​Hallie Burns’ college journey has been turbulent, but it’s finally led her back to the Power 4.On July 4, Burns announced her transfer from Southeastern Louisiana to Baylor. Burns was a standout pitcher at Booneville High School and won three straight state titles with the Blue Devils.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“The coaching staff was really welcoming coming onto campus for the first time, and I mean they treated my family just like their own,” Burns said of Baylor. “That was really reassuring to have someone that generally cared about more than just my athletic ability, but my family and what they had going on in their lives. That was pretty cool.”Burns signed with Ole Miss after graduating from Booneville in 2023 but redshirted her freshman year and eventually transferred due to injury issues. Those issues initially followed her to Southeastern Louisiana, but she started pitching like her old self this past year.Burns went 20-5 with a 1.68 ERA to go with 102 strikeouts in 112 2/3 innings and was named the Southland Conference’s Pitcher of the Year. The Lions reached the Tuscaloosa Regional with her help.“I absolutely loved my two years at Southeastern. It was a dream come true,” Burns said. “I met some of the best friends, and I had the best experiences through softball, relationships with professors, the school. That university was so good to me, and I had a great time there.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSoutheastern Louisiana’s coach, Rick Fremin, left to be an assistant coach at Texas after this past season, which prompted Burns to mull over her options. Through Bible studies and more, she thought it was time to move on and that Baylor was the place to go.“I know it seems crazy to everybody,” she said. “It’s farther from home. It doesn’t make, I guess, the most sense when you think about it that way. But whenever I got there, I just knew that it was going to be a good place for me to take those next steps.”Burns won’t soon forget what both Ole Miss and Southeastern Louisiana did for her as a player and a person, but she’s eager to see what Baylor can do for her as well.“It’s nice to be able to have those aspects from different schools, and also add on fresh eyes,” she said. “And hopefully have a lot of different tools in your belt to use at this level of competition.”