Louisville’s Korbe Otis Surgical at the Plate and in Her Future

Most teenagers don’t ask for a suture kit for Christmas. But Korbe Otis isn’t your typical college sophomore. As Louisville head coach Holly Aprile puts it, Otis is an old soul. 

Otis aspires to be a cardiothoracic surgeon one day, thus she needs to know how to suture. Originally, she didn’t know what she wanted to be heading into college. Otis, a self-described nerd, who loves math and science, thought about pursuing a career as an engineer or a lawyer but her true passion won out. 

“I really enjoy giving back to people and helping people,” Otis said. “I want to find a way to impact people. Ultimately, it was my drive to help people that led to my decision.” 

She fell in love with biology and anatomy in high school. Otis’ mom has also worked at a tissue processing company, and she’s been fascinated by bones and cartilage from a young age. 

Otis is also hoping that surgery can help fill a void after her softball career. She is a very competitive person, one that would in her words, “challenge someone to see who can finish a bowl of cereal the fastest.” With surgery being one of the most competitive fields in medicine, Otis can continue to motivate herself. 

“I think I’m probably going to struggle to find something to fuel my fire after I am done with softball,” Otis said. “I’m hoping surgery fills that void for me.” 

Otis enjoys the details of the body, but that love for the specifics also translates to the softball field. 

“She’s a very unique kid. There’s a very altruistic element to Korbe. She enjoys the science of it and the intricacies of it,” Aprile said. “And she’s like that with softball too. She likes the science of it, particularly from the offensive side. She can be analytical about it and she’s also very convicted. She has a really strong sense of what she needs to do to be successful in things, whether it be how she studies or what she needs to do in order to pursue to be a doctor. She has a strong sense of the work ethic it takes. She has that in softball too. So they kind of like parallel each other, and I think that is cool to see the way she dives into things.” 

When Otis puts her mind to things, she turns out results. Thus far she’s delivered on the promise she made a while ago. Otis, in her initial recruiting emails and from the day she stepped on campus, told the Louisville staff she would help build upon the culture. In her own words, it was what she stood for. 

“She’s doing all the right things,” Aprile said. “She utilizes all of her resources. Again, she has that strong conviction of knowing what she needs to do to be successful. It builds her confidence and shows others how her process works, others can learn from that…She embodies that you have to create it yourself through what you do. I can support her for that, but only she can go out and do it. Korbe is very aware of that.” 

It’s clearly worked for Otis as the stats speak for her. She’s improved on her ACC All-Freshman season in a multitude of ways. Her batting average sits at .427, over .100 from last season. She’s doubled her walk total (25). Otis has 18 extra-base hits, including a conference-high seven triples. Aprile has also seen her growth in the outfield as well. 

When it comes to talking about her success, she knows to not get too high – even after setting the school record for consecutive games to reach base (35) in April – and that’s where her maturity shines again. 

“It always feels good to have success in this game because it’s a game of failure. You have to avoid riding the emotional rollercoaster,” Otis said. “I try to limit my highs and lows as much as I can. If you fail six times out of 10 in this game, you’re an All-American.” 

Otis also appreciated being under the tutelage of All-American Carmyn Greenwood last season. Between the two, not many fill the double, triple and home run stat columns as they have. Otis calls the wisdom Greenwood shared with her as priceless and speaks volumes to her own mentality. 

Obviously, as a student-athlete that is attempting to get into med school, there isn’t a ton of free time. Especially one like Otis that consistently uses her professor’s office hours and tours on a normal basis. Although when she does have extra time, she puts that suture kit to good use, whether it’s practicing ones she picks up on her own or watches videos for. Regardless, if it’s anything like her hitting skills, the world will be in good hands with Otis.