Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Elevator Music
January 28, 2022 | Softball
STARKVILLE – It didn't take Saleyna Daniel long to get noticed on campus. All along her dorm room hallway, she's known as the girl who sings.
One day as she was getting in the elevator with her freshman teammates, a student she'd never met before also boarded as Daniel belted out the chorus of "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs.
"It's because I sing that song with my chest," Daniel said. "He was like, 'It's a good song.' I said, 'It is a good song.' So every time I get in the elevator, I sing that song. Now, I've made a friend. His name's Wyatt, and that's how I met him, singing in the elevator."
Shy is clearly not the word to describe Daniel, but in certain crowds it fits. When she first arrived in Starkville, she felt like it may have fit a bit better than usual. The hardest part of her adjustment to college life came in embracing a new community.
"I live in an area where everybody knows who I am, and how I am," she explained. "And then you come somewhere new and nobody knows who you are. You have to be like, 'Hey, my name's Saleyna,' and that's something I've had to learn, how people have different personalities and how you come together with different personalities."
Daniel's personality has a little bit of everything. She likes to read but said that's something that still very few of her teammates know about her. She's a big fan of rom-coms but is the first to admit she judges a book by its cover. The title has to catch her eye.
She reads one book at a time because she has to "finish what I start." Her favorite book is "The Summer I Turned Pretty" trilogy by Jenny Han, who also wrote "To All the Boys I Loved Before," which has been turned into a Netflix movie.
"I read all of her books before she became popular. It's like I'm psychic," she said. "I've always been like that though, middle school to now. I used to love books in middle school."
She also brings musical talent to the table, having played the flute in her high school band.
"If I wasn't a softball person, I'd be a band geek," she added. "Want me to do my march? I still remember it. It actually burns your calves."
There was plenty for Daniel to express about herself, but for the first half of her first semester only the freshmen on the softball team got to see it. Eventually, her other teammates caught on. Daniel said after seeing her with her classmates, the rest of her teammates began to understand her eclectic personality and how to connect with her.
"I think I'm really easy to make laugh, I laugh at literally anything. Everything is funny to me," Daniel said.
That sense of humor was a way in for some, but Daniel said she also learned to adjust without changing who she truly is. She can't quite explain in or put it into words, but it's something her head coach noticed as well.
"I think she's still her same sassy self," Samantha Ricketts said. "But she's more comfortable in front of the rest of the team now, which shows up on the field."
It's been an important step for the young freshman as she prepares for her first Opening Day in two weeks, but Daniel has shown she has the ability to adapt, to branch out and let others see the fun-loving, sassy side of her in a way that connects her to a new community.
One day as she was getting in the elevator with her freshman teammates, a student she'd never met before also boarded as Daniel belted out the chorus of "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs.
"It's because I sing that song with my chest," Daniel said. "He was like, 'It's a good song.' I said, 'It is a good song.' So every time I get in the elevator, I sing that song. Now, I've made a friend. His name's Wyatt, and that's how I met him, singing in the elevator."
Shy is clearly not the word to describe Daniel, but in certain crowds it fits. When she first arrived in Starkville, she felt like it may have fit a bit better than usual. The hardest part of her adjustment to college life came in embracing a new community.
"I live in an area where everybody knows who I am, and how I am," she explained. "And then you come somewhere new and nobody knows who you are. You have to be like, 'Hey, my name's Saleyna,' and that's something I've had to learn, how people have different personalities and how you come together with different personalities."
Daniel's personality has a little bit of everything. She likes to read but said that's something that still very few of her teammates know about her. She's a big fan of rom-coms but is the first to admit she judges a book by its cover. The title has to catch her eye.
She reads one book at a time because she has to "finish what I start." Her favorite book is "The Summer I Turned Pretty" trilogy by Jenny Han, who also wrote "To All the Boys I Loved Before," which has been turned into a Netflix movie.
"I read all of her books before she became popular. It's like I'm psychic," she said. "I've always been like that though, middle school to now. I used to love books in middle school."
She also brings musical talent to the table, having played the flute in her high school band.
"If I wasn't a softball person, I'd be a band geek," she added. "Want me to do my march? I still remember it. It actually burns your calves."
There was plenty for Daniel to express about herself, but for the first half of her first semester only the freshmen on the softball team got to see it. Eventually, her other teammates caught on. Daniel said after seeing her with her classmates, the rest of her teammates began to understand her eclectic personality and how to connect with her.
"I think I'm really easy to make laugh, I laugh at literally anything. Everything is funny to me," Daniel said.
That sense of humor was a way in for some, but Daniel said she also learned to adjust without changing who she truly is. She can't quite explain in or put it into words, but it's something her head coach noticed as well.
"I think she's still her same sassy self," Samantha Ricketts said. "But she's more comfortable in front of the rest of the team now, which shows up on the field."
It's been an important step for the young freshman as she prepares for her first Opening Day in two weeks, but Daniel has shown she has the ability to adapt, to branch out and let others see the fun-loving, sassy side of her in a way that connects her to a new community.
Players Mentioned
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