Ottawa softball star Maura Condon graduating early, joining Division I Purdue

Great hitters such as Ottawa High School senior Maura Condon know that when they step into the batter's box, they need to be ready to swing big when an opportunity presents itself.

That's exactly what Condon did this week, announcing her decision to graduate a semester early from Ottawa, reclassify herself as a member of the Class of 2024 and sign a scholarship offer to join the Purdue University softball team for the upcoming spring season instead of waiting until after her senior season.

"This was my opportunity to go where I've been striving for, a DI program, a very good DI program, academics and athletics," Condon told Shaw Local News on Thursday, the day she announced her decision. "So it was like, 'This is my opportunity.'

"I didn't want to pass that up."

A high-end right-handed hitter and plus fielder at multiple positions, Condon was a Times All-Area and Interstate 8 Conference first-team selection her junior season after batting .320 with four home runs, 25 runs batted in and 33 runs scored for the Pirates. She hit .343 with five homers, 32 RBIs and 26 runs scored as a sophomore playing varsity.

In addition to playing the middle infield in high school and the outfield in travel ball, she also took the ball as a pitcher more often for the Class 3A regional champion Pirates this past spring by necessity and recorded a 10-4 record with 93 strikeouts over 71 innings pitched.

The Boilermakers are coming off a 25-26 season, including going 11-12 in the Big Ten Conference. With the way its recruiting classes were structured, offering Condon a spot as part of its 2024 group was a better fit on Purdue's end than waiting for her to graduate and be part of its 2025 recruiting class.

The upshot? Condon will graduate early and forego her senior season with the Pirates, who are coming off their seventh consecutive 20-win season and have won 3A regionals four of the past five postseasons .

It's a surprising, unusual turn of events, even in the wilder-by-the-day world of college sports recruiting. It's also, however, an opportunity Condon – whose communication with Purdue increased during her fall travel season with the elite Impact Caymol program out of Georgia, which had a couple other Purdue recruits on the roster – couldn't pass up.

"I think I would have regretted not taking it," Condon said. "Obviously, I'm a little sad that I don't get another [high school] season. That wasn't what I was expecting. But I think my coaches, this is what they've been preparing me for. Same with Ottawa, the high school. I don't think I'd be able to do [this without them]. They prepared me, pushed me, they've given me the foundation that I need to take this next chapter.

"When I told my coaches, it wasn't like, 'Darn.' They were excited for me, happy for me. A little sad, probably – definitely – but this is what they've been pushing me for. This is my dream."

"It's not quite common in the softball world," said Ottawa coach Adam Lewis, who knows the recruiting process well after guiding stepdaughter Sloan Gayan, also a Pirates star, to Division I Kentucky. "It's kind of an extenuating circumstance where Maura had to take the opportunity ...

"Her ability to hit for power and average is what sets her apart from other players. That would be the reason schools are after her, the way she hits, but defensively, being so versatile will help her get on the field earlier and get more opportunities to play. She really could play about anywhere on the field."

As happy as he and the program are for her, Lewis and the 2025 Pirates will obviously miss having the potential all-stater filling a key spot on their lineup card every day.

"We're ecstatic for Maura," Lewis said, "and at the same time, you know, it stinks for us. She's obviously one of the better players to ever come through the high school, so it's tough to only get her for three years. But she's got to do what's best for her. We completely understand that."

When she arrives in West Lafayette, Indiana, this winter, Condon plans to work hard and contribute to the Boilermakers program however she can.

"No starting spot is guaranteed," she said, "just help the team out any way that I'm needed. ... I'm not expecting [to walk in and start right away]. I definitely have to earn a spot where I'm needed. [They can] kind of just throw me in wherever they think is best."