Senior Jessica Hawbaker is leaving State High in elite company. As a team captain and four-year varsity starter in both girls basketball and softball, Hawbaker moves on with a legacy of leadership and consistency.
Her level-headed consistency has been a presence on both the basketball court and softball field. Fellow senior Annika Bechtel has been a teammate of Hawbaker’s since sixth grade, and the two will be roommates at Penn State next fall.
“She’s just an amazing person, like the thing I admire most, especially in sports, is she can stay calm no matter what. Under pressure, big emotions, if you see Jess playing, no matter what sport, she’s always locked in,” Bechtel said. “I think that’s what makes her such a good athlete, teammate and player is she just never breaks, no matter what, you can always count on her.”
That stoic nature initially limited her leadership, but she evolved over the last four years into a strong leader on and off the field.
“She has really grown; she did not talk a lot as a freshman,” State High softball head coach Courtney Morrison said. “Every year, we have pushed her to have a voice a little bit more, to bring her teammates with her because she does set such a high standard.”
“My freshman year, my basketball coaches would always say I was this timid, shy, little girl who never talked, never really said anything, and I think over the last four years I’ve been able to grow into myself and be able to speak up and talk and become more of this leader,” Hawbaker said. “[Sports have] really made me grow as a person, and I think that carries over from the field, the court, to the classroom and every other situation I’ve encountered.”
Throughout her four years at State High, Hawbaker has also grown as an athlete. In her freshman season, Hawbaker’s batting average was .362 with a .469 on-base percentage, and those jumped to .446 and .507 as a sophomore. She also anchored the infield as the starting shortstop, earning All-Mid-Penn first team honors in 2023 and second team honors in 2022.
On the basketball court, Hawbaker’s name is etched in 11 categories of the State High girls basketball record book. She is sixth in career steals with 184, eighth in career assists with 240 and scored 620 total points throughout her four years. Hawbaker was also named to the All-Mid-Penn Third Team in her senior year and was an honorable mention as a sophomore.
“She brought so much [on the court], not only was she such a great leader, like she was our captain for a while, but she just was the glue to everything. We knew if we had Jess we’d be fine,” Bechtel said.
While the basketball and softball teams have strong leaders ready to step up, Hawbaker’s steady leadership has been an instrumental piece in building both programs through thick and thin. As she leaves State High behind, Hawbaker will keep sports in her life by playing club softball and intramural basketball at Penn State. The legacy that Hawbaker hopes to leave is one of hard work and leadership, not only on the court or field, but in the classroom and her community.
“I just hope that when people look back and think of me and my four years here, they think of the type of leader I was and hopefully the positive influence I had on them and the impact,” Hawbaker said. “I hope they think I was a hard worker and I hope they can look up to me and feel free to ever reach out to me, and I’ll always be there for all the younger girls.”
