Haylee Carpenter. Does the name ring a bell? You may recognize fifth-year Haylee Carpenter as one of the key faces of the Knox College women’s basketball and softball teams.

Whether it’s launching threes from 30-plus feet or hitting bombs out on the softball diamond, Carpenter is a prime example of a dual-sport athlete. While her talents in both basketball and softball grab the attention of many watching, there is a much deeper story behind what you see today.

After undergoing two Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgeries that sat her out of competition for more than two years, Carpenter’s journey through injuries redefines the meaning of perseverance.

As a first-year student-athlete, Carpenter looked to hit the ground running during her first campaign as a member of the Knox College women’s basketball team. But entering the college world of sports isn’t always smooth sailing, as Carpenter immediately realized that college sports was a different ballgame than high school.

“Coming into Knox, there were seven recruits in my class,” Carpenter explained. “I knew it was going to be very competitive coming in as a freshman. Then with Covid, we didn’t get the normal experience that every freshman got, so it was pretty weird.”

Carpenter had to quickly find a way to adjust to college athletics amid the Covid-19 pandemic. With a shortened three-game season, Carpenter saw action in all three games with a combined 19 minutes through three matches. Despite scoring only five points with limited minutes in her first-year campaign, Carpenter intended to explore familiar territory on the softball diamond for the upcoming spring season.

“I did not get to play my senior year of high school softball because of the pandemic,” Carpenter said. “I was not getting much playing time for basketball already, and my dad had been wanting me to play softball. So I set up a meeting with the softball coach.”

Although not recruited, Carpenter planned to earn her stripes as a walk-on for the Knox College softball team during the 2021 campaign. Carpenter quickly solidified herself as one of the important players for the softball team. As a first-year, Carpenter started all 28 games, finishing third on the team in batting (.254), hits (18), and RBIs (7). Having displayed her skills on the softball diamond, Carpenter still felt some unfinished business for her upcoming sophomore basketball season.

With an incredible work ethic in the off-season, Carpenter showed up for her sophomore campaign as a different player. With efficient production during pre-season practices, Carpenter’s impact on the offensive end earned her a spot in the starting five for the 2021-22 season opener against Augustana College (IL).

With a bright regular season, the Prairie Fire earned a bid to the Midwest Conference Tournament to compete for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. For Carpenter, her hard work had begun to pay off with an opportunity to accomplish something never done in school history. With a chance to compete for the first conference championship in school history, the Prairie Fire first faced a familiar foe—conference rival Monmouth College—in the semifinals of the 2021-22 Midwest Conference Tournament.

The Prairie Fire organized one last team practice before taking off to Ripon, WI, for the tournament. Carpenter approached this training session like every other, intending to put in quality work before an important match. Unfortunately for Carpenter, disaster struck as she dove for a loose ball along the sideline.

“I felt it right when I fell,” Carpenter said. “I was not able to get up and started to feel the pain more as the shock went away. I knew it wasn’t good because I had never felt that type of pain before.”

After being taken to the athletic training room, Carpenter’s knee pain continued to increase with no signs of slowing down. Carpenter, although unfamiliar with the extent of pain, definitely knew something was wrong. With swelling becoming more and more evident, Carpenter began to worry.

With an important decision to make with the semifinal two days away, Carpenter had to decide whether to take part in the semifinal or shut down her entire season early. With a champion’s mentality, Carpenter suited up for the semifinal.

Despite only participating in two minutes of the contest and the Prairie Fire falling short against Monmouth College, Carpenter embraced the challenge that day. Although hobbling on one leg in excruciating pain, Carpenter showed everyone that she was more than willing to lay it all on the line for her team, school, and anyone else supporting from afar.

With a confirmed ACL tear in her right knee, Carpenter would have to sit out the entire 2022 softball season. As a lengthy recovery process awaited Carpenter, she began her rehabilitation process immediately after her surgery.

Carpenter quickly realized the rehabilitation process isn’t glamorous, with an uncomfortable knee brace, early morning rehab exercises, and days when you can not get yourself going. Despite the battle, Carpenter found beauty within the struggle.

“When we broke down all the mechanics, I saw a lot of progress,” Carpenter said. “So when I started to feel more fluid and running normally, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

As the months went on, Carpenter found herself learning how to walk, run, and jump again. Knox College Associate Athletic Trainer Erica Witkowski worked closely with Carpenter to help rebuild her body for competitive play.

