Debbie Kent first went to the Lansing Laurels softball clinic when she was just 13. She was still too young to try out for the squad, but she became the batgirl.
Little did she know then that eventually she would become one of the best pitchers to ever wear the Laurels jersey, and now Kent will be honored as part of the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame’s 2026 class.
“I found out that my friends had nominated me for it, and it’s a great honor,” Kent said. “I really am very appreciative of it. My teammates and coaches are really the ones who should be getting it.”
As soon as Kent was old enough to participate during the Laurels clinic in the early 1970s, her pitching prowess was quickly noticed. She made the team and thrived on the mound from ages 16-18, and her entire family got to travel with her to see the Laurels play across the Midwest.
“That was the most important thing to me, having my family there to support me,” Kent said. “We always knew when my dad arrived because he had a cowbell and he would start ringing it and you could hear it from two blocks away so everyone would know he was there.”
Kent played with a number of great players while with the Laurels, including Carol Hutchins, who would go on to become the longtime University of Michigan softball coach and was a Greater Lansing Sports Hall inductee in 2000. As teams, both the 1974 and 1975 Laurels squads were inducted in 2013.
Kent attended Lansing Community College following her high school graduation and was one of the team’s top pitchers there. Due to LCC competing at the club level at the time, Kent was able to still play for the Laurels in the summertime, where she continued to develop her game.
While with the Laurels, Kent had a 30-14 record in the 1973 season and helped lead the Laurels to a 61-27 overall mark. She made several all-star teams and was named a Second Team All-American in the 1974 National Amateur Softball Tournament.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
50th Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame celebration
When: 4:30 p.m., Aug. 20
Where: Lansing Center
Tickets: Call (517) 484-0677 or email everyb21@gmail.com for information.
2026 inductees: Dave Allen, John Holms, Tom Izzo, Debbie Kent, Cortney Scott, Denzel Valentine, Drew Valentine, 1999 Okemos softball
Sponsors: Dean Transportation, Shaheen Chevrolet/Cadillac, Dan Henry Distributing, One North Kitchen & Bar, ASAP Printing, Applegate Home Comfort, Magic Johnson Enterprises, Edward Jones Investments, Gregory Eaton Associates, Roland Carter Enterprise, The Bleacher Denizen
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Debbie Kent’s dominance for Lansing Laurels earned her spot in GL Sports Hall of Fame
Reporting by Nathaniel Bott, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nathaniel Bott, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
