Playing softball at the college level has always been a dream for one Texas State athlete, and after a successful first year in the books, she continues to find inspiration for the game through her family.
Bailee Carter, sophomore infielder, made her debut as a Bobcat in the 2016-17 school year.
Her desire to want to play softball began from wanting to follow in her father’s footsteps.
Michael Carter, Bailee’s father, played baseball at Henderson State. While he no longer plays baseball, her father coached Carter in her beginning years of playing the game.
“Since he played I thought it would be cool for me to go play too since it was in the family,” Carter said. “He helps me out a lot and he’s part of the reason why I’m here.”
However, it is her mother who coached her throughout her life.
“Both of my parents are my biggest role models,” Carter said. “Their drive and ambition and they’re both really successful and I hope to be like that.”
Carter’s parents guided her throughout her life to prepare her for softball at the college level. After starting the recruiting process in the eighth grade, Carter made her dreams come true once she decided to become a Bobcat.
“To play at the college level means a lot,” Carter said. “It was a lot of hard work to get here and right now it’s just paying off, all of that hard work we did for so many years.”
While Carter had to leave her family in Azle, Texas, behind, she was welcomed by a new family right away.
“My favorite part about playing softball at Texas State would be the group of girls that you get to come into when you first get here,” Carter said. “You automatically have all these friends that are basically like your family.”
Although Carter started at second base in all 57 games she played in and ranked second on the team with a .259 batting average during her freshman year, there was still a lot Carter learned.
“I thought I knew a lot about softball until I got here and I felt like I learned more in one year than I did my whole life,” Carter said. “I learned a lot about the game like situations, strategies and I had a lot of fun learning more stuff about the game that I didn’t even know existed.”
With her new Texas State family supporting her, Carter’s parents and younger brother are still her number one fans—attending all of her home games and even some of the away games.
“They always remind me to have fun and don’t stress too much about softball,” Carter said. “They always support me no matter what.”
Whether Carter is playing the game for her parents, her Bobcat family or even herself, she finds comfort in knowing that Texas State is where she belongs.
“I really enjoy getting to be a Bobcat,” Carter said. “Texas State is really coming up and rising and we want to help that with what we do with the softball program. That means a lot to be a part of Texas State and be on the upcoming.”