West Made Creighton Her Home Behind the Plate

In the recent history of Creighton softball, few players have embodied the program's evolution as completely as senior catcher Lily West. It started with 58 hits her freshman year, the third-most hits in a single season by a freshman in program history. Then came the milestones: 100 career hits in two years, a 64-hit junior season that made her the first player in 15 years to complete a 50-plus hit season three times, and three BIG EAST championship game appearances in four years.
But ask West about all these accolades herself, and she'll tell you it's not about that at all.

"I'm really strong in my faith, and so I know that the story God has written for me is already done," said West. "All I can do is take the positive steps to fulfill his purpose for me and my life and be a great teammate."

That grounded perspective was forged in the heart of softball country. Growing up in Choctaw, Oklahoma — just an hour from the College Softball World Series — West was constantly surrounded by the sport's highest standard.

"My birthdays fall on the Women's College World Series every year, and going to games was all I would ask for," remembered West. "I was fortunate to watch so many great players, not only their game, but the way they carried themselves and the way they spoke. I've had really great idols growing up that pushed me to want to be just like that."

While West spent countless birthdays marveling at the poise of her softball idols, including Lauren Chamberlain, other early days were spent refining her competitive edge in an unconventional way: on the baseball diamond.

"My parents put me in the sport when I was four, and I actually didn't play with girls," recalled West. "I played with all boys, so that definitely made my competitive edge come out at an early age, being the only girl. I've loved softball ever since. Later on, I tried other sports, but I was never really as good or as passionate at other sports as I was with softball."

A young West had found her calling between the white lines of the diamond, and those early dreams were reinforced just as strongly at home as on the field.

West's mom, Tiffany, had played softball through high school, and her dad, Lance, was his daughter's hitting coach through her senior year.

It was Lance who also played a part in dictating West's view of the field. Though the Oklahoma native began her journey on the pitcher's mound, her path would soon take her behind home plate, the last place that any of the kids her age wanted to play.

"I started as a pitcher, but nobody ever wanted to catch, so my dad was like, 'You're getting back there,'" said West. "I didn't really have a choice, but now I just love it. I take a lot of pride in defense and my relationship with the pitching staff and being a leader and the person who sees the whole field. You're doing the dirty work, but I think it's rewarding, to say the least."

This parental guidance soon became vital, as the game transitioned from a childhood passion to a high-stakes pursuit. By eighth grade, West was already reeling from the pressure of the NCAA recruiting cycle.

Before the rules were changed to prevent early recruitment, a 12-year-old West was navigating the nerves of being watched by college coaches and comparing her talent to those around her, a reality that forced her to grow up faster.

"It's crazy to go through this being just 12 or 13 and being in eighth grade," West said. "But I think that changed my work ethic and drive because when I was 12 years old, I wasn't the biggest kid, I wasn't developed and there were some girls that were bigger and stood out more. I would get discouraged when I wasn't getting the same looks as them."

To West's relief, the NCAA implemented a rule change a year later, pushing back recruitment efforts until players' junior year in high school and allowing her to grow as a player and person before navigating the next phase of her career. Even with more time to develop before the time came to make her college decision, West's path to Omaha was anything but linear.

By the time she reached the end of her senior year at Choctaw High School in 2022, West had been committed to Stephen F. Austin State University for two years and was ready to begin her next chapter in Texas.

It wasn't until the summer before she was set to pack her bags that plans abruptly changed.

"The summer of moving in, the coaching staff at Stephen F. Austin left and took a job at the University of New Mexico," recalled West. "I had been committed to that coach for two years at that point. I had a pretty good relationship, so I was devastated … and [the new coaching staff] was just a bit of a different vibe, so I decided to open my recruitment back up."

That devastation, however, turned out to be the catalyst for West's legacy at Creighton. In June of 2022, Krista Wood was hired as the head coach of Creighton softball, the same time that West's commitment to Stephen F. Austin changed. The two worlds soon collided, as Wood was on the hunt for a catcher and West was looking for the next step on the road ahead.

It was Wood's forthrightness about the Creighton softball program she hoped to create and the place that West could have in building that legacy that ultimately convinced the Oklahoma native to choose the Bluejays.

"She showed a lot of honesty about what she expected for the program, and she told me, 'By your junior or senior year, we're going to be competing for a title.' She did it even faster than that," said West. "That's what I really respected about her was [her saying], 'It might not happen this very first year, but we're going to build and continue to grow.'"

Two months later, West stepped on Creighton's campus, over seven hours from home. While the distance felt daunting at times, the transition was eased by a team culture being fostered right before West's eyes, one that prioritized team connection even more than on-field contributions.

