Ashley Charters will graduate at the end of winter quarter with a degree in sociology, allowing her to focus on No. 3 Washington’s Pac-10 slate during the spring.

“I’ll just be a softball player in the spring,” Charters said. “I’m kind of excited about that.”

The whole just-a-softball-player thing could be a prelude of things to come for Charters, who was selected with the 11th overall pick — the first pick of the third round — in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) draft Tuesday by the Rockford Thunder.

“She does so many things so well that nothing probably stands out to people that don’t know her,” UW head coach Heather Tarr said. “But I know she cares more about doing great things with this team than she cares about her own personal accolades.”

Charters can’t sign until the Huskies are done with the 2009 campaign, and it may take her that long to decide what she wants to do, anyway. She wants to be an elementary school teacher, which would require she eventually attend graduate school.

But she said those plans will be put on hold for at least a year while she takes some time off. Whether that year will include more softball is a decision that will likely be determined by her health at season’s end. Charters redshirted last season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in her hip.

“I’m kind of up in the air,” Charters said about her potential future in NPF. “It depends on how my body feels. It’s definitely a possibility, and I’ll probably take them up on it. But we’ll see at the end of the year. I’ve got to do the college thing first.”

And right now, that’s been going as well as anything. Charters and her team-leading .458 batting average will lead the Huskies into the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. today, where they’ll face Long Island this morning before clashing with No. 2 Florida in the night cap.

Washington (9-0) is one win away from tying its best start ever, when the 2002 squad started 10-0.

Reach reporter Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.