Former St. James High School softball standout Alexus “Lexy” Freeman was very pleased with Phase 1 of her collegiate athletic experience. Now she is even more excited about the prospects of Phase 2 of that career.

A pre-medical sciences major, Freeman is currently preparing to return for her junior academic and athletic school year at Quincy, a NCAA Division II softball program located in Quincy, Ill. and a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), which is a league rival of Phelps County school Missouri S&T.

“Things have been going really well,” said Freeman earlier this summer. “We have a new coach coming in and from everyone I’ve talked to, they’re all super excited. We know we can do great things for this new head coach.”

A true two-way player as a freshman with the Quincy Hawks in 2025, she was playing in the outfield when not pitching. Freeman appeared in 35 games and made 31 starts, while also making nine appearances in the pitching circle. At the plate, she hit .232 with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 13 RBI, and 12 runs scored.

This past spring as a sophomore, Freeman was used almost solely as a pitcher. Despite suffering a mid-season injury, she made 25 appearances pitching, including 10 starts, throwing 66 innings and recording two complete games while fanning 40 batters. She earned the first victory of her collegiate career against Upper Iowa on March 21. Off the field she earned CSC Academic All-District and All-GLVC Academic honors.

“I batted around .250 with three homers and some RBI,” Freeman said of her freshman season. “Pitching was a roller-coaster. I struggled a little confidence-wise. I couldn’t get away with what I could in high school; I had to rely more on movement pitches in college.

“As a sophomore I was a relief pitcher to start the season. One of our pitchers broke her glove hand and had surgery, which made a need for me to step up. After conference started I had earned the starting pitching spot. I felt every time I was on the mound I was learning more. My freshman year I was a little timid. But I felt this year I really grew. I didn’t get to hit much, but the team needed me more as a pitcher. I only had 14 at-bats. I would have liked to have hit more, but at the same time I was glad to get to grow into that pitcher’s spot.”

Freeman was recruited to Quincy by former head coach Cathy Monroe, who got a good look at the St. James product during her seven-year head coaching stint at Missouri S&T prior to coming to Quincy. Monroe spent four seasons as Quincy head coach before being relieved of her duties following a rugged 2026 campaign, during which the Hawks struggled to a 8-44 overall record and a 4-24 GLVC mark. In early July, McKendree Ward was named as the Hawks’ new head coach. Ward comes to Quincy after three consecutive 30-win seasons at Oakland City University.

“We struggled, mostly offensively,” Freeman said of this past spring. “We had a young team - lost a lot of seniors. We had seven or eight freshmen and two transfers.”

Under Ward, Freeman hopes to continue to get starting pitching opportunities as well as return to the batting lineup.

“I haven’t talked to her about that yet,” Freeman said earlier in July. “I would love to hit more, but I still want to be the starting pitcher.”

She said she never thought about transferring, which is so prevalent in college these days with the transfer portal.

“I really enjoy all my professors there,” she said. “One thing about Quincy is it’s a private, small school. It’s about making connections with the professors and making a lot of friends.”

As far as off-season softball work, Freeman has been limited due to a back injury suffered mid-season this past spring.

“This summer has been different,” Freeman said. “I injured my back in April and it hindered my throwing movement. Some games I didn’t play in; I tried to push through it.

“I haven’t been throwing since the beginning of May. I’m doing my PT (physical therapy) in Rolla. I’ve been resting; active recovery. I feel really good right now. I started easy walk-through pitches (in early July). I report to Quincy Aug. 5, and training starts Aug. 6.”

For St. James Freeman was a four-time first team all-district and All-Four Rivers Conference selection; a four-time all-area honoree, and earned all-region recognition multiple times. In 2023, she was named the Four Rivers Conference Player of the Year, becoming the only St. James softball player to receive the honor. She also tied the Lady Tiger single-season home run record with seven while setting multiple pitching records, including the single-season strikeout record twice and the career strikeout record with 511.

Freeman was a standout both athletically and academically, earning four academic all-conference selections and four Missouri Academic All-State honors for St. James.

In youth summer softball Freeman played on the Union-based U-18 Crushers Elite - comprised of players and coaches from St. James, Rolla, Union, Washington, Jefferson City and Pacific - that finished in third place at the 2024 USSSA National Tournament.

A 2024 St. James High School graduate, she is the daughter of Laurie and Landon Freeman.