. “She’s been one of the leading players since she was a little kid.”
Hawley’s injury stemmed from a dislocation sustained while sliding into third base during her junior season and seemed to be a one-time occurrence. Yet as the months passed and Hawley attempted to return to play, cycles of dislocation began to occur.
“I dislocated my shoulder and then just kept trying to use it, and it was just not working well,” Hawley said. “Then it re-dislocated while throwing a football, and the movement of my pitching kept straining it as the season progressed. By that point, doctors and physical therapists suggested surgery to make sure the dislocation didn’t keep happening.”
By the time her senior season arrived, surgery was no longer avoidable. McKenna’s doctor of physical therapy, Dr. Christine Denney, explained that surgical intervention was the only viable option to protect McKenna’s future as a pitcher.
“Once a shoulder dislocates, some of the soft tissue and sometimes the bone is damaged and makes the congruency of the joint less ideal,” Denney said. “The more times this occurs, the less stable the joint becomes … Eventually, surgical intervention is required for optimal stability, particularly if return to sport or longevity in the sport is desired.”
The timing of the surgery and the realization that McKenna would miss most of her senior season forced Starling to overhaul a schedule built around entirely different expectations.
“Before she had surgery, I had probably one of the most challenging schedules we’ve ever had, as we were expecting to be really good,” Starling said. “When I found out she was having surgery, I had to call all these schools and change everything in the late fall. We were supposed to have 25 games, and we’re only having 13 games this season.”
The impact was felt immediately inside the program. Roles shifted across the entire roster as players were asked to step into positions and responsibilities they had never had to own before.
“Roles definitely changed with almost everyone,” senior Emma Hartung said. “Practices looked different with the entire team trying out new positions and adjusting to better mindsets on being team players and adapting to new areas and positions.”
Hawley soon stepped into the role of an off-field captain, expanding her leadership influence beyond just a pitcher to include that of a coach and teammate.
“Hawley’s role as a captain has not changed just because she was injured,” Starling said. “She’s even calling pitches during the game and talking to pitchers about what pitch is working, what isn’t working, and how the batters can respond to pitches. So she’s really doing the role of a pitching coach that we don’t have on staff.”
Following surgery, McKenna’s recovery was slow to maintain the safety of her arm, yet she moved quickly along a linear progression from a therapy standpoint.
“The early stages are meant to protect the repair, prior to regaining voluntary control of the arm,” Denney said. “Pain was not really an issue for her at that time; it was more of a sensation of tightness.”
From there, Hawley was gradually weaned out of her sling and worked toward active movement before beginning a ramp-up program to return to pitching.
“Regaining her overall range of motion as well as observing any compensations with her shoulder were largely influential in determining her return to pitching live,” Denney said.
With around three weeks left in the 2025-2026 softball schedule and ahead of regionals, Hawley made her return to pitch live again.
“When Hawley came back, things started to shift for the better as the defense was seeing less balls and plays due to her pitching skills, which in turn helped us hit better and win games,” Hartung said.
For Hawley, the time away reshaped how she sees the game as she heads into her college career.
“I think if I hadn’t had that injury, I don’t know if my appreciation of softball would have continued as much as it did,” Hawley said. “It made me realize how much I really like the sport and how much I want to keep competing at it.”
With the last few games of the softball season, Starling echoed the confidence of the team from a season of adaptation and the comeback of Hawley imminent.
“I don’t think they’re going to leave anything on the field,” Starling said. “I think everybody’s going to give everything they have, especially knowing that McKenna worked so hard to get back to be on the mound. Because without her, it’s just not the same.”
