SB: Reed, Schaper Relishing Final Games Together

Kentucky softball standouts Katie Reed and Jenny Schaper have known each other since they were 12 years old. The pair first met when they played together on a summer travel team in the St. Louis area.

Now, after nearly 10 years as teammates, the two are approaching their final days of playing together. Within the next few weeks, the UK softball season will come to a close, and with it, the era of Reed and Schaper being on the same team will end.

Schaper’s first memory of Reed was more about her physical stature than her playing ability.

“I had been on the team the year before, then she joined,” Schaper said. “From what I can remember, she was really, really small. She was a little bit more quiet back then, a little more reserved.”

Reed remembers how the team took her in immediately.

“Everyone was so welcoming, so nice and, at a young age, wanted to compete and loved softball,” Reed said.

Reed and Schaper would play together every summer for the next four years as teammates with the St. Louis Chaos. But as they approached their college decisions, it appeared that the two would not only go their separate ways, but that they would be playing against each other in a fierce rivalry.

“I actually wasn’t supposed to come here,” Reed said. “Coach (Rachel) Lawson had recruited Jenny, but I ended up committing to Louisville. I always wanted to play in the SEC, but there wasn’t interest from Coach Lawson in the beginning.”

That’s when fate stepped in.

“After there was a coaching change at Louisville, Coach Lawson kind of came back in the picture,” Reed said. “She had continued to watch our games because Jenny was committed here. So, I’m thankful that Jenny was committed here because it brought Coach Lawson to our games.”

Schaper remembers exactly when she heard the news about Reed committing to Kentucky.

“I actually remember the day, we were in Oklahoma City during our last summer of softball,” Schaper said. “She came into my hotel room and said ‘I need to talk to you about something. I think I’m going to come to Kentucky with you.’ And that was a big moment for us. I could not have been happier than when that happened.”

As the two came to Lexington, their bond and their friendship began to blossom. Reed and Schaper leaned on each other as they made the transition from high school to college.

“When you start something new, it’s kind of scary, so, it was more comfortable having a friend here,” Reed said. “We were friends, but we weren’t closest friends on our (travel) team. But once we got here, our relationship and friendship took off, so we’ve grown a lot together.”

Schaper relied on Reed not only for friendship, but for transportation during her freshman year.

“I didn’t have my car, so I was dependent on her,” Schaper said. “We kind of did everything together. I know that fall, we were feeling a little homesick, so we rode home one weekend together.”

Now, after four years of playing together at Kentucky, their time together is winding down. Reed plans to attend dental school at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall, while Schaper will return to UK to work on a master’s degree in counseling. But prior to that, the duo will lead the Cats into the NCAA Super Regionals, where they face Washington beginning on Friday in Seattle. If the Cats can win two out of three in the series, UK would make its second-ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series.

Reed and Schaper are cognizant of the fact that their time together is coming to an end.

“We’ve talked about it a little bit,” Reed said. “It’s sad and it’s going to be a change because we’ve been together for so long. We’ve been roommates and so I see her every single day, so that’s going to be an adjustment. But that’s just something about growing up and becoming an adult.”

Schaper hopes to provide a perfect finish for herself, Reed and the rest of the team.

“I just hope to enjoy it,” Schaper said. “We’ve all been good about taking in the moment. Just having fun and trying to do the best we possibly can. We both want the same thing, to get to Oklahoma City, and if we can do it together…”

It would indeed be a storybook ending for the St. Louis natives.