Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
The All-American Girl: Brylie St. Clair
May 16, 2020 | Softball, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – With two strikes, the pitcher stared in to the catcher for the sign and came set. She paused for a moment before delivering her pitch, a strike that zipped past the hitter and sent him back to the dugout.
As she caught the ball on the mound and waited for the next batter, a young Brylie St. Clair could hear laughter from the dugout.
"Every time I would strike someone out, they would make fun of them because a girl struck them out," she remembered. "I thought it was funny. I remember laughing at them."
She made quick work of another batter then packed up her things and rushed home to get the dirt off and put her makeup on. She had a photoshoot to be at that afternoon.
St. Clair, like many of her softball teammates at Mississippi State, began her athletic career playing baseball with the boys at the age of four. By the time she was nine, she played both baseball and softball at the same time. The next year, she made the move to softball permanently.
But off the field, she was a highly successful pageant queen, winning up to $10,000 over a three-year span.
"I've been doing those since I was little bitty, around one," she said. "That and cheer is what my mom just always knew I was going to do, but then I started to like softball."
St. Clair's mother was a cheerleader at a community college near the family's Sand Rock, Alabama, home. She started her daughter in her cheerleading footsteps from a very young age.
It began with gymnastics lessons. By age seven, St. Clair was in advanced tumbling classes and cheering competitively. She would stick with cheer from kindergarten through her senior year of high school.
"I always liked sideline cheer," she explained. "I did competition cheer, and I had a mental block with tumbling and stuff. But I always loved high school cheer, junior high, JV and then varsity."
The freshman outfielder succeeded in that realm as well. St. Clair was named a UCA All-American twice and was invited to try out for the UCA staff team to help run camps for younger girls.
She's now focused on earning her third All-American honor, on the diamond.
"It's a goal of course, and you always want to do the best you can to get there," she said. "It would be special to do both. It would be cool. Not many people can say that."
A typical fall weekend for St. Clair was packed full of competition. When she finished cheering on the sidelines at her high school's football games, she and her parents would immediately load up the car and drive to the next pageant location. They might stop in Atlanta or Chattanooga for dinner along the way, but the routine was the same whenever they reached the hotel.
"Mom would register me for the pageant when we got there," she said. "I'd get my spray tan, eat something and go to sleep. The next morning we'd wake up and I'd go to hair and makeup at about 10 or 11 a.m."
By 3 p.m., St. Clair would be competing in her first event – beauty. She would then change for the casual wear, swimwear and outfit of choice portions of the contest. The family would wrap up the day with a shopping trip before dinner.
On Sundays, she'd have an 8 a.m. call for hair and makeup before awards and the crowning ceremony. The family would get lunch then head back home, ready to do it all again the next weekend.
The busy schedule and her success led many people to ask her if she was considering cheering at MSU along with playing softball.
"People asked why I didn't try to take it seriously and cheer in college, but I've always known I wanted to play softball in college since I started playing," she said.
She has brought lessons from the stage and the mat to the batter's box, however. St. Clair said the feelings before her first college games with the Bulldogs were similar to the way she felt before performing a routine.
"Before you take the mat in a cheer competition, you get these jitters," she said. "Your body gets hot all over because you're so nervous. That's how I felt before my first college games this past fall, the nervousness."
In the Bulldogs' home opener against Alabama State, head coach Samantha Ricketts called St. Clair's name in the bottom of the fourth inning. She was being asked to pinch hit for her first collegiate at-bat.
As she headed over to the rack to grab her helmet and bat, she felt the nerves rushing over her. She can remember pulling on her batting gloves over sweaty palms. She left the top step of the dugout and headed to the on-deck circle. There she just tried to calm down.
"I've been on a big stage before, playing in the PGF national championship," she told herself. "I've had big at-bats before. I didn't want to treat it any differently than any other at-bat."
The outfielders took a step in expecting the speedy left-hander to slap her way aboard. Instead she drove the first pitch she saw over the right fielder's head.
"When I saw that she had to back-step and turn, I knew I was headed for three," St. Clair said.
As she pulled into third with an RBI triple, she cracked a smile and flexed to the dugout. This time, she was laughing with them.
