Hannah Laub can’t be in two places at once.
But the Waubonsie Valley sophomore has been pulling double duty in more than one way this spring.
Laub is the ace pitcher and cleanup hitter for the Warriors while also competing for an elite travel basketball team. This is the second straight year she has played both sports at once.
“She’s been running herself ragged this year,” Waubonsie Valley softball coach Valerie Wood said. “Last year she missed a few games because of her basketball schedule.
“I worked with her on that because she’s a special kind of athlete. When you have an athlete of her caliber, you definitely compromise. She’s young. You have to let them try what they need, and they have to figure out what they want.”
Laub already is getting interest from college coaches in basketball and softball.
“I’m trying to keep both options open to kind of see what works best for me,” she said. “I enjoy them both, so that always keeps me going.”
Laub is a two-year varsity starter in both sports. The sweet-shooting lefty averaged 15.0 points and 5.3 rebounds last season to lead Waubonsie Valley’s girls basketball team to its first regional championship in a decade.
The softball diamond also has been a showcase for Laub, who is hitting .500 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs. Seventeen of her 33 hits have been for extra bases, and she leads the Warriors (7-12) in nearly every offensive category. Her OPS is 1.537.
“She’ll hit a home run every other game,” Wood said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Nor have Laub’s teammates seen someone juggle such a busy schedule. Senior outfielder Megan Kennedy, a Northern Kentucky recruit, plays only one sport, which she said is a big commitment.
“When she tells me all the classes she’s taking and then rushing to basketball practice after our games, I just don’t understand how she balances it all,” Kennedy said. “But she does it well.”
Laub plays travel basketball for the Illinois Sun Badgers, based in Mundelein, an hour’s drive from her home.
“It’s pretty tough to get up there,” she said. “Two days of the week we will practice until 9 or 9:30 p.m., so I’m getting home around 10:30.”
So when does Laub do her homework?
“I try to get most of the homework done in school,” she said. “I do my homework during lunch or any class period I have free. I try to get to that as early as I can.”
The busy schedule extends to the weekends, when Laub often will play a softball game Saturday morning and then drive to a basketball tournament.
“This year she has made a crazy effort,” Wood said. “She has not missed anything. Somehow, she talked her travel team into making the games later in the evening on the weekends so she can still go to our weekend games. It’s crazy.”
But the effort is worth it to Laub, who has a blast even on days when she doesn’t hit one. The Warriors dealt Naperville North its only loss thus far.
“We’ve been having a lot of fun this year,” she said. “The upset against North, that was a big win for us. Those big wins keep us going.”
Wood said Laub has the ability to play at the Division I level in either sport. Kennedy is in awe.
“I look up to her,” Kennedy said. “I want her work ethic. She is so willing to do anything that will allow her to get to the next level, and I think that’s an amazing quality to have. And having that so young will only bring her to a positive future.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.