Adisyn Prottsman: Leader of the pack

For two consecutive years, the Highland softball team has chased new heights while being led by a single senior.

Last year, Lilly Barre captained the Huskies to state.

This year, it was Adisyn Prottsman at the helm as the Huskies won their first conference title in over a decade.

“Adisyn has meant everything to this squad,” Highland softball head coach Carrie Wieland said.

After spending most of her career as a pitcher, Prottsman covered first base for the Huskies, leading a young infield to a postseason where it committed just one error over three games this summer.

“She leads so much on the infield,” Husky second baseman Kayce Schnoebelen said of Prottsman. “She’s the backbone of this infield and our team.”

Prottsman has grown accustomed to the limelight over the past two years, leading Highland’s girls’ golf team to back-to-back state tournaments, finishing her senior golf season with a third-place individual finish as the Huskies took silver as a team at state. That run put a heavy load on Prottsman’s shoulders during the final weeks of the spring season, as she completed her senior year of school, prepared for the state tournament and began softball practice simultaneously, but she says she enjoyed the long days.

“I kept busy when the seasons crossed over along with school and work, but I kind of liked being busy all the time.”

Alongside Adisyn through the entire process was her younger sister, Joslyn, who came into her own on the golf course this season, taking second at the conference meet and 20th at state before serving as the Huskies’ top relief pitcher.

“I understand her with softball a lot because I was in her shoes,” Adisyn said of Joslyn. “I was a pitcher up until halfway through my junior season, so I get all the focus and the extra work that she has to put in.”

Adisyn and Joslyn’s father, Jaden, an assistant coach on the Highland golf team, highlighted how the sisters’ games also parallel one another on the links.

“When [Adisyn] was a sophomore, she was much more of a drive-heavy golfer, and that’s what Joslyn has turned into as Adisyn’s refined her short game,” Jaden said. “Adisyn, in her sophomore year, wowed people off the tee and probably didn’t have that finesse. Last year, she went through some personal stuff on the course where she felt like she lost her swing a little bit, but that allowed her to hone in from 150 yards and in, where she’s just deadly. Now Joslyn’s the sophomore wowing people with her drives.”

While Adisyn mentored Joslyn on the field and the course, Joslyn said she’s seen her sister grow in her own right the past two years.

“Seeing how much she’s grown and how much progress she’s made throughout these years, it’s been super fun throughout,” Joslyn said of her sister. “It’s a lot of fun to see her mature and how much she is a mom to us, because she’s a little bossy, but  it’s just a lot of fun having her there.”

According to Adisyn, that growth as a leader comes from emulating the dynamic she shared with Barre last year. In 2025, Barre was Highland’s lone senior while Adisyn was the team’s lone junior. In 2026, Adisyn stepped into Barre’s role while Katelyn Thomann became the team’s only junior.

With the end of Highland’s 2026 softball season leading Adisyn to hang up her Husky uniform for the final time, her eyes now turn back to golf, as she’s set to play for the Luther College Norse in Decorah this fall. While disappointed in not taking a return trip to Fort Dodge, Adisyn said she’s excited to focus on her primary sport.

“It’ll be fun, it’ll be nice, kind of a new start. I’m excited to put a lot of focus on golf, since I didn’t have that over the past four years.”

The formerly quiet Husky will be able to reunite with Barre in the fall, as the two are set to be classmates at Luther, a connection that Adisyn says she’ll lean on as she meets her new teammates.

“I only know two people so far, my roommate and Lilly, so I’ll have her around and be with her a lot… I’m excited to have Lilly and my roommate there and to meet new people.”

As for Joslyn, she’s set to be the one taking up leadership roles within Highland athletics next year. She’s expected to be one of the top golfers in the Southeast Iowa Superconference while preparing to step into a starting pitcher role for the first time in her career. While they won’t be teammates anymore, though, Adisyn says Joslyn will still have her support as she faces those expectations.

“I’m definitely looking forward to coming back and maybe surprising her at a few meets,” Adisyn said.