Through her years playing T-ball, travel ball, and high school softball, Amberly Waits often wore jersey number “1.” Sometimes number “5.”  When she arrived at Louisiana Tech to play for the Lady Techsters, a coach directed her to a pile of uniforms.

“Find one that fits,” she was told.

Her choice, number “5,” was already taken by another player. She preferred a single digit number and only “1” remained. With no specific meaning behind the choice, she took it.

The selection was prophetic. Number one is where Waits would end her career in a multitude of statistical categories as the most prolific offensive player in Lady Techsters softball history.

Now Waits is only the fourth player from the 39-year-old Tech softball program to be inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame. The three-time all-conference and three-time all-state performer was named the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, becoming the first Lady Techster to ever earn the league’s highest honor. Also named Academic All-WAC three times, Waits led Tech to the 2008 WAC Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA regionals for the first time since 1995.

When Waits was signed by Tech, head coach Sarah (Dawson) Kerr said, “Amberly’s speed will put a lot of pressure on opponents’ defenses. She is versatile from the left side; she can bunt, slap and hit for power. She will be a great defensive asset as well.”

Kerr was correct.

Nine seasons after Waits’s Lady Techster career ended, many of her records still stand. They are almost too numerous to list. She still holds the program career marks in batting average (.386), hits (262), home runs (36), triples (19), total bases (455), RBIs (160) and slugging percentage (.671).

Waits ranks second all-time in doubles (47) and third in runs scored (145). Tenth in career stolen bases (51) may not seem impressive until you consider there’s less need for stealing when you’re hitting so many doubles, triples and homers.

Among her single season stats, Waits holds the number one position for batting average (.488), hits (81), triples (10), home runs (17), total bases (155), RBIs (62) and slugging percentage (.934).

Making her stats even more impressive: she battled numerous injuries during her time at Tech. A high school knee injury plagued her throughout her collegiate career. She played with two broken fingers on her throwing hand. She played tough. Waits always had the dirtiest uniform at the end of the game.

“I don’t know how many times Amberly had an injury wrapped up under her uniform,” Kerr recalled. “She never complained.” 

Kerr recruited Waits to Tech.

“I remember watching her skills tape. Amberly was very athletic,” said Kerr. “Fast and strong. She possessed pure athleticism. Some big schools lost interest in recruiting her after she tore her ACL in high school which gave us a chance to bring her to Tech. And she had a great career with us.”

In high school, Waits was mostly a left-handed slapper playing outfield, hitting only four home runs in her four years at Cleburne (TX) High School. A natural righty, she taught herself to bat left-handed to assure her a spot in the high school lineup. Tech’s talented outfield was set, so Kerr wanted to see what Waits could do at other positions. An injury provided an opening at shortstop, and Waits would secure it for the next four years at Tech.

Waits came to Tech with plenty of athletic ability but a bit short on confidence.

“That was my weakness as a freshman,” the Hall of Fame inductee said. “I struggled with confidence my freshman year having never played shortstop. But confidence and hitting are the areas I improved in the most during my time at Tech.”

Kerr found her new shortstop to be reserved as a freshman.

“She was a quiet kid; she would come to practice, get her work done,” said Kerr.  

Eventually Waits used her voice more and more as that confidence grew.

 “Amberly had incredible range at shortstop,” Kerr said.

The area Waits had to work on throughout her career was what happened after she fielded the ball, occasionally having difficulty taming her outfielder arm for throws to first.

“I really struggled with throws to first as a freshman,” Waits admitted.

Her range as a shortstop also played a role. The ability to get to grounders so far away from her playing position meant making the throws was even harder.

“Sometimes I shocked myself, looking down to see where I was after I made the throw,” she said. “I spent a lot of time working on those throws, trying to get them to first and not over the fence into the parking lot.”

“Amberly worked to solidify her entire game,” Kerr said. “She often stayed after practice to field four or five buckets of balls to get better at her craft. She knew she had something special and wanted to improve. She kept raising the bar for herself.”

Former Lady Techster second baseman Heather (Doiron) Girod is excited over her shortstop’s induction into the Hall of Fame, recalling Waits as an exemplary teammate. As the middle infielders, the two worked closely on the field and became good friends outside the game.

