Brooke Teel’s journey to playing college softball wasn’t as quick as her on the basepaths.

After nine years of experience playing travel ball and as a Mexico Lady Bulldog, the senior signed on Wednesday at the Mexico Sports Complex to be part of the Central Methodist University program in Fayette. Teel has been a mainstay at the top of the Lady Bulldogs’ lineup this year, showcasing great speed with 21 stolen bases — without being caught — to go along with a .469 batting average and 24 runs scored.

Teel admitted she hadn’t planned on playing college softball, but her future seemed more apparent less than a year ago. She said Central Methodist has one of the better nursing programs in Missouri so having this education and a program that will allow her to continue her time on the field made the spot a good fit. The Eagles boast one of the better programs in the NAIA, regularly winning 40-50 games each season.

“I had amazing summer coaches, an amazing support group that pushed me toward that goal and I really worked hard for it,” Teel said. “They knew what I was capable of.”

Mexico head coach Hanna Branch has led the Lady Bulldogs for less than a season, but it is clear that Teel will be valuable at the college level. She said Teel’s leadership, character and work ethic are all strong and complement Teel’s great skills on the field.

“She’s a great player talent-wise, but whenever she does struggle, she’s always in it mentally,” Branch said. “She’s always consistent when it comes to offense, she’s really solid defensively and is someone you don’t have to worry about when the ball is hit her way, and she’s someone that will consistently get on base all the time. When she does get on base, she’s super-aggressive.”

Teel said she has high expectations for herself and didn’t think she was at that level but was eventually convinced she had what it took to be a college player. The foundation of her identity that made this next step possible was established about four to five years ago.

To best use her speed, Teel said she became a slap hitter — someone who slaps at the ball and simultaneously runs out of the batter’s box — at the urging of one of her travel coaches, Bob Cunningham. She said this change meant so much to her playing career as it highlighted her strengths and downplayed her weaknesses.

“When I started, I was not very good at hitting from the right side,” Teel said. “I am right-handed, but I was not very good at it and not very coordinated. He just told me to try it and see what happens. I switched over, my confidence went up, and I started getting on more and moved up to leadoff hitter on most of my teams. I’m so glad I made that decision because it definitely has helped my game.”

The fact Teel has thrived as a slap hitter shows great physical strength with her quickness, she said, but she knows that isn’t all that needs to be strong before she heads to the college level.

“I know the physical side is important and your skills are important, but you have to be strong mentally,” Teel said. “It’s really crucial. I’ve learned that over the past few years. My dad has pushed me to get stronger mentally, and in my opinion, if you have the mental side, the physical will follow.”

Mexico has two more college signings planned for next week as Karlee Sefrit will sign for softball on Wednesday and Mary Test will sign for volleyball on Friday. Both expect to start around 2:50 p.m.