Patience Paying Off

STARKVILLE – Nadia Barbary sat in her dorm room surrounded by new friends in the middle of a heated game of cards. A simple text message had brought this group together that night, but it was the result of the outgoing personalities and initiative of herself and her teammates.

"We got on the elevator and hit every single floor," Barbary said. "We'd walk out and see if anybody was out there and introduce ourselves to get to know them, their background, where they're from, their majors, all that type of stuff."

From that point on the Mississippi State softball freshmen had their pool of game players. A quick text would start the plans for one of many game nights to come, and there was one game that became a go-to hit: Uno, but with a twist. In Uno Flip all the cards have a "dark side" that lends itself toward the meaner aspects of gameplay.

"It gets competitive," Barbary said. "You have some who try to say Uno before they put their card down. There's a card where you get to make up a rule, so it might be something like pick up half of the stack."

Along with the new friends she's made, there's one person she's known for years. Barbary's roommate is fellow freshman Gabby Coffey, and both have been Bulldogs for quite some time. They were State's final early commits before the NCAA adopted a new recruiting timeline, and Barbary has planned to attend MSU since she was in seventh grade.

"I had always known after my first couple of visits here," she said. "I always knew State was my No. 1. I've known for a long time."

Coffey and Barbary had planned out the color schemes for their room for months. They've followed the Bulldogs for years and watched as the program has grown.

"I loved watching Mia [Davidson], Fa [Leilua], Kat [Moore], all the people that have graduated," Barbary said. "It was nice to see them grow up in the State system and see them develop as players."

Watching from afar only encouraged Barbary that she'd made the right choice. It was important to her that she stay somewhat close to her family in Douglasville, Georgia, but she also wanted to grow.

After meeting the Bulldog coaches and attending a few camps, she fell in love with the atmosphere at State. She felt welcomed and at home despite being two states away.

"I wanted to make sure I went somewhere to where it wasn't just like you come in how you are and that's how you're going to leave," Barbary said. "I wanted to be able to develop my game and become a better player. I realized that's what State was doing, so I wanted to be a part of it."

Now she's getting the chance to play with some of the same players she's watched for years. She's being coached by Mia Davidson-Smith after watching the All-American from a far for all this time.

"I knew that she was going to be graduating when I came in, and I was like, 'That's somebody that I would love to learn from and get her mental side of the game,'" she said. "Now I'm able to because she is a coach, and it's been great. She's helped a lot on the mental side too, but then also her knowledge on hitting is amazing. I'm learning so much already."

All of the waiting paid off for Barbary in late September when she was able to pull on a maroon jersey and take the field for the Bulldogs. Her parents made the trip back to Starkville for the first time since they helped move her into the dorm where memories have already been made.

"It was nice to see a familiar family face. It was the first college game, so nerves were running and all that, just wanting to perform well," she said. "Being able to see my dad helped me calm down and just relax and play my game."

Now Barbary can turn her attention to the development she's been looking forward to for years and become a player the next generation can look up to as well.

Mississippi State University Athletics

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