The Lone Senior
By Craig Lawson
As the landscape continues to change in college athletics at an unprecedented pace, it seems everyone has an opinion about the phrase “transfer portal.” Less frequently, young men and women are finishing their college careers where they started.
A look at 2026 for Mountain West softball programs shows less than 8% of student-athletes are seniors who are in their fourth year with their current program. Less than 3% have started at least 100 games in their career.
Meet Hollie Farmer. She is a two-year starter (116 in her career), mostly at third base, for Boise State and is the only senior on this season’s Bronco squad. For fifth-year head coach Justin Shults, she is the first student-athlete he recruited who will begin and end her career in Blue and Orange.
Farmer’s journey to Boise actually began on a baseball field. Her dad, Glenn would pitch to her brother, Ryan, two years Hollie’s elder and someone she has always looked up to. She enhanced her allowance with every ball she caught.
“I like softball so much because it always connected me to my brother,” Farmer said. “He is my favorite person on the planet. He has been dealt the worst hand a lot and somehow, he always got through it and got to where he needed to be. During all of that, he was still the best person to talk to and he would help you through anything. He is always there.”
Her first softball experience was an 8U tryout her dad took her to where, despite having what Hollie describes as the “wrong everything” in terms of equipment, she made the team.
As a young girl, Glenn put Hollie in front of a wall and hit a Moon Ball at her with a tennis racquet to help develop her hand-eye coordination.
“The ball had dimples and would come rocketing at you and bounce in any direction,’’ Farmer said. I also think intense family ping pong games helped me to develop some skills.”
Fast forward a handful of years to Shults seeing Farmer play on her club team Athletics Mercado, where she was teammates with former Bronco Mykenzie Hanna. In addition to reminiscing about her mom, Toni driving her to every practice and game, Farmer described her relationship with Shults as “great from the jump.”
Recalling their first interaction, Shults said, “From watching Hollie play at a young age, I knew she would fit our system. She plays with a chip on her shoulder and uses that fuel to play the game in a fiery way. She is the type of athlete I love to coach.”
On her campus visit, Farmer was watching a Boise State practice. The “aggressive in a good way” style of coaching by Shults was something she gravitated toward.
“I loved this place when I stepped on campus,” Farmer said. “I respond to being challenged and that is the way Justin coaches. He was comforting and made this a safe spot, but I felt like he would push me to be better.”
As a sophomore, Farmer moved into the starting lineup, batted .308 and was named to the Mountain West Championship All-Tournament Team. Last year, her highlights included four hits in a doubleheader sweep of Colorado State and a multi-hit effort against Stanford, which was an NCAA regional finalist in 2025.
Heading into her senior campaign, Farmer reflected on the leadership provided by former teammates.
“The leadership group I looked up to the most by far was my freshman year with Hutch (Serena Hutchingson), Autumn (Bennett) and Taylor (Caudill),” Farmer said. “What they did best was to hold everyone to a standard and they made freshmen feel like they shouldn’t feel like freshmen their entire year.”
That freshman year was 2023 when the Broncos captured the Mountain West regular season title. A trip to the conference tournament final followed during her sophomore campaign and last year Boise State won 34 games, including a shutout of Utah State in the first round of the MW Championship.
“What I take from my freshman year is I want to encourage and motivate people to do their best, but in a way where they feel as safe as possible and continue to build a better program.”
Shults added, “A lot comes with Hollie being a senior. She is expected to lead and capable of doing it at a high level. We have also helped her develop tools so she does not feel she is on an island as a leader, even though she is our only senior.”
The Laguna, California native believes this year’s team has a lot of energy and players with multiple tools who can disrupt opponents.
“I want us to work on the grit part a little bit more, play with a more of a fire than love of the game,” Farmer said. “I want to win. I need to win.”
Farmer spent the offseason improving multiple parts of her game.
“I work on the little things to reach bigger goals,” Farmer said. “I worked on my first step to my glove side toward the 5-6 hole. I did that a lot in the fall and during break when I was at home. I have started lifting a little heavier to get stronger. At the plate, I have worked on timing. I have four more months to go all out.”
Scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in finance, Farmer is looking forward to life after college.
“I truly want to succeed on my own first and then start a family,” Farmer said. “I’m planning on going into finance. I did an internship in Newport Beach, California last summer and eventually would like to get into private equity or venture capital.”
On and on off the field, Farmer values the people she is surrounded by and says she will cherish the relationships she has built in college.
When asked how she wants to be remembered at Boise State, Farmer stated, “If I can walk off the field and just know that I gave it my all and that everyone is proud of me, it will be a success.”
2026 Season
The first of 55 regular season games for the Broncos in Farmer’s senior season is Feb. 5 at Loyola Marymount. Boise State will host the Blue Collar Classic, March 5-8 and conference series against Fresno State, New Mexico, UNLV and San Jose State. Season tickets are currently available.
The Broncos have won 285 games over the last-nine seasons, most in the Mountain West, as they prepare for their final season in the conference before moving to the Pac-12 in 2027.
If I can walk off the field and just know that I gave it my all and that everyone is proud of me, it will be a success.Hollie Farmer talking about her senior season