It’s fitting that Sydnee Chandler-Trent will continue her academic and athletic career at Corban University.
The 2026 Olympia High School graduate and former Bears softball standout will head to Salem, Oregon, to compete for a team with a nickname that aptly describes Chandler-Trent and her journey over the past six years: the Warriors.
Chandler-Trent’s path to playing softball at the next level, and even in her senior season at Olympia, was far from linear. She was diagnosed with scoliosis and underwent spinal fusion surgery when she was 12 years old. Almost five years later, she missed the entirety of her junior season with a torn right Achilles tendon that she suffered in the season-opening jamboree on March 12, 2025. The right-handed pitcher returned to action for her senior season and helped Olympia reach the district tournament.
“I think it’s made me a better person, both physically and mentally. It’s shown my determination to be able to get back on the softball field,” Chandler-Trent said of coming back from her injuries. “I also think it shows that you can overcome obstacles, and nothing is ever too hard to overcome.”
Chandler-Trent began playing softball at the age of 6. She had dabbled in basketball and even earned a black belt in taekwondo by the age of 10, but softball had always been her primary sport.
When Chandler-Trent was a sixth grader in the late spring of 2021, she struggled to breathe on a smoky day at softball practice. It was a tough practice for Chandler-Trent, who has asthma, but the smoke would eventually become the least of her worries later that day.
Looking for help, she traveled to the nearest fire station, where first responders recommended that she seek X-rays. Chandler-Trent went to the hospital and received X-rays, and doctors found that she had a curve in her spine, which she had never previously noticed or from which she never felt discomfort. Her mother Robbie Chandler had often observed Chandler-Trent’s uneven shoulders, but they always chalked it up to the weight of her backpack.
Once Chandler-Trent was diagnosed, however, she began to experience back pain. Doctors gave her two options: she could either wear a back brace for “23 out of the 24 hours of the day,” or spinal fusion surgery. Doctors warned that the brace may not completely heal the scoliosis, so Chandler-Trent chose the surgery and underwent the spinal fusion procedure on June 14, 2021.
The road to recovery was grueling for Chandler-Trent. Not only was she physically limited and kept away from softball for a year, but as she had surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was difficult to lean on her friends when she was down.
“I didn’t really want to talk to anyone about it. That was hard because I kept it to myself,” Chandler-Trent said. “It was also hard because it was during COVID, so I wasn’t able to hang out with anyone and I wasn’t able to go to school because that’s when we had hybrid days. I just didn’t go to school at all. That was hard because I’m a physical learner. I feel the need to be at school. It made me feel like I was disassociated from all of my friends, and I didn’t want to tell my friends. But when I told them, they came and visited me, so that helped a lot.”
Chandler-Trent also found solace in a peer support group called the Curvy Girls Scoliosis Support Group during her recovery. But being sidelined from softball was one of the hardest realizations for her.
Finally, after eight months of recovery, Chandler-Trent was cleared to throw, field and hit, but she wasn’t fully cleared for all athletic activities until about a full year after surgery. She returned to softball with her club team the summer after the completion of her eighth grade year.
Chandler-Trent joined the Olympia High School softball team as a freshman and was part of a Bears squad that qualified for the state tournament in back-to-back seasons. But, during the first softball action of her junior season at a jamboree at the Regional Athletic Complex, a simple movement back to the base ended her season before it really started.
“I just remember that I was trying to go back to the base, and I didn’t hear a pop but everyone else said they heard a pop. It just kind of burned, like I got cut really bad,” Chandler-Trent said. “The lady who came and helped me, she’s like, ‘Your foot’s broken,’ and I thought that was better than whatever this burning sensation was. But then I was like, ‘That’s not the right part of my foot.’”
Chandler-Trent visited urgent care and underwent a test where doctors squeezed her calf, but, according to her doctors, her calf “didn’t move.” She returned to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she had her spinal fusion surgery nearly four years prior, and had surgery to repair her torn Achilles on March 19, 2025.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, not again,’” Chandler-Trent said. “My Achilles was different because when I had my spine fused, I couldn’t really walk or do anything on my own. But when I tore my Achilles, I could still walk a little bit and do some things on my own. There was definitely some deja vu. I told myself that if I could get through my spinal fusion surgery, I could get through this.”
