From Nebraska farm girl to Wichita State home run hero, Addison Barnard becomes star
It’s not every day you recruit a farm girl from a tiny town in Nebraska with the speed, quick hands and bat speed of Addison Barnard.
So yes, Wichita State softball coach Kristi Bredbenner still remembers her first impression of Barnard in the recruiting circuit.
“She played basketball and softball and ran track in high school, then played competitive softball in summer and worked on the farm with her dad,” Bredbenner said. “When you look at all of those things, you know she’s a blue-collar kid and would thrive in our program. To me, it was a no-brainer. Those types of kids are the ones that have the most success in my opinion because they’re willing to put in the work.”
Bredbenner knew she was getting a steal in Barnard, but not even the coach could have imagined the impact Barnard would make in her first season. As a true freshman, Barnard has already broken WSU’s single-season record for home runs (19) and runs batted in (51) and ranks top-five nationally in both categories. On Thursday, she was named a finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year award.
Barnard has been a crucial addition to the Shockers’ explosive offense, which has shattered the program’s team home run record, and allowed WSU (34-9-1) to enter this weekend’s conference series finale at Tulsa with a chance to win its first American Athletic Conference championship and earn a NCAA Regional bid.
“I don’t know if Addie ever realized how good she potentially could be and that’s what I like about her,” Bredbenner said. “I think a steal is a great word for it. But she’s also just a great fit for us.”
Here’s the story of the journey of a Nebraska farm girl who is now rewriting the Shocker history books.
Life on the farm molds a Division I softball player
When other softball players were traveling the country for national showcase events in the summer, Barnard wasn’t always able to go.
Raised on the family farm in Beatrice, a town of around 12,000 in southeast Nebraska, Barnard’s duties included driving a tractor to deliver hay to cows. She was also in charge of washing and feeding them twice a day. While most softball players are passionate about their club softball team, Barnard was just as excited about 4-H club.
In fact, there came a weekend every summer where Barnard would skip out on a national softball tournament to show her cows at the county fair.
“It was important to us and to her because we felt like it taught her responsibility,” Deann Barnard said.
Her father, Curt, could tell his daughter was built different the first time he took her deer hunting at age 6.
“She really loved it, even though we were sitting two or three hours in between shots,” Curt Barnard said. “As a six-year-old, that takes a lot of dedication and patience. Most kids that age, after 15 minutes they lose focus of everything.”
Life on the farm was designed by her parents to teach Addison a strong work ethic and characteristics that would help her succeed in life. Learning discipline, accountability and responsibility at an early age are things that molded her into a readymade Division I softball star.
“I think (growing up on a farm) has helped her quite a bit,” Curt Barnard said. “I think that’s where maybe she had the standard set for her.
“She’s one of them kids that once she’s decided she wants something, she goes hard after it and works hard. That’s something you rarely can teach anymore, but for her, that’s the only way she knows how. If she wants it, she’s not afraid to put the work in and do it the right way.”
An unlikely start to a power-hitting career
It didn’t take long for Addison to begin to separate herself as an athlete in Beatrice.
A go-to scorer on the basketball court, the fastest girl on the track, a dominant pitcher in the circle, Addison was whatever you needed her to be depending on the sport After beginning to play competitive softball at age 7, she was already advanced for her age by the time she started playing for coach Gary Lytle at age 10.
“She was the type of athlete you don’t see come along too often in a town like Beatrice,” said Lytle, who would also coach her in high school.
But a record-breaking, home-run hitter? Not even she saw that one coming.
“I always thought of myself as more of a base-hit hitter,” Addison Barnard said. “When I got to high school, I started hitting home runs and that’s when I realized maybe I was more on the power side. But I never really focused on hitting home runs. I guess as I got older, I got stronger and became more of a power hitter.”
At 5-foot-6, Addison isn’t an imposing figure. Even to this day, you wouldn’t look at her and think one of the country’s most dangerous bats is standing before you. She never lifted weights much in high school, but was always naturally strong. Maybe it was growing up on a farm, but Addison was always deceptively powerful.
“She’s got these fast-twitch muscles and is just a very, very strong kid,” Lytle said. “She’s not a big, heavy kid, but she’s just well-built and has muscles where you need them. I’d challenge you to try to go arm wrestle her.”
When her freshman season in high school rolled around, Barnard’s power was fully realized. Those doubles to the gap in past years were now balls landing over the fence for home runs. She hit 14 homers that first season, much to the surprise of her mother.