“I remember Amberly being super welcoming when I first got to Tech as a freshman,” Girod said. “I was really homesick the first few months, and she was always checking in on me to see how I was doing. She was super friendly from the first time I met her and made an effort to go out of her way to get to know the freshmen.”

“To be a college athlete in general, you need to be a hard worker and Amberly was super dedicated to the softball program,” Girod said. “Amberly’s work ethic definitely showed in her stats. She also encouraged her teammates to be better; if you were having a rough day at practice, she would be the one patting you on the back telling you to shake it off and get the next one.”

Tech pitchers liked having Waits’s defense behind them.

 “Amberly is the kind of player every pitcher dreams of having on the field,” said former Lady Techster Courtney Avery. “While I was in the circle, I knew she was there to back me up on plays and back me up in spirit.”

“What stands out to me is Amberly’s work ethic,” Kerr said. “She was a hard worker. I can’t say that enough. She was a great teammate. She wanted to be first, but she put the team first. Some players are satisfied with talent and don’t work hard. She did the work.”

Teammates still admire Waits’s prowess with a bat.

“Amberly was the player you wanted at the plate when the game was on the line,” Girod said. “We all knew when Amberly swung the bat, it was going to have a huge impact on the game. Every year, she continued to get us out of jams and hit that RBI or homerun to get us ahead. Her swing looked so effortless; the ball just shot off her bat every time.”

Kerr agreed. “The ease with which she did things was impressive. She was so consistent. She did the work to reach that point. Amberly never shirked the big situations.” 

“I lost count of how many homeruns she hit,” Girod said. “I assume the pitchers we faced in conference hated when she was at the plate because they already knew the majority of the time, she would win the battle. And she did. It didn’t matter who we were playing or what type of pitching we faced...LSU, Fresno, Hawaii ... she continued to hit the ball with so much power and consistency.” 

“At any point we were down during a game, Amberly could change it in just one swing or one play,” said Girod. “Her ability to hit the long ball was so impressive. She didn’t just hit home runs, she hit line drives and shots over the fence. It almost got to the point where you expected her to hit every time we played. Her hand-eye coordination was unreal and it seemed like she got on base every time she was at the plate.

“Amberly was the player you wanted at the plate in every situation. She had such a gigantic impact on Louisiana Tech softball when she played. She literally left her mark all over the record books.”

Waits was drafted eighth overall in the 2010 National Pro Fastpitch softball draft by the Chicago Bandits. She played in the professional league for one year before returning to the Dallas area to pursue a business career.

When Waits began dating future husband John Harper of Ruston, she told him she had played a little softball at Tech. Ever modest about her athletic achievements, she pretty much left it at that. It wasn’t until John met the family and her father touted her records and accolades that John learned his future wife was one of the best to ever play the game at Tech.

Heather Girod described the significance of Waits’s induction into Tech’s exclusive athletic club.

“The Hall of Fame is for the most elite players who not just mastered their sport,” Girod said, “but crushed records and was a huge threat to the opposing team. These athletes are players you want in the nail biting, potential game-changing situations because they come up so clutch. This describes Amberly perfectly. She will always be remembered by her teammates as someone who had a huge impact on the game and our success as a team.”

“I’ve never met anyone with Amberly’s drive and dedication,” said Avery. “I am honored to have called her a teammate.”

Waits said she was “shocked” to learn of her induction into the Tech Athletic Hall of Fame.

“I didn’t expect it to ever happen,” she said, even after friends had told her the sheer number of records she broke made the honor a good possibility.

Again, her humility won’t let her flaunt her accomplishments.

“The Hall of Fame is such an honor and a blessing; I don’t know what to say,” she said.” It means so much to my family. They sacrificed so much to allow me to play softball. And I hope it means a lot to my teammates. They are part of this.”

Her only disappointment—that her grandfather who first played ball with her as a toddler can’t share the moment.

“He wanted the chance to see me play a game I loved,” Waits said. “I started playing on a Little League team at four, and that was the only season he got to see before he lost his battle with cancer. He would be thrilled about this honor.”

Waits works for LeadsOnline, a national online investigative system used by more than 4,000 law enforcement agencies to recover stolen property and solve crimes. Amberly and her husband John live in Princeton, Texas.

Since Waits last took off the number “1” jersey in 2010, it has not been used by Lady Techster softball.

Amberly Waits is still number one.