Bailey Makes All the Wright Moves

Bailey Makes All the Wright Moves

Bailey Wright, 2019 infielder gets recruited through NSR to land a scholarship to ULM

Nov 29, 2016 by FloSoftball Staff
Bailey Makes All the Wright Moves
Bailey Wright does it all when it comes to balancing academics and athletics. She is a proven leader both on and off the field. Wright started getting recruiting through NSR her seventh grade year and shares her thorough process finding the right school for her.


nullBailey Wright

Grad year: 2019
Positions: 3rd base, short stop, outfield
GPA: 4.0
Club Team: Magic Softball
High School: Wonderview High school
Academic Honors: 2 x Principal Leaderships Awards, Social Studies/Arkansas History Award, Life Science Award, Freshman Class Vice President, 8th Grade Class President, Gifted and Talented Program
Athletic Honors: 6 x State Softball Championships & 2 x ASA/USA National Championships with my travel team. Basketball: 3 consecutive years leading scorer for team
College: University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM)

Being that you play travel softball, you travel many weekends out of the year to tournaments, showcases and camps, how do you balance school and sports? My academics always come first. Having a mom who is a school counselor, she taught me about time management, which I think is one of the most overlooked tools of the recruiting process. As most prospects do, I do a lot of homework well before it's done, do a lot of reading while traveling on the road, and similar.

Around what age did you know that you wanted to play collegiate softball? Ever since coach pitch, around eight. I have always been a multi-sport athlete and always knew I just liked competing. But around time of coach pitch when wins were celebrated and when I began watching the WCWS on TV was when I saw what those girls were doing, and believed I could do the same.

Around what age did you start attending college camps to get your name out there in the recruiting scene? Why so young? I was scouted by NSR when I was in the 7th grade, and began working with him and NSR shortly after. I got personal invites to college softball camps and clinics shortly after, and based on my target programs and the distance, I began attending those invites. During my 8th grade year some of those coaches who had been following me began inviting me on unofficial visits and began making scholarship offers. It was early, but when you know what you want you have to be willing to go get it. Over the last year and a half I've been on numerous unofficial visits and received offers from those schools, but only because I am genuinely interested and considering those programs.

What do you like most about softball? What keeps that desire going to play at the highest collegiate level? I like competing. I love knowing that with the popularity of the sport and the level of training and competition is always getting better and therefore, there's always someone better than you out there. It continues to fuel my drive to be the best out there, not just the best locally.

What role does your family play in your travel softball? My family is everything! The sacrifices they have made over the years just to get me here. From financial sacrifices, to time sacrifices, they go above and beyond daily to make things work for me because they believe in me. Even the countless hours of throwing BP to me or helping me train. My family is my rock and there's no way this would be possible without them.

If you could give recruiting advice to those in your class or those younger, what would it be? Start young. Give yourself time to fully explore the process and get over a few hiccups you may have here and there. Don't go through the process alone! I was fortunate enough to have an NSR scout (Robby Wilson) who has guided me along the way and educated my family and I in the process to the point where we feel like we are knowledgeable enough to help others. Don't compare your process to other girls' processes. Work your own process and let things happen as they may. Be thankful for your parents and those around you making sacrifices to help you achieve your dreams. And be prepared for the sacrifices you're going to have to make yourself, in order to achieve those dreams.

nullHow many schools were recruiting you, how many offers did you have, what can you tell me about those schools, and why did you choose ULM? I had 20+ schools "recruiting me" and received close to that in offers. I trimmed it down initially to my top choices but took my time in fully exploring my options at the end. Most all of them were Division I offers and most were tuition. I truly liked most of the programs, with coaches I could see myself playing for. So needless to say, it was extremely tough in making my decision at the end. But over time, talking with my parents, talking with my scout, and prayer, I came to the conclusion that ULM and playing for Coach Lyon was absolutely where I'm supposed to call home. I already have some older friends committed to play there, some girls I grew up with playing there, and Coach Lyon and his family treated me like I'm part of the family already.

Fill in the blank…. My favorite part of being an athlete is: Competitng

Favorite place to shop? Hibbett Sports

What is the next thing you are going to buy/ask for that you absolutely don't need? Hoodies! I have 29 of them.

Favorite food? Mexican food

If you could have a super power, what would you want it to be? Invisible

One thing you won't be caught dead doing? Touching a frog! I hate them.

Nickname: Bay-Lou

Favorite actor/actress: Justin Beiber

Best Christmas Present: I got a full weight set for my garage so I can get my daily workouts in and train without disturbance.

Do you have any softball superstitions? I put my left sock on, then left shoe, then right sock, then right shoe. Has to be in order.


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