STARKVILLE – With two strikes, the pitcher stared in to the catcher for the sign and came set. She paused for a moment before delivering her pitch, a strike that zipped past the hitter and sent him back to the dugout.
As she caught the ball on the mound and waited for the next batter, a young Brylie St. Clair could hear laughter from the dugout.
"Every time I would strike someone out, they would make fun of them because a girl struck them out," she remembered. "I thought it was funny. I remember laughing at them."
She made quick work of another batter then packed up her things and rushed home to get the dirt off and put her makeup on. She had a photoshoot to be at that afternoon.
St. Clair, like many of her softball teammates at Mississippi State, began her athletic career playing baseball with the boys at the age of four. By the time she was nine, she played both baseball and softball at the same time. The next year, she made the move to softball permanently.
But off the field, she was a highly successful pageant queen, winning up to $10,000 over a three-year span.
"I've been doing those since I was little bitty, around one," she said. "That and cheer is what my mom just always knew I was going to do, but then I started to like softball."
St. Clair's mother was a cheerleader at a community college near the family's Sand Rock, Alabama, home. She started her daughter in her cheerleading footsteps from a very young age.
It began with gymnastics lessons. By age seven, St. Clair was in advanced tumbling classes and cheering competitively. She would stick with cheer from kindergarten through her senior year of high school.
"I always liked sideline cheer," she explained. "I did competition cheer, and I had a mental block with tumbling and stuff. But I always loved high school cheer, junior high, JV and then varsity."
The freshman outfielder succeeded in that realm as well. St. Clair was named a UCA All-American twice and was invited to try out for the UCA staff team to help run camps for younger girls.
She's now focused on earning her third All-American honor, on the diamond.
"It's a goal of course, and you always want to do the best you can to get there," she said. "It would be special to do both. It would be cool. Not many people can say that."
A typical fall weekend for St. Clair was packed full of competition. When she finished cheering on the sidelines at her high school's football games, she and her parents would immediately load up the car and drive to the next pageant location. They might stop in Atlanta or Chattanooga for dinner along the way, but the routine was the same whenever they reached the hotel.
"Mom would register me for the pageant when we got there," she said. "I'd get my spray tan, eat something and go to sleep. The next morning we'd wake up and I'd go to hair and makeup at about 10 or 11 a.m."
By 3 p.m., St. Clair would be competing in her first event – beauty. She would then change for the casual wear, swimwear and outfit of choice portions of the contest. The family would wrap up the day with a shopping trip before dinner.
On Sundays, she'd have an 8 a.m. call for hair and makeup before awards and the crowning ceremony. The family would get lunch then head back home, ready to do it all again the next weekend.
The busy schedule and her success led many people to ask her if she was considering cheering at MSU along with playing softball.
"People asked why I didn't try to take it seriously and cheer in college, but I've always known I wanted to play softball in college since I started playing," she said.
She has brought lessons from the stage and the mat to the batter's box, however. St. Clair said the feelings before her first college games with the Bulldogs were similar to the way she felt before performing a routine.
"Before you take the mat in a cheer competition, you get these jitters," she said. "Your body gets hot all over because you're so nervous. That's how I felt before my first college games this past fall, the nervousness."
In the Bulldogs' home opener against Alabama State, head coach Samantha Ricketts called St. Clair's name in the bottom of the fourth inning. She was being asked to pinch hit for her first collegiate at-bat.
As she headed over to the rack to grab her helmet and bat, she felt the nerves rushing over her. She can remember pulling on her batting gloves over sweaty palms. She left the top step of the dugout and headed to the on-deck circle. There she just tried to calm down.
"I've been on a big stage before, playing in the PGF national championship," she told herself. "I've had big at-bats before. I didn't want to treat it any differently than any other at-bat."
The outfielders took a step in expecting the speedy left-hander to slap her way aboard. Instead she drove the first pitch she saw over the right fielder's head.
"When I saw that she had to back-step and turn, I knew I was headed for three," St. Clair said.
As she pulled into third with an RBI triple, she cracked a smile and flexed to the dugout. This time, she was laughing with them.
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