EVANSTON, Ill. — Nearly a full year ago, Skyler Shellmyer was preparing for her senior season with the Urbandale softball team.

Now, she’s set to help Northwestern University begin the quest to win a national title on the diamond.

The Wildcats were selected as one of 16 top seeds for the NCAA Div. I Softball Championship with Louisville, Detroit Mercy and Southern Illinois joining them in the Norman Region on Friday.

Shellmyer is the daughter of Chad and Erin Shellmyer. Chad is a 1991 graduate of Fort Dodge Senior High who played football and ran track for the Dodgers, while Erin graduated from Ames and was involved in softball and track.

Northwestern (43-10 overall) faces Detroit Mercy at Sharon J. Drysdale field at 2:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN3. They went 13-1 at home this past season.

“It has been so exciting just coming to our field every day and seeing the little changes that are being made to get it ready for this weekend,” Shellmyer said. “I can really feel and see the excitement from my teammates and coaches, and that is a huge momentum factor for us.

“One of the best things about playing at home one more time is that we are familiar with how our field plays and we will have no surprises from the dirt, grass or even the wind.”

The 5-foot-5 infielder is a true freshman for the Wildcats who has started 52 games this year with 29 hits, 23 runs, five doubles, nine RBI and a .967 fielding percentage.

“I think this season has been going pretty well for me,” she said. “Coming in and working hard has earned me a starting position in centerfield and that is more than I could ask for. I have definitely had some challenging moments this whole season and there was a big learning period I had to go through when we first started games in February.

“I had to learn to really accept failure and realize that I am not going to get on base every time I am up, and that was really hard to accept at first. I think as we continued to play more games, I really learned to keep my emotions in check and channel them towards the success of my teammates.”

Shellmyer finished her high school career as one of the more prolific hitters in state history, batting over .500 and scoring more than 200 runs. She was also a standout runner for the J-Hawks, earning elite all-state status multiple times.

“It goes fast,” Chad said about his daughter moving from the prep scene to college. “The craziest thing is watching her on TV. We don’t have to go to D1 games because they are always on TV so to think last year at this time she was lacing up the cleats for high school, and now… holy smokes, there she is on TV.”

Iowa Central and FDSH graduate Bre Tjebben — along with Tritons Cheyenne Andersen, Payton Andersen and Parker Mathews — were among those who played club softball with Shellmyer. Hannah Pals (Drake), Bella Crow (Colgate), Allison Yoder (South Dakota State), Alyx Witt (Grand View) and Emma Yenger (Grand View) were also teammates.

“Skyler played with so many amazing girls over the years,” Chad said. “That team was the best in the state and look at what they are all doing now. It’s very cool to see.”

While the Shellmyer family was on the opposite side of the field from Fort Dodge and head coach Andi Adams for several encounters, the ex-Dodger continued to have a soft spot in his heart for the program.

“Our family has moved from Fort Dodge, but I’m still a Dodger,” Chad said. “I told my daughter that and I would have loved for her to have been coached by Andi. Skyler has a great deal of respect for Andi and what she has done in the sport, as do I.”

The Wildcats put together a 20-game win streak during the season and went 19-6 over their first 25 games — all of which came on the road. Northwestern was 21-2 in the Big Ten Conference and won 16 games vs. Top-50 RPI teams.

Shellmyer had a career-high three hits vs. Rutgers and had three other games with two hits.

Northwestern’s regional winner advances to meet the winner out of the Oklahoma bracket, which includes the top-seeded Sooners.

The regional is double-elimination with the winner advancing to face the winning team out of the Oklahoma Regional in a best-of-three series. The College World Series is set for May 30-June 5 in Oklahoma City.