Take A Number

STARKVILLE – For more than a century, athletes have been identified by numbers on the back of their jerseys.

In 1916, the Cleveland Club in Major League Baseball became the first to numerically label its players on the diamond, but at the time the uniform digits corresponded directly to a player's slot in the batting order. There wasn't much room for creativity in such a system.

Today, however, teams and athletes have gone beyond the old Nos. 1-9 and are limited only to single- and double-digit integers. In fact, in 2020, the final MLB number between zero and 99 was issued when Miguel Yajure wore No. 89 for the New York Yankees.

Numbers have a way of becoming synonymous with the athletes that wear them. There's Wayne Gretzky's No. 99, Jackie Robinson's No. 42, Dale Earnhardt's No. 3. The list goes on.

For Mississippi State softball, the incoming class that will take the field in 2024, might bring in the most unique directory of digits the Bulldogs have ever seen. Four incoming freshmen have selected jerseys that have never been worn by a State softball player, and one transfer's jersey represents a cause that's close to her heart.

So what's in a number? Why would they pick some that no one else seems to want? And what do they say when someone else might want the same jersey you do?

Jessie Blaine – No. 22

Jessie Blaine isn't the first to pick a number to honor a loved one or represent a cause. Former Bulldog and current player development fellow Alyssa Loza wore No. 98 as a way to physically say that "all nine players are playing for No. 8." No. 8 is, of course, retired now to honor the late Alex Wilcox who battled ovarian cancer while playing at MSU the year before Loza arrived.

Blaine's No. 22 is representative of what was previously known as the Kill 22 Foundation. Now known as the One Tribe Foundation, the organization works to combat suicide among military veterans. At the time the foundation was started, an average of 22 veterans committed suicide each day.

"My dad is a Marine Corps officer, and that is the community I grew up in," Blaine explained. "I did not grow up in one state, one town or play for one high school. I bounced around. I was a Marine Corps baby, so that was my community and that was what I want to represent coming into college."

Over time the number has varied. It thankfully declined for a few years after Blaine chose No. 22, but it is rising once again. Blaine has kept No. 22 because that was how she was introduced to the foundation and the cause. It has a special meaning to her and the "Kill 22" slogan remains well-known in the Marine community.

"If it was a number important to somebody else then I would let them cherish that," Blaine said. "But if it doesn't have a lot of meaning to them, it is definitely important to me. It's something I like to wear on my back and have close to my heart."

Salen Hawkins – No. 47

Salen Hawkins was seven when she first chose the No. 47 jersey. It wasn't the very first number she wore – that was No. 55 because it was her dad's football jersey – but it never really changed from that point on.

Sure, there was that one year in travel ball where she wore No. 22, but that was just because the coach's daughter wanted No. 47 like her favorite baseball player. Did Hawkins also pick it because she looked up to someone else wearing it? Not quite.

"There was a video game that my dad used to play when I was little called Hitman," she said. "It's like this bald dude that's a hitman, and he has a barcode on the back of his head. At the end the number is 47, so he's Agent 47."

The game was eventually the basis for two Hollywood films in 2007 and 2015.

"I even had a bald head batting helmet that my dad's friend made for me, and it had a barcode with all zeros until the last two were 47," Hawkins added.

Hawkins would occasionally play the games with her dad, but eventually school and softball took up more of her time. They played on the original PlayStation and later the first XBOX. Over the summer, the Hawkins family got a new PlayStation, which has made its way to Starkville.

"My dad's bringing it on Friday, so I'll be able to start playing it again!" Hawkins said excitedly.

Delainey Everett – No. 48

Delainey Everett had two reasons to wear No. 48 – her uncle and her favorite MLB player. Everett's uncle, Josh Parry, played college football at San Jose State and wore the No. 48 jersey before going on to a three-season NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.

"He's on my mom's side, her brother," Everett said. "His number was 48, and that really touched my heart. I always like an even number, and I wanted double digits."

The decision was secured when her favorite player on her favorite team wore the same number for 11 seasons.

"Growing up I always loved the San Francisco Giants and Pablo Sandoval, the third baseman," she added. "He was also No. 48, so I picked that as my first number in travel ball and it stuck with me."

She's never been on a team where anyone else wanted her uniform, but said if she had to pick a different option she'd take No. 9 for an equally unique reason.

"That was my high school number, and I like it because it looks like a racecar driver's number," she said.

Kylee Edwards – No. 67

Kylee Edwards didn't know which number she wanted, but she knew which one she didn't. She was moving to a new travel ball team and had decided No. 4 wouldn't be coming with her.

"I wanted a fresh new start," she said.

She still hadn't thought of a new one by the time the coach starting asking for choices for the year. Edwards was at a camp, where she'd been assigned bib 067 for the many drills, when the call came.

"I was like you know what let's stick with 67, so I just kept it throughout the years. When I was asked that I was 13 years old, and I've just kept it since."

It was a split decision but one that stuck. Plus throughout the rest of her recruiting journey while other prospects had to wear varying numbers so there wouldn't be multiple with the same one on the field at a camp, she could consistently keep one identifier.

"I was having a good camp, obviously, and I was like, 'You know, it can't hurt,'" Edwards said. "You rarely see somebody with No. 67. I'm not really into stuff like oh if I don't have that number, I'm not going to play well. I don't really have any superstitions or anything like that. I just think it's neat because nobody has it and it's something different."

It was even different enough to surprise Samantha Ricketts despite her years of coaching experience.

"I think Coach Ricketts' reaction was like, 'What in the world?'" Edwards said. "She knew I had it in travel ball, but I don't think she knew I was going to keep it through college."

Ella Wesolowski – No. 74

For Ella Wesolowski, the number she wears is a reminder of a goal accomplished. As a highly-touted catching prospect primarily for her arm and ability to control the running game, throwing skills were always important to Wesolowski.

While at an MSU camp, she registered overhand velocities of 72 and 73 mph but begged Ricketts for one more throw. That final throw registered at 74 on the radar gun, and it's been something she's carried with her since.

"I guess that number is constant reminder of always trying to hit that goal, always trying to throw and always trying to work hard every play," she said.

In the lead up to the camp, Wesolowski had dove headfirst into a new throwing program. She worked on her arm strength every day, but had topped out consistently around 70 or 71 mph.

"I am a throwing freak. I love figuring out the stuff and watching videos, and then I ended up switching catching coaches and getting really in-depth with catching," Wesolowski said. "The two-month program was just long toss every day, bands every day, icing a few times a week, and I went from throwing 65 to 71 within a month. When I got to the camp, I ended up throwing 74, which is my highest."

She doesn't like talking about her number because she worries it could come off as boasting. But with a jersey like No. 74, she's had her fair share of questions. Before she threw at camp, she'd always worn No. 23 for her birthday or No. 9, the same that her dad wore before her. When those were taken during travel ball, she claimed 74. From that day on, it's also given her a chance to tell everyone about her experience in Starkville and the story behind her digits.

"I had the opportunity to change it the next few years, but it was superstitious thing for me," she added. "I am a very superstitious person, and I had a good year when I used that, so I kept it. But to all the girls, I'd have to say, 'Oh, the Mississippi State Camp, that is where it came from.' I just knew this was where I wanted to commit to. With my number, I wanted to carry it on as well because that was a big part of what originally got me here."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jessie Blaine

Kylee Edwards

Delainey Everett

Salen Hawkins

Ella Wesolowski

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