Hughes is a Long Island native, who learned to play lacrosse by her father in the 7th grade. From there, she began developing her skills as a midfielder before following in her father’s footsteps and finding her speciality as a low attacker.

During her lacrosse career at Fluvanna, Hughes was a two-time captain for the Varsity team as well as NBC29’s Student-Athlete of the week. After playing four years for Fluvanna, Hughes broke the school record for most goals in a game (she scored 13 goals against Powhatan in 2017) which assisted in setting a school record of 101 points.

After two years at Virginia Tech and recovering from her second reconstructive knee surgery, Hughes transferred to Ferrum College where she  started in 29 games of which she scored 35 goals and had 24 assists. She was a captain for the 2020-2021 season, and served on the team’s judicial committee her senior year.

Natalie Hughes is a Ferrum College Alum who will be teaching Pre-Kindergarten at West Central Elementary School in the fall, and hopes to pursue coaching for Fluvanna County High School’s girls’ lacrosse team.