Abby Dunstan will be the first to tell you that she didn’t become the person or the player that she is today by herself.

She’s had the benefit of realizing early on that sports isn’t just about being athletic.

It also has a mental aspect to it, and as a student-athlete, there is also an academic component.

The youngest of three athletic kids, Dunstan had a lot of help from her older brothers, Matt and Ben Dunstan. Both played football and baseball in high school, and the three of them competed in just about everything around the house.

“Even now, everything around home is about competition,” said Dunstan with a laugh. “We are always competitive no matter what we’re doing. It’s all about being able to do something faster or better. In the end though, we are always supportive of each other and we have always been like that.”

Then, there’s mom. Her role has been to keep Abby grounded, and let her know that while it’s great to be good in sports, there’s more to a person than their performance on the field.

“There are so many kids that dread the ride home from games because if they had a bad game, they know they are going to hear about it,” said Dunstan. “It was never like that because my mom knew it was important to me to be good at softball, but she always made sure that no matter how I played, it was not going to define me and that there is more to me than that. I can be my harshest critic, and it’s great to have that person to help keep my perspective.”

Her dad also played a big role in Dunstan’s success as well, which helped to complete the circle.

“He is always there, and will ask me if I want to go outside and work on my hitting in the back yard or work on something else,” Dunstan noted. “He will always take the time to work with me and pushes me to be better, but he does it whenever I want, and he always does it in a supportive way.”

Team Dunstan is what Abby credits with giving her everything she needed to succeed. In her junior season, Dunstan hit .511 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI for Northwestern as it won the District 11 4A championship and went to the PIAA semifinals for the third straight season. In her three varsity seasons, Dunstan has an incredible 21 home runs, 106 RBI, and 133 total hits for a .493 batting average.

Having older brothers interested in sports helped Dunstan learn about the differences in college divisions, and that playing for a Division 1 school is the ultimate goal.

From the time she learned those differences, Dunstan’s goal has been to play softball at a Division 1 school. Dunstan contacted some schools by email last summer, but they were not allowed to contact athletes who graduate in 2026 until Sept. 1, 2024.

Before the clock had finished striking midnight on Sept. 1, there was an email in Dunstan’s inbox from Georgia Tech. A few hours later, Georgia Tech called Dunstan to let her know it had been keeping an eye on her and were interested. That led to an official visit, and Dunstan was hooked.

“Sometimes you just know when something feels right and is the right place for you to be. When I visited there, I just knew that it was right for me,” recalled Dunstan. “There had been some other schools that were interested, but I was set on Georgia Tech.”

Dunstan also credits playing travel ball, which she’s done since fifth grade; along with Northwestern coaches Josh Zimmerman and Kate Farber, and her hitting coach, Tim Cunningham, with helping her develop as a hitter and as an all-around player.

While many players can’t look forward to their travel ball season, Dunstan has never overlooked playing in a Northwestern Lehigh uniform.

“I don’t understand why some kids emphasize travel ball, because I have loved my three seasons at Northwestern,” said Dunstan. “Even when we had the coaching change (following the 2023 season), it went very easily. Both coaches (Zimmerman and Farber) were great, and I loved playing for them. Travel ball is great, but playing high school ball has been really special.”

Having tried other sports like volleyball, basketball, and even dance, Dunstan keeps coming back to softball. It’s the sport she has always loved most, and catching is the position she believes she was meant to play.

“I played some first base (in her freshman year) and some third base, but I feel most comfortable as a catcher, and other people have told me that’s where I need to be playing,” Dunstan said.

While she admits it will be difficult to beat her statistics from the 2025 season, Dunstan is ready for the challenge.

After three straight trips to the state semifinals, both Dunstan and the team have their minds already set on reaching the championship game in 2026.

That would make her career complete.

“It’s been disappointing, but at the same time, for us to have gotten to the semifinals three straight seasons in states is an accomplishment,” said Dunstan. “We thought we were going to get there this season, but didn’t quite get there. We definitely want to make that happen next spring.”