Stories Of Success: Aquana Brownlee
February 23, 2023 | Softball, Joel Coleman
MSU infielder is latest Bulldog from Houston, Mississippi, to shine.
(Throughout Black History Month, Mississippi State is celebrating its current Black student-athletes, coaches and administrators by telling several of their personal stories. Today, HailState.com shines the spotlight on MSU softball's Aquana Brownlee.)
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's Aquana Brownlee was only about six years old when her dad came home with a gift for her.
Long before she became a Bulldog infielder for the softball program, Brownlee was an excited kid finding out the contents of this Wal-Mart bag her father possessed. Inside? It was a glove.
"[My dad] was like, 'I signed you up for softball,'" Brownlee recalled. "I was like, 'OK'. A day or two days later, I went to practice. I was so nervous."
Neither Brownlee nor anyone else could've possibly known it at the time, but Brownlee's road to MSU was starting to be paved.
These days, the Houston, Mississippi, native is doing big things for the Bulldogs. She's played in all 10 games so far this season, starting nine of them. She's hitting at an impressive .308 clip. She's tied for the team lead with two home runs, and she's tied for second in RBIs on the squad with seven.
In her fourth season, Brownlee has blossomed into an incredibly productive player and leader for MSU. So, it's kind of funny to think back to how it all started.
"I still remember that whole first practice," Brownlee said. "They put me in the outfield because I didn't know what to do. I had my arms behind my back. I was just holding my arms and twisting and turning and trying to see what everybody else was doing. When it was my turn to hit, I didn't hit a single ball. But I was told, 'Even if you don't hit this one, just run it out.' So, I swung and missed, and he just threw a ball on the field. I just ran all the bases and ran all the way home."
It was an artificial home run.
About a decade and a half later, Brownlee is perfectly capable of hitting her own dingers. She's come a long, long way from that first practice. Hard work and determination have made Brownlee the latest key Bulldog from her hometown, a couple of whom share the same blood as Brownlee.
Brownlee is the cousin of former State softball player Brittany Gates, who played for the Bulldogs from 2009 through 2012. She's also cousins with football great Chris Jones, who starred at State from 2013 through 2015 before going on to tremendous NFL success with the Kansas City Chiefs where, earlier this month, he won his second Super Bowl.
Given the ties and how Houston sits only about 50 miles north of Starkville, Brownlee always knew she wanted to follow in her family's footsteps. However, it was a bit of a stressful journey to get that chance.
As a high school standout, Brownlee attended softball camps at MSU, but had begun to lose hope she'd get an offer. She was considering another option or two. Finally, Brownlee got the offer she'd long been seeking.
"It's about time," Brownlee said of her reaction. "It was pretty special."
Brownlee spent the first three seasons of her MSU career playing sporadically but learning and growing all the while. It helped build her to the point she's at now where it appears she'll be a vital piece of the 2023 Dawgs. And you better believe Brownlee is ready for it.
"I feel like I've matured a lot," Brownlee said. "I've always had talent, but I wasn't mature in the past like I am now. I've realized the game is deeper than it seems. I've finally started honing in on that and it's gotten me to where I am now."
Don't misunderstand. While Brownlee is thrilled to be able to play her biggest role yet for the Maroon and White, she isn't settling at all.
"I want to be one of the key players," Brownlee explained. "I don't want to just be a player in the lineup. I want to be one of THE players in the lineup. I want everybody to know who I am. I want to be a threat at the plate. I want to be known for my extraordinary efforts."
The past illustrates how Brownlee won't rest until she's achieved her goal.
Rewind again back to Brownlee's early softball days when she was swinging the bat and hitting nothing but air. She didn't just magically improve. She had to earn it.
"I was so bad that first year I was like, 'I'm not going to feel like this again,'" Brownlee said. "I went in the yard. I'd throw the ball up in the air and catch it. I'd throw it on the roof and let it fall down and I'd catch it. I'd throw it against the bricks to give me some grounders. Then we had a big field in my backyard, so I'd throw the ball up and I'd hit it, go get it, turn around and hit it again…I've been good ever since."
Brownlee learned then and there that commitment and hard work can push you to new heights. She says that's the message she hopes she's able to send to any youngsters that look up to her hoping to one day live out their own dreams just as she is.
"Don't settle for where you're at now," Brownlee said. "Always try to work and get better because there's always people outworking you. You may not see it, but everybody wants the same thing you want, so you've got to work for it."
