Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Proving It
May 18, 2020 | Softball, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Aquana Brownlee's teammates knew. Her opponents knew. Plenty of people in the stands knew.
As Houston High School's junior third baseman stepped up to the plate in the 2018 MHSAA State Championship game at Nusz Park, she felt like she'd already won. To the Mississippi State commit, this was already her field and she was coming to put on a show.
At first things had felt odd. Before the game, players were limited to certain areas of the complex and were escorted by staff as they moved from a stretching and tossing area, to the batting cages and eventually the dugouts. But then she stepped on the dirt and began lacing up her cleats.
"When we actually started warming up, it was like okay it's getting real," she said. "I'm warming up here to play an actual game that's not a scrimmage or a camp. I'm fixing to play a state championship. Is this what it's going to feel like when I'm playing an SEC game next year?"
The confidence and comfort she felt after camps and recruiting visits in Starkville, came back to her in the batter's box. For Brownlee and fellow Mississippi native, Aspen Wesley, it was a special chance to take the field they would eventually call home a few months early. Both of them made the most of it.
"We're the only ones who were able to play our state championship on this field," Brownlee said. "Then we both hit home runs. I felt good because I hit home runs both days I was there, and I was like, 'I can get used to this. I'm ready to do this next year.'"
The girl nicknamed "Honeybun" for always wearing a bun that could barely fit under her helmet, wasn't always so confident. She carries herself with somewhat of an edge now, daring people to question her ability just so she can prove herself.
Brownlee remembers when she was the worst on the field. She kept the story in her back pocket, never sharing it until that senior season of high school. Even then, her teammates didn't believe it.
"I was terrible," she said. "The first day of practice, I couldn't hit a ball, but my coach knew I was fast. He was like, 'Even if you don't hit it, just run.' So I ran."
As Brownlee would swing through yet another pitch in batting practice, her coach would turn and throw ball somewhere in the field as she took off towards first base. It gave her teammates in the field a chance to get some practice in, but for Brownlee it was just embarrassing.
Games were worse. Whenever she would come up to bat, she could hear one of the moms in the stands blow her breath and question why she was getting to play.
"Everybody knew I was going to get out," Brownlee said. "After that, I was like, 'I'm not going to be like this again.'"
"Honeybun" had no shortage of great athletes to look up to and model herself after. Her cousins had standout athletic careers at MSU.
Brittany Gates, started 200 games in the outfield for the Bulldogs from 2009-12. Brownlee watched her play on TV throughout elementary school. Gates would come back to her hometown over breaks and tell stories about playing in college and help Brownlee with her swing.
A year after Gates' career ended, another cousin joined the defensive line at State, beginning his All-American career. Chris Jones was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2020, he won a Super Bowl.
"The town was proud of him, and we were proud of him. Then how much recognition he got and he wasn't even the quarterback, it was just like that's how Houston makes athletes."
Brownlee never got the chance to watch Gates play in Starkville, but she did make it to a couple of Jones' games. Her first trip to MSU's campus came during her sophomore year of high school when she was invited to a softball camp.
"I didn't know a thing about camp," she said. "If I would've had prior knowledge to it, I would've done everything so differently. I went to the camp thinking it was a camp. I wasn't trying to prove myself or make them want me. I was just here to have fun, meet people and play softball."
When the time came for prospects to go on a campus tour, Brownlee turned down the offer. She had just been there to enjoy herself and spend some time that summer playing her sport. She remembers her coach calling her to tell her she may have just walked away from her chance to play in college.
She was going to have to prove herself again. She's felt the need to do that as long as she's been playing the game.
While most of her competitive nature goes back to the days of running out ground balls her coach rolled to infielders, one event in particular shaped her outlook.
During her 10U season, Brownlee's grandmother passed away during one of her games. She'd been struggling at the plate and didn't think much of it when her cousin in the stands told her to hit the next pitch for Grandma.
Instead Brownlee struck out to end the inning. Between frames, her parents stopped the game and pulled her off the field to tell her. She broke down crying, and for a while she blamed herself.
"I was young, so I was thinking if I would've hit the ball, she wouldn't have died," Brownlee said. "That's why I got back on the field. I had to make some good out of this."
When she headed back out on defense, she made a diving catch on a bunt, something she knows would have made her grandmother proud.
By the time she was playing for a state title, Brownlee had more than proved herself. After walking away from camp, she'd earned MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. She picked up an offer from the Bulldogs the following January.
As a junior, she stole 45 bases and batted .598 on her way to being named MVP and Offensive Player of the Year again. The two home runs on the championship weekend were just the exclamation point, a final chance to tell everyone watching that she belonged on that field.
