Learning From The Best

STARKVILLE – Freshman Riley Hull met Mia Davidson when she was still in middle school and the then-freshman catcher at Mississippi State quickly became her favorite softball player. Later as Hull began attracting recruiting attention, she was viewed as a potential replacement for Davidson in Starkville.

The spring of 2020 changed everything, however. With the season cut short, the NCAA granted an additional year of eligibility to all student-athletes, meaning Davidson would still be around to play her final season when Hull arrived this past fall.

"I came in thinking that Mia was going to be gone and that I had humongous shoes to fill," Hull said. "Replacing Mia is a huge deal. You can't imagine doing that. Having this year for the learning experience and having her as my mentor, I don't think she realizes how much she does have an impact on me."

Both Hull and Davidson said the younger Bulldog adjusted to the college game very quickly, but it was still a change. Hull felt overwhelmed at first as she learned new things and felt sore after practice for some of the first times in her career.

"You're really just scared all the time because you're thinking I'm going to do something wrong," she said. "You are learning so many different things, and Mia was the first one to come up to me and say, 'You're here for a reason. You got recruited and you're here because they like what you can do.'"

After all, Hull is an outstanding catcher in her own right. In high school she was named All-Decade Player of the Year and was a two-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year. Hull would tell you the biggest honor she received was winning the Johnny Bench Award in 2019, honoring the top collegiate catchers in the nation and the top high school backstops in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.

That season marked the first time the Bench Award included softball players, which made it an extra special moment for Hull. Each winner was recognized on the field before a Cincinnati Reds game that summer.

Along with the on-field ceremonies, Hull was invited to a dinner with the Bench family and met both the award's namesake and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. She also participated in a press conference, just one of the many opportunities she's had that she feels prepared her for the spotlight of the collegiate game.

"I'm just so grateful that I can look in my phone now and if I have an issue, I can call Johnny or I can call his son Bobby," Hull said. "That family I really appreciate now."

But before she ever met Bench or Davidson, Hull had a role model living in her home. Her sister, Lex, played collegiately at South Carolina and Jacksonville State and taught Hull many of the dos and don'ts she takes with her today.

"if I have any time of question, the first person I call is my mom. If she doesn't answer, I'm going straight to my sister," Hull said. "They've really helped me grow more into my shoes as an adult."

The pair has bonded recently over thrift shopping and spent most of the holiday break searching stores for items they can restore for themselves, especially vinyl records. Since receiving a record player for Christmas in 2020, Hull's vinyl collection has grown to more than 60 albums.

Those thrifting trips have offered even more opportunities for conversations, and Lex has emphasized to her younger sister the importance of relationships over athletic success.

"I just want to be that person that at the end of the day people aren't focused on was she a good ball player but was she a good friend, a good teammate to me," Hull said." That's the biggest thing we have talked about. Nobody at the end of the day is going to care if you throw out this many runners. They're going remember if you were a good teammate or a good friend to them."

Meanwhile, her teammates have still noticed what she brings to the field. Hull threw out five runners stealing this fall, including three runners in a single game. And she hit at a .375 clip as well.

"I saw she was athletic and a pretty good hitter when she was younger," Davidson said. "She's very good at adjusting and taking in all that the coaches and I tell her."

And has Davidson learned anything from Hull?

"Oh, good lord. I really don't know," Hull said. "It feels like me mostly listening to her. Maybe as the season goes on we'll start sharing a little more about me and my technique."

Davidson's not as quick to shrug that off.

"She has taught me that you can always learn new things from anyone," Davidson said. "It doesn't matter how old you are. I think it's kind of like a big and little sister thing. I teach her what I can, but I also pick on her like a big sister would and we have some good laughs."

Mississippi State University Athletics

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