Former Canon-McMillan shortstop Linda Rush plays crucial role in Drexel's turnaround

Drexel softball coach Carl Taylor remembers seeing former Canon-McMillan shortstop Linda Rush for the first time.

Taylor admitted a college coach normally wouldn’t want to recruit a player based solely on a video, but that wasn’t the case for Rush. He came across her recruitment video on Youtube and while he still ended up recruiting her in person, Taylor was sold.

“She hit like 22 straight balls off of this building behind the left-field field fence,” Taylor said. “The roof was like iron and you could just hear the balls bouncing off of it. I mean 22 straight balls. Not many people could do that.”

“I watched more of the video and knew right away that she had all the intangibles it takes to be a great player.”

Rush was Taylor’s first recruit at Drexel, and the program has been on an upswing ever since.

During the shortstop’s freshman season, the Dragons only won 19 games. But, by 2019, they increased their win total to 32, turned in their first winning season since 2009, and earned their first trip to the CAA tournament in 14 years.

The Dragons also captured the first two postseason wins in Drexel softball history and Taylor thought Rush was a big part of that turnaround.

“She doesn’t get enough credit, I mean, to me, nationally, this kid is one of the best players in the country,” Taylor said. “For Drexel, when I came in, it wasn’t exactly a thriving program, and together with Linda, the coaching staff and a couple of other additions that’s been the key to developing a winning program.”

During her time at Drexel, Rush has led the way, producing a .408 average, hitting 49 home runs, driving in 185 runs and she etched her name in the Drexel record books in several categories.

Rush also set CAA and school single-season records with 80 RBIs and 71 runs scored in 2019 and was named a Softball America all-American honorable mention.

But, despite her accomplishments, it was never about the personal accolades for Rush; it was about team success. After all, that was why she chose Drexel in the first place.

“It was a really motivating and humbling experience for me because I went there for the sole purpose of trying to build something with coach Taylor,” Rush said. “As his first senior class, this year, we realized that we turned the program around, and it was motivating for all the future recruits and classes to try and accomplish the mentality that coach has there.”

After their successful 2019 season, Rush and the Dragons were even more excited to finish off their career with a bang this season. They had a big offseason and Rush said everyone was holding each other accountable, so they were ready when the spring came around.

“We were so excited for the team this year because we only graduated two seniors from last year,” Rush said. “So, we were bringing everyone back and we were excited to get out there and start playing and see how well our preparation made us throughout the winter.”

The Dragons started the season 4-6 while playing in tournaments in Orlando, and Norfolk, Va. Then, after they landed in Hawaii for the Rainbow Wahine Classic, the team received the news the season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“At first it didn’t really hit me because I was in Hawaii, at the beach,” Rush said. “But once it settled, it was upsetting. I was mentally ready that I was going to graduate and I was going to be done with softball.”

Rush’s time at Drexel isn’t quite over yet though. Because sports were canceled across the country, the NCAA granted seniors another year of eligibility. Drexel has also approved another year of scholarships for seniors, unlike other schools across the country.

So, as long as Rush gets accepted into her program, she’ll be back for another year of Drexel softball, to continue the success she started.

“I have to get accepted and stuff first beforehand, but I’m going to apply and see how it goes,” Rush said.