The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY/AUGUST 2025 ■ 13 TRACKING THE PACK E aston and the National Fast- pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) annually recognize play- ers who have earned All-Amer- ica Scholar-Athlete honors. Ten members of the NC State softball team, including Taylor Ensley, earned the award by maintaining the minimum GPA requirement of 3.5 or higher. Ensley, a senior right fielder, started all 54 games for the Wolf- pack this past season, ranking second on the team with a .331 batting average and .630 slugging percentage. She finished the sea- son with 51 hits, 11 home runs, 9 doubles, 2 triples and 26 walks. The Franklin, N.C., native is no stranger to both academic and athletic success. This marks the third year she has been awarded All-American Scholar-Athlete honors. She was also part of a Wolfpack trio that earned first- team East All-Region honors as voted on by NFCA head coaches, as well as earning third-team All- ACC notice. Ensley is driven and goal-oriented on and off the field. In addition to her athletic accomplish- ments, she plans to be- come a third-generation educator, having com- pleted her degree in ap- plied education studies. "I chose education be- cause both my mother and grandma were teach- ers, and they have always worked in the school sys- tem," she noted. "I grew up having a great rela- tionship with my teachers in school. I saw how passionate they were about their job and how much they cared for me. I also saw how much hard work my mom put in behind the scenes to be the best teacher she could be." Ensley said her most cherished memory of college softball was being able to play alongside her younger sister Tori in the outfield. The duo produced at the plate for the Wolfpack and were side by side in the outfield with a combined 17 assists and 276 putouts. Tori was the only member of the Pack to start as a freshman during the 2024 season. "Playing with my sister is defi- nitely going to be something that nothing can really top — just the fact that I'm playing with her at this level," Taylor Ensley said. "Being able to play outfield at the same time is so cool. I'm just so grateful. Especially when we hit first and second [in the batting or- der], I think it's so cool. "We've dreamed about that since we were little kids. We used to watch Georgia softball all the time, and there were two sisters who batted back-to-back. We would say, 'That's going to be us one day.' The fact that it's actually happened is pretty crazy." Following the 2025 season, Tori Ensley entered the transfer portal and will resume her career as a ju- nior at South Carolina. But the En- sley sisters made plenty of memo- ries in their two years together in Raleigh. Their highlight this past season came on March 1 when they both homered in the same game against Queens University on the way to an 8-0 victory. Taylor Ensley's ex- cellence reaches be- yond the diamond and the classroom. Last year, she was awarded the Blue Cross NC Finish Line Scholar- ship. With this award, Blue Cross NC pre- sented her high school alma mater, Franklin, with funding to further support girls in sports. She was nominated by the university's athlet- ics program for "exem- plifying values of leadership, integrity and community." Those characteristics were reinforced by her teammates, coaches and family who spoke of the steady and reliable pres- ence that she brings every day. "I'm so grateful to have been chosen for the Blue Cross NC Scholarship," Ensley said. "There are so many athletes who deserve this, and I'm blessed that they chose me. Having been chosen makes me want to work even harder to do well on the field but also off the field in the classroom." — Harrison Schwerman Ensley has been a standout for the NC State softball team both on and off the field. She led the Pack with 51 hits this past season and is also a three-time All-American Scholar-Athlete honoree. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH SENIOR OUTFIELDER TAYLOR ENSLEY " Playing with my sister is definitely going to be something that nothing can really top — just the fact that I'm playing with her at this level. Being able to play out- field at the same time is so cool. I'm just so grateful. Especially when we hit first and second [in the batting order], I think it's so cool. We've dreamed about that since we were little kids." Ensley on playing alongside younger sister Tori Ensley