“She was very important,” Carpenter said. “I feel my experience would have been very different if my trainer had been somebody whom I didn’t trust or someone who didn’t know me. It was not just all physical, either. She definitely helped me with the mental aspect, too.”

Having sat out an entire year, Carpenter’s return date on the basketball court neared. With significant progress during the later stages of her rehab, Carpenter’s return to the court would arrive on December 30, 2022. With a matchup against 14th-ranked University of Chicago and her family in attendance, Carpenter finally suited up for the Prairie Fire for the first time in over a year.

As she waited patiently on the bench to be called in, her coach finally waved her towards the scorer’s table with nine minutes left in the second quarter. With her family cheering for her in the stands and teammates applauding, Carpenter checked into the game.

Adrenaline pumping, palms sweaty, and mixed emotions, Carpenter attempted to box out an incoming rebounder. Unfortunately, the opposing rebounder clipped her knee while chasing the board. Immediately, the same familiar pain that had sidelined Carpenter for over a year suddenly reappeared.

A wave of heat and excruciating pain suddenly rushed to Carpenter’s scarred knee as she lay on the hardwood. After realizing her inability to continue, Carpenter exited the game with discomfort in the previously injured right knee, ending her night prematurely.

Up to this point, the Knox women’s basketball team looked to be on track for one of its most successful seasons in program history. Carpenter, who had spent the past year working her way back physically to play with her beloved team, knew she had to make another difficult decision.

“110%, I knew there was something wrong with my knee,” Carpenter said. “But I also knew that we were at a place where we could go all the way. If it was going to be any year we won the championship, it was going to be that [2022-23] year. I would rather have the experience of winning a championship than taking the easy way out by not playing.”

After multiple talks with family and friends, Carpenter decided to ride out the rest of the season on one leg. She decided to take some inspiration from her childhood hero, Kobe Bryant, who once said, “No matter the injury, I’ll figure it out. I’ll make some tweaks, some changes, but I’m still coming.” Carpenter did just that, dropping 12 points (four 3-pointers) in 11 minutes against Cornell College, less than two weeks after re-tearing her ACL.

Even while limping across the court with a bulky, black knee brace, Carpenter learned to adapt and find new ways to succeed on the court with one intact knee.

“My teammates were always there,” Carpenter said. “They helped me a lot on defense because I could only run in a straight line. If I wanted to turn, I would have to hop on my other leg to turn. Even my coach helped because she would put us in a zone when I was on the court.”

With the Prairie Fire ending conference play as co-champions (15-1 conference record), Carpenter once again found herself approaching a conference semifinal matchup against Cornell College. Despite trauma from the year before, Carpenter one-upped her performance from earlier in the season, dropping 18 points (six 3-pointers) in a must-win semifinal match.

With Carpenter’s incredible shooting display in the semifinal, Knox set their eyes on the Midwest Conference Tournament Final, where they would face off against Ripon College. The odds were completely stacked against the Prairie Fire, who had only managed to defeat the Redhawks once in the past seven years (15 losses) leading up to that final.

Knox, however, did the unthinkable, defeating Ripon College 64-61, winning the first Midwest Conference Tournament title in program history. For Carpenter, the win meant more than just a trophy. It was a token demonstrating her resiliency and determination in times when many would’ve quit.

“The win validated my reasons for playing,” Carpenter expressed with a smile. “I felt it was incredibly special to share that win with my teammates, who knew I was playing hurt. Winning the first championship for the school, which had never been done before, made it even more special.”

With a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament just a week later, Carpenter still walked away thankful. Having decided to continue playing on a re-torn ACL, Carpenter finished the 2022-23 season with over 200 minutes played, 25 threes made, a Midwest Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Not bad, right?

Having the start of her softball season overlap with the end of her basketball campaign, Carpenter once again weighed out her options. Having already played the second half of the basketball season on a torn ACL, Carpenter contemplated doing the same for her softball season. With less physical toll on the body for softball, Carpenter had no intentions of sitting out the 2023 softball season.

“Coming off that high of winning a championship, I thought I could get through a softball season,” Carpenter explained. “Softball is less demanding on your body, with more ways to modify stuff. I made the decision knowing that if I did choose to play and later get surgery that summer, I would be out an entire year, most likely returning for a fifth year.”

Not knowing how much her knee could continue taking, Carpenter made it her mission to finish out the softball season at all costs. With a gutsy call to continue playing on her torn ACL, an athlete risks further damage to the ligaments and cartilage of the knee. Carpenter acknowledged the risk, accepting the repercussions if they were to present themselves.

