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Parkway senior Emmery Temple, center, will attend the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne and play softball for the Cougars; seated with Emmery are her parents Courtney and Aaron "Bubba" Temple.
ROCKFORD - For Parkway's Emmery Temple, St. Francis in Indiana was the perfect fit for both her professional and softball aspirations.
"Their academic program is fantastic," Temple said. "Especially going into physical therapy with hopefully in the future getting my doctorate."
Temple posted a .440 batting average with four home runs, 28 RBIs and 14 stolen bases last year for the Panthers.
"It's a great school. I love the coaching staff, the campus, the academics, it was the perfect fit for me," Temple added.
The Cougars compete in the NAIA's Crossroads League and have shown some serious growth. They finished the 2025 season 29-21, their first season above .500 since 2019. Head coach Ryan Bolyn is entering his 20th season at the helm, and is currently number one in wins at USF with 327.
"(St. Francis) is where I need to be. I talked to the volleyball and softball coach and I just knew right away that softball was where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do," Temple said.
Temple plays both shortstop and third-base for a Parkway team that finished 16-4 overall and 5-0 in the MAC.
"We're just super proud of her," Emmery's mom Courtney Temple said. "She always works hard and we've never had to ask her to work hard, she just does it. To see her excited about her future makes us happy, and we are not ready to stop watching her play."