“It was so impressive, but you kind of think maybe it’s a fluky thing,” Deann Barnard said. “She was this 14-year-old going up against 18-year-olds. You don’t think it can happen, but then it did. Over and over and over again. It was kind of amazing. She just continued and it hasn’t stopped since.”
By her senior year, Addison has become so feared that teams began intentionally walking her. Lytle responded by moving her first in the lineup — teams still decided to walk her, a total of 44 times that season. They proved wise because when Addison did swing, she rarely missed — she finished her senior season hitting .667 with 17 home runs.
In total, Addison led Beatrice to two runner-up finishes at the state tournament and finished as the program’s all-time home run leader with 61 career long balls.
That’s what has made this season, where Addison is hitting .323 with a team-high 105 total bases and .808 slugging percentage, so fun for her family.
“Now that she’s in college and they have to pitch to her, we’re seeing what she can do when she gets to swing again,” Curt Barnard said.
WSU senior Madison Perrigan knows a thing or two about home runs being the Shockers’ career all-time leader in them. After watching Addison’s swing last fall, it’s been no surprise to her teammate what she’s done this spring.
“It was pretty obvious right when she came in that Addy had a lot of raw power,” Perrigan said. “It’s not always about how big you are. It’s also about how smart she is at the plate and how confident she is. I think having this much success as a freshman has helped increase that confidence even more.”
Ask any coach what stands out first about Addison and it’s always a reference to her hands. How quick they are allow Addison to generate one of the most tenacious bat speeds that Bredbenner has ever seen coaching at this level.
“To say she has quick hands is an understatement,” Bredbenner said. “She’s strong. She’s athletic. She’s a farm kid. She just goes up there and swings hard every single time. She’s not going to miss out on an opportunity to hit the ball hard. Those are the things you look for in a great hitter.”
A perfect fit at WSU
One thing to know about Addison is that she has a no-frills type of personality, which is a big reason how she ended up at Wichita State in the first place.
Her parents and hometown coach believe she had the ability that could have attracted larger programs from the Big Ten and Big 12. Even Bredbenner agrees there.
But unlike a lot of kids this age, Addison was never enamored with the courting process of her recruitment. She wasn’t interested in seeing how many Division I offers she could rack up or how many official visits she could take. Even at a young age, she felt like she knew what she wanted.
“I am a total homebody, so I didn’t want to be that far away from home,” Addison Barnard said. “Kansas was close. And I didn’t want to be in a big city where there’s so many people. I’ve always grown up on the farm. I felt like Wichita was an environment where I felt really comfortable.”
Addison committed to WSU as a sophomore without ever exploring any other options.
“I was actually frustrated with her because during the recruiting process she would never want to miss the other sports and practices,” Deann Barnard said. “So she never wanted to take visits anywhere else.”
“I was kind of hoping maybe somewhere like Oklahoma State would take a look at her, but honestly she was always excited about Wichita State,” Lytle said. “Coach Bredbenner did a really good job recruiting her because she never really spent a lot of time thinking about anywhere else.”
Bredbenner knew she had struck gold at the time, but now she believes she won the recruiting lottery.
Not only did WSU land a player who has blossomed into one of the nation’s top freshman, but Addison also came to WSU without a shred of ego. Before the season, Barnard was privately telling friends and family that she had no expectations of even playing in her first season with the team.
“I knew we had a lot of really good returners with so much experience,” Barnard said. “I figured I might not get any time and I would have to wait my turn. I thought maybe they could use me as a pinch hitter and a base runner.”
Her family was astonished when Addison was included in the starting lineup for the season-opener. In her second collegiate at-bat, Addison hit a two-run home run. She would hit a total of five homers in her first three games played — a sign of things to come.
“Addie is a very quite and humble person, so we had no idea that she would be playing,” Deann Barnard said. “She never said a word about it.”
Remaining humble was one of her family’s staples of living on the farm.
Not only did it help mold the player she’s become today, but the mindset has allowed Addison to continue her breakout rookie season. Not that you would ever know talking to her.
“I honestly didn’t even know I had the RBI record until someone told me about it,” Barnard said. “I think there’s a place outside of softball where I’ll be able to take some time and think, ‘Wow, that’s so awesome.’ But during the season, I don’t really think about that stuff. I’m just trying to do my best to help my team be successful.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 3:00 PM.
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