Carpenter’s performance during the 2023 softball season propelled Knox to one of its highest points in recent history. Even with a late arrival to the season due to her overlapping basketball season, Carpenter led the Prairie Fire to one of the most successful seasons, tallying 13 wins (most wins in 20 years). Carpenter led the team in OPS (.820), ranked second in both batting average (.327) and runs scored (16), and finished first on the squad with 10 doubles — a mark that also ranked seventh in the conference.

After such a successful junior year for Carpenter in both basketball and softball, the date for her second ACL surgery neared. Having gone through the same process just 12 months prior, Carpenter knew she was prepared the second time.

“I feel there were so many unknown things after my first surgery,” Carpenter said. “I would feel things and not know if I was supposed to be feeling that. The second time, I would do things without really questioning anything because I knew what I had to do to get myself where I wanted to be.”

Through trusting the process, Carpenter underwent successful surgery on her knee in the summer of 2023. This marked the start of yet another grueling rehabilitation process. Carpenter, aware of the battle ahead, leaned on her teammates for support through another rehabilitation period.

“I would say my teammates played a big part,” a grateful Carpenter explained. “Especially towards the latter part of my rehab, I wanted to get myself to that level where I would be comfortable stepping onto the court again.”

With more painful rehab exercises and long sessions in the athletic training room, Carpenter began to adapt to her mentor role on the sidelines. By missing both her senior basketball and softball seasons, Carpenter quickly had to learn to contribute on both teams from a distance.

After a prolonged recovery spanning 14 months, Carpenter returned as a fifth-year for the 2024-25 athletic year, citing her inability to participate in sports during her senior campaign as one of the main reasons for her return.

On November 2, 2024, Carpenter’s long-awaited return finally arrived as she suited up for the season-opener against Bradley University. Like she never left, Carpenter sank two trifectas in 17 minutes of play. The Prairie Fire’s sharpshooter felt the most confident she had in two years, citing an excellent surgery as a major contributor to her fluid return.

“My surgeon, Dr. Kentaro Suzuki, had asked for a lot of scans,” recalled Carpenter. “He wanted to make sure he saw as much as possible before going in for my surgery. I feel like he brought a sense of comfort to me, knowing he was going to try his best to get me back on the court again.”

In her final collegiate basketball season, Carpenter led the Prairie Fire in 3-pointers made, with 44 threes made in the year. Carpenter also entered Knox women’s basketball history, becoming the eighth player in program history with at least 100 threes made. In her last basketball season in a Prairie Fire uniform, Carpenter defied the odds to enjoy her final campaign.

“I knew I wanted to come into that season in the best shape I possibly could,” Carpenter said. “I contacted a local trainer and told him about my surgeries, my worries about next season, and my desire to get stronger. My trainer really helped target my weaknesses.”

No matter the records, 3-pointers made, or championships won, Carpenter feels grateful to have been able to enjoy the game of basketball one last time. With her softball season already underway, she is also on track to have another excellent year on the diamond for Knox, currently leading the Prairie Fire in batting average (.293), hits (17), and total bases (17).

“The first thing that pops into my head is my first surgeon telling me how I could tear my ACL in my first game back and never play again,” said Carpenter. “Thank god for that fifth year, otherwise I would have been left with a hole in my athletic experience. I’m just very grateful to have been allowed to play again because that is what I was working for.”

Throughout her journey battling significant knee injuries, Haylee Carpenter has beaten the odds multiple times. Some may have counted her out after her first knee injury. But through the rehabs, surgeries, and commitment to bounce back, Carpenter has left a mark on Knox College athletics through her inspiring journey that many athletes could connect with.

“Mentally, in the beginning, it is tough,” Carpenter said. “But no matter how hard things seem in the beginning, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and you will get there as long as you never give up.”

Carpenter has proved to everyone that no matter how impossible things might seem, they are never completely out of reach if you really believe. Despite the injuries and setbacks, Carpenter walks away with her head held high. Carpenter now sets her eyes on graduate school, with plans to attend Marymount University in Arlington, VA, for her Master’s in Forensic Psychology.

With a year left of eligibility in basketball and two in softball, maybe we’ll see Carpenter in action again at the collegiate level. In case this is the final chapter of Carpenter’s career, she leaves behind a powerful legacy – a reminder to athletes everywhere that injuries don’t have to define who you are, on and off the court.