If you ask Mia Uvaldo why she plays for the Langston softball team, she’ll tell you it is because of her dad. He played baseball professionally for the Mexican leagues, and she has been playing since she was three years old. A first generation Mexican in America and a first-generation college student, Uvaldo thanks softball for helping her get to this point.
“College has always been a dream of mine since I was young,” she said, and softball gave her that ability to fulfill that dream.
The softball team is one of five collegiate athletics for women offered at Langston. They have 17 people on their roster, eight of whom are seniors. They play a 48-game regular season schedule followed by the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament at the end of the season. Midseason, they play at the Hosea Bell Red Dirt Classic, named for the Langston softball coach who passed away in 2021, held at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.
Mia Uvaldo is a sophomore business major from Dallas, Texas. She is a pitcher and utility player, which means she can play multiple positions defensively for the team. Prior to Langston, Uvaldo attended R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas. There, some of her accomplishments in softball included being named athlete of the year, being named all-state twice and being a two-time all-star throughout her high school career. A goal she has for herself is to become more confident in “all aspects of the game.” A team goal she has is to make it to the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament that follows the regular season.
Brysen Bartley is another player on the team and is a sophomore outfielder for the Lady Lions. Bartley started playing softball when she was 8 years old.
“I was pretty influenced by my cousins who played softball and wanted to do what they do,” she said.
She is from Godley, Texas, where she attended and played softball at Godley High School. For Bartley, softball has allowed her to step out of her comfort zone, giving her an outlet through tough times in life, and has introduced her to different people.
“It has brought me some of my closest friends in life,” she said.
Some of her personal goals this season are to gain more confidence, be a supportive teammate no matter what and to improve her batting average. As a team, she wants to finish the season strong. After college she hopes she may play in an adult league, but she wants to make sure she continues to have “fun” playing softball now and any time later.
The players feel that sometimes softball does not get the same coverage as other Langston sports teams. They describe the attention as “non-existent,” and say that some people around campus may not even know there is a softball team. The support they are given is little “compared to other sports on campus,” according to player Kimbree Layton.
Layton is a freshman pitcher and outfielder who majors in psychology. She is from Enid, Oklahoma, and attended Enid High School, where her accomplishments included being a 4-time letterman as well as being named all-conference. Layton started playing softball at the age of nine when she and her sister were looking for a sport to play during the summer, which ultimately led them to softball. Like her other teammates, she wants to become a more confident player and show that she can “succeed and be proud” of herself as she knows she is only a first-year student athlete with a lot of room to grow.
Although she has no plan to continue playing softball past college (“I think it’ll be time to hang my cleats up then,”) she wants to continue to appreciate softball as it has brought her many different friendships and has given her some of her happiest memories. “I just want to continue to grow closer with my team and work towards the same goal,” she said, as she continues to embrace her collegiate career and experiences.
Sam Battle Jr.
Staff Writer
Sam Battle Jr. is a Junior HPER major.
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