AURORA, N.Y. — After the announcement of Wells College closing down due to financial struggles and low enrollment, this has left many students who have committed to the school scrambling last minute. 

It is a dream come true for high school student Maddison Pack.

Playing softball at Wells College, a school she was committed to for years.

“I just really wanted to go somewhere that was closer to home and that felt comfortable to me,” Pack said. “And since it was such a small campus and only an hour away from home, the coach was very welcoming to me.”

Competing on the same athletic field could’ve been the start of her college career, but instead is one of the last times she ever will at Wells College. 

“I had been on my phone before class at like 8 a.m.,” Pack said. “One of the girls that I knew that went here already on the softball team posted the email that they got, basically saying that the school will be shutting down after this year.”

Along with several other students, Pack was devastated to find out the last-minute news of the school’s closing.

“I was really devastated,” Pack said. “I was in school and there were a lot of tears and a little bit of anger just because I had just been there the Saturday before. So it was just super shocking.”

From attending orientation, receiving scholarships and even being part of a media day with the university, the announcement has changed everything.

“We visited the campus,” Maddison’s father Justin Pack said. “She liked how small it was. We're from a small town, so it's nice and that’s what drew her here.  It's tough. It's tough. You know, I know from watching the process with Maddie and, you know, kind of guiding her with the process that college coaches already have the rosters picked for next year, you know, it's just kind of the way it goes. So any athlete that plans on coming here, I feel for them.”

Maddison and her parents are now scrambling and having to start from scratch, looking for not only another school but a team that best suits her.

“When I first got here, there was like my name on the TV screens and everyone was just super welcoming and didn't feel like I didn't belong or like I was a number,” Maddison said. “Just to find something out like that and then be expected to in the next few weeks figure that all out because people are filling their rosters and it's a last-minute thing and a lot of coaches aren't willing to give me a chance because of what happened.”

Maddison's parents were confused with the school’s decision after allowing students to continue to commit.

“Somebody had to know something,” Justin Pack said. “And I think transparency along the way would have really been key. I told her just, you know, you know, somebody's going to see her, somebody's going to want her and keep playing ball.”

Despite the situation, Maddison continues to have the support of her family and team as she prepares to walk the graduation stage and hopefully onto another softball field.

“I'd say it's super bittersweet,” Maddison said. “When I first got here, I was a little emotional, but now it's like it feels like closing a chapter in my life and I feel like that's going to be something that's going to really pursue me to keep pushing hard with athletics also.”