Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Freshman Feature: Madison Rust
October 30, 2019 | Soccer, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications
STARKVILLE – Madison Rust isn't the first in her family to play sports collegiately, and she hopes she won't be the last.
Her cousin, Tanner, played football and baseball at New Mexico State before signing a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. The former infielder played two seasons as an outfielder in the Orioles system before taking his career to Canada. The Rusts have also run track at Chico State, played soccer at San Diego Christian and played football at Cal Lutheran.
"All my older cousins accomplished so much, I just want to live up to that," she said. "I want to be a little bit better. That's for my sisters too. They can be a little bit better. They are everything, they are always my motivation."
Rust has younger twin sisters that she hopes she can inspire as they continue their athletic careers, but first she's had to learn a lot in her first collegiate season. She was injured when she arrived and missed the first half of the year while recovering, which led to the decision to redshirt 2019.
The Lakeside, California, native is also adjusting to be farther away from any of her family than she's ever been before. Even her extended family has always been nearby. She lives 10 minutes from her cousins and went to high school with them.
"It was really hard," Rust said. "My family and I were really close. I have never lived away from them. Moving thousands of miles away, thank God for FaceTime. I talk to them every single day, and that makes it a lot better."
Her talks with Tanner helped provide needed advice as she transitioned to the life of a student-athlete.
"He went through the same thing, a new coaching staff, getting used to everything, moving away from home," Rust said. "He and my dad were the two people that I talked to the most about thinking about redshirting, and they both thought it was a wonderful idea."
Rust hopes her career follows a similar path. Tanner and the Aggies made their conference tournament three times, and he played in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. He earned all-conference honors twice. For now, she and her teammates have their sights set on next week's SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs are looking to qualify for the first time in 15 years.
"That would be so cool," she said. "I can't even put in words how proud I would be of our team. We put in so much work these past couple of months. It would be our hard work paying off. I will cheer for the team until I lose my voice. The bench always has to be hyped up, always jumping, always cheering, it's so fun."
Making the league tournament would be just the first step. Next year, Rust is ready to take her contributions from the sidelines onto the field. She hopes her soccer-playing sisters will watch and learn.
"I just want to show them all the hard work that I put in the beginning, shows that it will get you to where you want to be. You may have to go through a lot of adversity, which I had to go through by being injured and coming back. That's the thing that they are going to need to know playing college soccer. You are going to have to work really hard and be pushed out of your comfort zone. I want to show them that even though things weren't going the way I wanted them to go, in the end, things are going to turn out better."
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
STARKVILLE – Madison Rust isn't the first in her family to play sports collegiately, and she hopes she won't be the last.
Her cousin, Tanner, played football and baseball at New Mexico State before signing a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. The former infielder played two seasons as an outfielder in the Orioles system before taking his career to Canada. The Rusts have also run track at Chico State, played soccer at San Diego Christian and played football at Cal Lutheran.
"All my older cousins accomplished so much, I just want to live up to that," she said. "I want to be a little bit better. That's for my sisters too. They can be a little bit better. They are everything, they are always my motivation."
Rust has younger twin sisters that she hopes she can inspire as they continue their athletic careers, but first she's had to learn a lot in her first collegiate season. She was injured when she arrived and missed the first half of the year while recovering, which led to the decision to redshirt 2019.
The Lakeside, California, native is also adjusting to be farther away from any of her family than she's ever been before. Even her extended family has always been nearby. She lives 10 minutes from her cousins and went to high school with them.
"It was really hard," Rust said. "My family and I were really close. I have never lived away from them. Moving thousands of miles away, thank God for FaceTime. I talk to them every single day, and that makes it a lot better."
Her talks with Tanner helped provide needed advice as she transitioned to the life of a student-athlete.
"He went through the same thing, a new coaching staff, getting used to everything, moving away from home," Rust said. "He and my dad were the two people that I talked to the most about thinking about redshirting, and they both thought it was a wonderful idea."
Rust hopes her career follows a similar path. Tanner and the Aggies made their conference tournament three times, and he played in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. He earned all-conference honors twice. For now, she and her teammates have their sights set on next week's SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs are looking to qualify for the first time in 15 years.
"That would be so cool," she said. "I can't even put in words how proud I would be of our team. We put in so much work these past couple of months. It would be our hard work paying off. I will cheer for the team until I lose my voice. The bench always has to be hyped up, always jumping, always cheering, it's so fun."
Making the league tournament would be just the first step. Next year, Rust is ready to take her contributions from the sidelines onto the field. She hopes her soccer-playing sisters will watch and learn.
"I just want to show them all the hard work that I put in the beginning, shows that it will get you to where you want to be. You may have to go through a lot of adversity, which I had to go through by being injured and coming back. That's the thing that they are going to need to know playing college soccer. You are going to have to work really hard and be pushed out of your comfort zone. I want to show them that even though things weren't going the way I wanted them to go, in the end, things are going to turn out better."
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
Players Mentioned
D/M
/ SoccerSOCCER | Lipscomb Postgame Press Conference
Saturday, November 15
SOCCER | Nick Zimmerman and Players Press Conference vs. Lipscomb
Saturday, November 15
SOCCER | Nick Zimmerman and Zoe Main Media Session
Saturday, November 15
SOCCER | Nick Zimmerman Media Session
Monday, November 10