No. 51 on the Florida State University (FSU) softball team, Michaela Edenfield is a business major, with dreams of becoming a media marketing major. She is a recipient of the Golden Nole Award: Rookie of the Year for her 2021-2022 season and was a top ten finalist for the NFCA Division 1 National Freshman of the Year award. Edenfield led the FSU softball team with 16 home runs in her freshman season, three shy of the Florida State freshman record. The catcher gives us an insight into the team dynamic and what it means to be a student-athlete.
Her Campus (HC): Michaela, please introduce yourself to our readers!
Michaela Edenfield (ME): I’m currently a redshirt sophomore and I have a humanities major that is centered around communications.
HC: Your official FSU softball roster states that you also played volleyball in high school (four-time 1A State Champions), was it difficult to choose between the two sports, or did you always favor softball?
ME: I grew up in a household of female athletes. We all played a lot of sports. Growing up I played basketball, volleyball and softball. I stopped playing basketball after middle school due to my high school’s well-known volleyball program. I loved playing volleyball so much, and I credit a lot of my growth as an athlete to my former coach, Sheila Roberts. Although I loved playing volleyball, softball was always my first love. I feel like softball has been passed down through my family. In fact, the first place my mom took me as she left the hospital was to my sister’s little league softball game. So, you could say softball was quite literally the first thing I’ve ever experienced.
HC: It’s hard to deny the team connectivity. As a member of the softball team, how would you describe the team dynamic?
ME: One of the reasons why I chose Florida State was due to the culture that Coach Alameda has established in this program. It’s crazy to think how a yellow ball can connect 20-plus girls across the country with one goal in mind: a National Championship. A team dynamic will always change due to the influx of new girls joining and those who graduate. This year is different than my other two years. As many people may know, we did lose in regionals last season, and it’s done nothing but help motivate Team 40 to be so much better. We have been blessed to receive such open and great followers as our freshmen class this year. Everyone has truly bought into what it takes to be a national champion team. I’m excited to see all of our new and current personalities take the field this spring.
HC: Your schedule is obviously much different than that of students who don’t play collegiate sports, can you walk us through a day in your life during softball season?
ME: A day in the life as a student-athlete may sound very busy to some, but from athlete to athlete, we all have been doing this task since at least high school. That being said, my schedule consists of three different tasks. 1. Morning lift/conditioning. 2. School (as you are a student before you are an athlete). 3. Afternoon softball: practice, meetings and games. If I was to give a detailed version of this on gameday, it would be:
- 6:30 a.m.: Wake Up
- 7:30 a.m.: Lift or conditioning
- 8:30 a.m.: Post-workout shake and breakfast
- 9–10 a.m.: Study time
- 10:40 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Class
- 1:40 p.m.: Lunch
- 2 p.m.: Dress out for softball and gameday makeup
- 3:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.: Softball (games can typically last two to two and a half hours)
- 8:50 p.m.: Post-game treatment
- 9:20 p.m.: Home
All of that is a rough schedule idea, but this is pretty typical for a home game.
HC: Short for Name, Image, and Likeness, a “NIL” refers to the way college athletes can receive compensation. As a D1 athlete, what are your thoughts on student-athletes forming NIL deals?
ME: I am very big on NIL. For many, this gives a free invitation to create career connections and relationships. Not only that, but we also get paid for our time. This does help in many aspects. Personally, I work on creating a big network for myself so I can have an easier life once softball is over for me.
HC: As a business major interested in sports marketing, are there any changes you would make to how D1 sports are marketed?
ME: I would make things less sexist on how the perspective on how women are supposed to handle a loss. Men are allowed to show such high levels of anger yet women are supposed to stay mellow. I think by showing all sides of passion in sports, it allows the audience to feel more connected to those athletes. I would also make sure that women’s sporting events would be as equally marketed as men’s. A majority of people don’t watch women’s sports simply because they didn’t know it existed, or knew it was on TV. That is why men’s sports have been so strong, they have always been marketed, while women’s sports are still recovering from a decade’s worth of no marketing.
HC: Is there anything you want people to know about collegiate sports or D1 softball?
ME: One takeaway I would say is to always put yourself in someone else’s shoes before you say a condescending comment. For you, it may be a sport you like to watch, but for others, they spent an endless number of years to be good at something to the point that it becomes their identity. So, as much as you want to cheer on the great success of a program, it means nothing if you can’t be there to support those when they fall short.
Michaela Edenfield is a huge influence on the dynamic of Florida State’s softball team and has played her role in their successes. No. 51 continues to make waves with her impressive skills on the field and her outspokenness on the culture of collegiate athletics. Look out for Michaela this softball season and as always, go ‘Noles!
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