Chandler-Trent was in a cast for two weeks and then wore a boot with lifts to prevent her from putting full weight on the ground, which she wasn’t able to do for three months after the procedure. After months using crutches, she began physical therapy in December, and she learned not only how to walk again, but she learned how to walk and run “correctly.”
Chandler-Trent said when she used to run, she didn’t pick up her feet, but rather she “scooted” them across the ground, which doctors discovered was a reason for tension in her calves.
“I learned how to run again. I’ve been running wrong my whole life,” she said. “They told me I don’t bend my ankle when I run. I just scoot my feet. When you run, your heels are supposed to go up, but for me, I just stayed on the back of my feet and scooted. They taught me how to re-walk, and they said I have to make sure my heel is on the ground and I gotta bend my toes.”
During the time of her injury and surgery, Chandler-Trent was in the middle of her recruitment process looking for an opportunity to play college softball. She had already been in contact with Corban’s coaches, who were adamant that they still wanted her on the team despite her injury.
This recovery was not as taxing for Chandler-Trent as after the spinal fusion surgery. She didn’t feel as isolated, as she built deeper connections with her teammates throughout the season. Chandler-Trent attended The Lab Performance Therapy in Olympia for speed and agility training, and she was back on the softball field in time for the start of her senior season.
Chandler-Trent led Olympia in innings with 56 and strikeouts with 32 in her final prep campaign, and she drove in five runs at the plate, even stealing five bases and scoring five runs with her new running technique. She didn’t compete pain-free and without fear of re-injury, but the love of the game of softball and the joy from playing with her teammates trumped her discomfort.
“I would always tell everyone that I was OK. And then I’d tell my mom, ‘This hurts so bad.’ But I would just suck it up,” Chandler-Trent said. “I wanted to be out there and play with my teammates. I wouldn’t tell them how I truly felt.”
Olympia softball assistant coach Rick Crawford described Chandler-Trent as a “fighter” who “doesn’t complain, keeps showing up and keeps trying.” Her mother called her “the strongest person I know.”
“Going through what she’s been through mentally and physically has been a lot, but she has continued to be determined and stay positive,” Robbie Chandler said. “Setting goals for herself and surrounding herself with the right people was important, as well. Having the support of everyone, as far as the coaching staff, our church, and our family has been monumental for her. She’s done a really good job of managing everything, her school and all of her extracurricular activities. Even though she wasn’t physically able to sometimes participate, she was mentally there, and I think that’s important as well.”
Chandler-Trent finished her academic career at Olympia High School with an impressive resume, one that culminated with her graduation on June 11 at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion. She was a part of the Olympia School District’s student mentorship program, the Students Together Advocating Nonviolence and Diversity (STAND) club, the president of the Students of Color Association, a member of the Associated Student Body (ASB), the Bear Crew, orchestra, National Honor Society, and more. She is also actively involved at her church and gives quilts to military veterans with her grandfather, who served in the United States Army.
Chandler-Trent will study biology with an emphasis in biomedical sciences at Corban University as she pursues a career as an interventional radiologist. She has always wanted to be a doctor but was particularly inspired by her surgeon at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and she grew fascinated with the technical aspects of the medical field through her multiple trips to the hospital over the past six years.
“Basically, they use animal radiology and surgery to help people who have cancer or diseases that you can’t treat with major surgeries,” Chandler-Trent said. “I’m able to help any type of person, like kids or elderly people or anyone.”
Before she heads to college, Chandler-Trent will compete in two prestigious softball events this summer. She will represent Team Africa at the Triple Crown International Challenge in Westminster, Colorado, later this month, and she will also represent Softball Beyond Borders at the Nike RBI Regional Tournament in Portland in July.
Chandler-Trent will forever celebrate her “two birthdays:” August 30, her actual birthday, and June 14, the anniversary of her spinal fusion surgery. She receives a gift every year on her “spine anniversary,” and one year, her mother gave her a florally decorated photo of her spinal X-rays featuring her before and after images.
Chandler-Trent doesn’t see herself as a fighter, but her positive attitude and grit through multiple gut-wrenching circumstances are enough to inspire anyone battling through a similar situation. But in her advice to those overcoming obstacles, she gives credit to her family, teammates, friends, coaches and her faith for pushing her through her spinal fusion surgery and her Achilles injury.
“Surround yourself with people who lift you up. It’s OK to ask for help. Hard work goes a long way,” Chandler-Trent said. “Believe in yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others, either on or off the field. Everyone has their own path. It’s important to set goals for yourself and to pray.”
