CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Two Coastal Bend softball players, UIL 4A district rivals, signed their college contracts with UTSA softball on Thursday. Calallen 2-time state champion Brookelyn Meador and Tuloso-Midway's Demiree Stafford will reunite. They used to play together in travel ball.
"It's super exciting," Stafford said. "We used to be teammates when we were younger. She used to come to T-M and moved to Calallen. Different teams, but now playing together means a lot. I'm super excited. Really good friends."
Meador can play catcher, shortstop or third. UTSA likes her as a utility player and strong bat.
"It feels really good to know that all of the work wasn't for nothing. It's nice to see all the results from it (playing multiple positions)," Meador said. "The coaches made me feel at home and I just felt super wanted. It made me really happy and I wanted to go there."
Meador plans on studying kinesiology to become a physical therapist.
Stafford is an outfielder that has middle infield experience as a Cherokee. She's always ready to adjust to help the team, which is what led to her strong batting. Stafford used to be a slapper, and now she has evolved into a home run hitter.
"It means a lot for me. In my family we have a lot of athletes," Stafford said. "I'm the first generation athlete to go play softball. We have a swimmer and we have a lot of baseball, so it means a lot for me to be the first girl to play a college sport."
After Stafford's signing she received a surprise FaceTime call from Tuloso-Midway grad Reese Atwood, who is one of the nation's best collegiate catchers at the University of Texas at Austin.
Stafford plans on studying biology to become a pediatric dentist. She was inspired by her dental hygienist.