STARKVILLE – Aquana Brownlee's teammates knew. Her opponents knew. Plenty of people in the stands knew.
As Houston High School's junior third baseman stepped up to the plate in the 2018 MHSAA State Championship game at Nusz Park, she felt like she'd already won. To the Mississippi State commit, this was already her field and she was coming to put on a show.
At first things had felt odd. Before the game, players were limited to certain areas of the complex and were escorted by staff as they moved from a stretching and tossing area, to the batting cages and eventually the dugouts. But then she stepped on the dirt and began lacing up her cleats.
"When we actually started warming up, it was like okay it's getting real," she said. "I'm warming up here to play an actual game that's not a scrimmage or a camp. I'm fixing to play a state championship. Is this what it's going to feel like when I'm playing an SEC game next year?"
The confidence and comfort she felt after camps and recruiting visits in Starkville, came back to her in the batter's box. For Brownlee and fellow Mississippi native, Aspen Wesley, it was a special chance to take the field they would eventually call home a few months early. Both of them made the most of it.
"We're the only ones who were able to play our state championship on this field," Brownlee said. "Then we both hit home runs. I felt good because I hit home runs both days I was there, and I was like, 'I can get used to this. I'm ready to do this next year.'"
The girl nicknamed "Honeybun" for always wearing a bun that could barely fit under her helmet, wasn't always so confident. She carries herself with somewhat of an edge now, daring people to question her ability just so she can prove herself.
Brownlee remembers when she was the worst on the field. She kept the story in her back pocket, never sharing it until that senior season of high school. Even then, her teammates didn't believe it.
"I was terrible," she said. "The first day of practice, I couldn't hit a ball, but my coach knew I was fast. He was like, 'Even if you don't hit it, just run.' So I ran."
As Brownlee would swing through yet another pitch in batting practice, her coach would turn and throw ball somewhere in the field as she took off towards first base. It gave her teammates in the field a chance to get some practice in, but for Brownlee it was just embarrassing.
Games were worse. Whenever she would come up to bat, she could hear one of the moms in the stands blow her breath and question why she was getting to play.
"Everybody knew I was going to get out," Brownlee said. "After that, I was like, 'I'm not going to be like this again.'"
"Honeybun" had no shortage of great athletes to look up to and model herself after. Her cousins had standout athletic careers at MSU.
Brittany Gates, started 200 games in the outfield for the Bulldogs from 2009-12. Brownlee watched her play on TV throughout elementary school. Gates would come back to her hometown over breaks and tell stories about playing in college and help Brownlee with her swing.
A year after Gates' career ended, another cousin joined the defensive line at State, beginning his All-American career. Chris Jones was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2020, he won a Super Bowl.
"The town was proud of him, and we were proud of him. Then how much recognition he got and he wasn't even the quarterback, it was just like that's how Houston makes athletes."
Brownlee never got the chance to watch Gates play in Starkville, but she did make it to a couple of Jones' games. Her first trip to MSU's campus came during her sophomore year of high school when she was invited to a softball camp.
"I didn't know a thing about camp," she said. "If I would've had prior knowledge to it, I would've done everything so differently. I went to the camp thinking it was a camp. I wasn't trying to prove myself or make them want me. I was just here to have fun, meet people and play softball."
When the time came for prospects to go on a campus tour, Brownlee turned down the offer. She had just been there to enjoy herself and spend some time that summer playing her sport. She remembers her coach calling her to tell her she may have just walked away from her chance to play in college.
She was going to have to prove herself again. She's felt the need to do that as long as she's been playing the game.
While most of her competitive nature goes back to the days of running out ground balls her coach rolled to infielders, one event in particular shaped her outlook.
During her 10U season, Brownlee's grandmother passed away during one of her games. She'd been struggling at the plate and didn't think much of it when her cousin in the stands told her to hit the next pitch for Grandma.
Instead Brownlee struck out to end the inning. Between frames, her parents stopped the game and pulled her off the field to tell her. She broke down crying, and for a while she blamed herself.
"I was young, so I was thinking if I would've hit the ball, she wouldn't have died," Brownlee said. "That's why I got back on the field. I had to make some good out of this."
When she headed back out on defense, she made a diving catch on a bunt, something she knows would have made her grandmother proud.
By the time she was playing for a state title, Brownlee had more than proved herself. After walking away from camp, she'd earned MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. She picked up an offer from the Bulldogs the following January.
As a junior, she stole 45 bases and batted .598 on her way to being named MVP and Offensive Player of the Year again. The two home runs on the championship weekend were just the exclamation point, a final chance to tell everyone watching that she belonged on that field.
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Softball
P
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