A Mizzou Legacy. #MizzouMade.

Emily Crane has bled Mizzou black and gold for as long as she can remember. The future Tiger grew up in the small town of Troy, Mo., only 86 miles and roughly 1.5 hours away from the home of the University of Missouri.

The Crane family possessed strong Mizzou ties as Emily progressed through her childhood. Both her Mom and older sister were University of Missouri graduates and the presence of black and gold and sounds of the Tiger fight song were mainstays in the household.

“Mizzou has always been a big part of my upbringing,” Crane recalled. “I remember going to football games as a kid and getting my photo taken while standing outside the stadium with Truman the Tiger. My cousins and I would love to get on the field and go to the 50-yard line before the game too! It was the little things that made me fall in love with this place.”

Crane’s softball career started early in her childhood and quickly evolved into something special through her hometown community in Troy. Over her tenure at Troy Buchanan High School, Crane was a three-time First-Team All-State performer, while earning four consecutive First-Team All-Conference and First-Team All-District honors. Following her 2012 senior campaign, Crane was named the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year and St. Louis All-Metro Player of the Year.

After making a name for herself across the state of Missouri, Crane began receiving offers from numerous Division I softball programs. While she had an array of enticing potential homes for her upcoming collegiate career, the aforementioned Tiger ties ultimately led her back to Mid-Missouri.

“Well, Mizzou was actually the last school to contact me during the recruiting process,” Crane said. “It was late July 2010 when I got a call from head coach Ehren Earleywine and received an offer to play at Mizzou. I had been recruited by several other schools up to that point with four offers."

“One of the biggest factors of joining Mizzou was that I was born and raised to be a Tiger. It was my home school. Being close to home was very appealing as well, because I’m super close with my family. Also, knowing that the program was a Top-25 caliber team every year helped make my choice even easier.”

With her next journey in life decided and roots established in CoMo, Crane wasted no time in proving her worth inside the Mizzou Softball program. The first-year Tiger started in all 52 games, hitting a team-best .376 with 16 doubles, three home runs and 26 RBI. Following her standout freshman campaign, Crane was selected to the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team.

“Playing in the USA Softball organization was amazing,” Crane exclaimed. “I loved the opportunity to wear my country’s colors across my chest. Meeting new people that I was going to get to play against throughout my career was so awesome.”

Crane’s sophomore and junior seasons were more of the same on the diamond, consistently serving as one of the Tigers’ best pure hitters and defenders. From the very beginning of her 2016 senior campaign however, Mizzou fans saw the speedy Tiger right fielder take her game to unparalleled heights.

When the dust settled on her senior season and Mizzou had finished yet another appearance at an NCAA Super Regional, Crane had produced an incredible .404 average with 15 doubles, 17 home runs, 61 RBI and 25 stolen bases. She received First-Team All-American accolades, becoming only the third player in Mizzou Softball history to accomplish the impressive honor.

Crane credits Coach Earleywine and the rest of her Mizzou coaching staff for her continued development as a player during her four-year career in Columbia.

“Being an All-American was always a dream of mine and a goal I wanted to reach before I left Mizzou,” Crane said. “I have Coach E and the entire staff to thank for that. Coach E has a different way of doing things and has a certain type of tough love. He’s only trying to make you the best player you can be. The little things he talked about made sense and I started to understand the logistics. Towards the end of my junior year things started to really click and that’s when my career really took off.”

One could argue that Crane’s accomplishments in the classroom were even more noteworthy, as she transformed into an all-around premier student-athlete. Crane was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree and concluded her collegiate career with a 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American award.

“My schoolwork was a little different than most student-athletes at Mizzou,” Crane recalled. “I spent the majority of my study time in the art studio. There were several nights that I stayed up working on my art projects to make sure I had them done in time before I headed to the softball stadium. I felt incredibly fortunate to have the MATC at my disposal and the ability to lean on so many great staff members whenever I needed to.”

As another outstanding example of the “Mizzou Made” student-athlete, Crane is fortunate for her tenure at the University of Missouri and being able to make a positive impact with the Mizzou Softball program.

“Mizzou has always been a part of me like I mentioned before,” Crane said. “Growing up as a Tiger fan then actually getting to become one meant a whole lot to me. Coming into a place where you know no one at first and then leaving four years later with the best friends you’ll ever have is special. I’m so thankful for the University of Missouri for taking a chance on me and allowing me to meet the coolest people in the world, play the sport I love and most importantly giving me a place to always call home.”

At the conclusion of her collegiate career with Mizzou Softball, Crane was selected in the 2016 National Pro Fastpitch draft and has competed professionally for the past two summers. Once her softball playing days has ended, she hopes to utilize her background in graphic design and enter the professional work world.