Gabby Mack, a rising senior at Wellington High School, is the real deal in both athletics and academics. Whether it’s on the golf course, the basketball court or the softball field, Mack plays and competes to win. In the classroom, she also studies to win, with a GPA of 3.6 and an HPA of 4.2.
Mack’s accolades in sports are impressive. She has played three years of varsity softball and been a starter in her sophomore and junior seasons. She played varsity golf as a junior and will play again this coming fall as a senior. As a sophomore, she played varsity basketball, but she sat out her junior year because it’s an indoor sport, due to COVID-19 concerns. She plans to play basketball this coming winter.
When she’s not competing to win, Mack enjoys spending time with friends, jogging at Okeeheelee Park, playing tennis or playing volleyball on the beach.
While she enjoys representing Wellington on the golf course and the basketball court, she is most passionate about hitting screaming line drives, fielding ground balls and stretching doubles into triples on the softball diamond.
“I do have to admit that softball is my most favorite sport over both basketball and golf,” Mack said. “However, golf comes in a close second because it’s a less stressful sport than softball. Also, it can be a lot of fun.”
On the diamond, she plays first base or third base. In basketball, she’s playing either power forward or center. In golf, she shoots 50 to 55 for nine holes, but she’s quick to point out that golf is a new sport for her. She is looking to improve her nine-hole average this coming fall. “I just started playing golf,” Mack noted.
After graduating next May, Mack plans to attend college and study kinesiology or exercise science. She also plans to continue playing sports.
“I do plan on playing softball in college,” Mack said. “That is my main goal. I am considering many schools at the moment, mostly NCAA Division II or NAIA schools. Some of the NAIA schools include Coastal Georgia [Brunswick, Georgia] and Ave Maria [near Naples, Florida]. I aspire to become a widely known college player and be able to help younger girls get to college.”
Not surprisingly, her favorite events to watch on television are the Women’s College World Series for fast-pitch softball, the Masters Golf Tournament and other PGA Tour events. In the fall, she also enjoys watching football on TV.
For someone as involved in sports as Mack is, she definitely has her own personal highlight memories. “If I were to go back and think of my favorite sports experiences, my top would be my home run against Park Vista High School in the bottom of the eighth inning at Wellington High School this year,” she recalled. “My home run tied up the score 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Another experience was last fall with the Lady Gators travel softball team, when I hit a home run to win the game against the Jacksonville Storm. There are many experiences for basketball and golf, but softball is mostly what I remember.”
While Mack is a serious, committed athletic competitor, she’s also very brand conscious when it comes to what gear she uses and apparel she wears.
“For my batting gloves, I use Under Armour,” she said. “My uniform is from Mizuno, and I wear New Balance metal cleats. I also use an Easton Ghost bat. Both fielding gloves that I use are from Rawlings, my glove for playing first base and a regular glove. And my favorite basketball shoe and sock brand is Nike. In golf, I have a White Hot putter and Top Flite clubs. I mainly use Titleist golf balls.”
In the immediate future, keep an eye out as she continues to make her mark on the athletic field and in the classroom. If there’s any high school athlete who can make a hole in one in golf, a three-point shot in basketball and slug a home run in softball, it’s Gabby Mack.