"Having all the girls was great, and our coaching staff was very welcoming," said West. "We did team dinners at Coach Wood's house and little fun things that take your mind off the fact that you're seven hours away from home for the first time in your life."

Finding her footing off the field was only half the battle; West also had to navigate a fundamental shift in her identity as an athlete coming into the college world.

"I knew as a freshman at Creighton that vocal leadership wouldn't be my role," recalled West. "I needed to prove myself in other ways, physically or by example. Learning how to lead by example rather than vocally and then gaining that trust and respect from my teammates to eventually get to a leadership role … was definitely the hardest transition for me."

West's freshman season, however, proved how undeterred the catcher was by the new challenges she faced. As one of just two Bluejays to start all 53 games, West proved she belonged in the starting lineup, recording a .335 batting average — second-best on the team — and 53 hits.

While the team remained in the rebuilding phase, going 22-31 overall in the 2023 campaign, the pieces had begun to fall into place. For West, the transition into her second year with the team — after having a successful first year break — required a different kind of growth.

"I had a fairly good freshman year, and I think it can be mentally challenging to go into your next year thinking, 'I need to match this or be better than this,'" explained West. "I really wanted to just mentally prepare myself and be a good teammate and build bonds."

That focus on team success was a pivotal factor in what would become the first of multiple defining seasons during West's tenure at Creighton. With a blend of culture, selflessness and talent driving them, the 2024 Bluejays exceeded expectations and reached the championship game before ultimately falling to 1-seeded Villanova.

"We went from being, my freshman year, tied for last place in the whole country to then making a championship game," said West. "I think that just speaks for itself of how much we bought into what Coach Wood was saying, how good her coaching was, and how much she believed in us."

Individually, too, the sophomore had another successful season in the white and blue, starting all 58 games and collecting 60 hits, joining Cayla Nielson as the only Bluejays since Melanie Dorsey (2004–05) to post consecutive seasons with at least 58 hits.

These back-to-back dominant individual seasons provided West with the foundation, but it was the now-upperclassman's dedication to her role as a teammate that ultimately shifted her role in the dugout entering her third year.

"In my freshman and sophomore years, I did have good years, I had success, and I did prove myself, not even through that, but through my hard work outside of games," said West. "People did respect me and the way that I did things, and so it gave me to be able to speak out and give perspective to my teammates."

For West, finding her voice meant also learning the unique language of every player on the roster.

"I want to know how my teammates like to be spoken to, and I take the time to really know that," noted West. "Ashten Pierson, our shortstop, is my roommate and best friend. I know I can get after her a little bit, and that's what motivates her. Then, there are other girls I know that I should pull them to the side, away from everybody, and that's what's going to help them."

This approach to leadership, coupled with the unified culture Wood was bringing to life, became the backbone of the Bluejays' locker room, helping to steer Creighton right back to a second consecutive BIG EAST championship game appearance in 2025.

Though the season ended just short of the championship trophy, West's emotional investment in her teammates paid dividends not just for the team that season, but the bond they would take with them into her final year in the Bluejay uniform.

"We try to lead our teammates and guide them to know that they are prepared. They've worked hard for this moment, and it's going to show up and, fail or succeed, we're going to love you no matter what," emphasized West. "I think we played with zero fear of failure. We went out there, played our game, and came up short. … [But] nobody ever gave up, and nobody had a fear. We truly believe that we can win."

It was that culture of unconditional support that West carried into her senior season, defined as much by gratitude, reflection and friendships as it was by achieving success on the field.

"I've come to realize that it [my senior year] should just be enjoyed. If I spent the whole year worrying or pressing or trying to do things that are either meant to be or not meant to be, then I wouldn't truly be living up my last year to its full potential," reflected West. "I do make an effort to joke around with the girls as much as I can and make memories with them and really take a step back and be grateful for everything."

That support is easy to find on game days. Despite the 450 miles separating Omaha from Choctaw, her parents haven't missed a home series.

"My dad will send me a text during games after each at-bat, either good or bad, and then sometimes during a home series we'll go hit after the games," said West. "He's awesome. He's a great support system, and he always is encouraging and keeps me going. It's good to have a special bond with my dad through that."

That gratitude has allowed West to play her final games with a sense of peace that transcends the scoreboard. Though the trajectory of Creighton softball has been rewritten over the last four years, her 'story' and purpose don't just end with a legacy of wins.

"Those things [records and accolades] will come if they're meant to come, but all I want to do is just focus on being a great teammate, doing my job right and working hard," said West. "I don't fear failure because I know that my purpose is to be a light to others and if I can do that every day, then my goal is reached, no matter what the stat book says."

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