Darya Kaboli-Nejad took a huge chance when she approached Oregon head coach Mike White at a one-day summer camp before her senior year of high school. 

After briefly introducing herself, Kaboli-Nejad stated, "I want to play here."

While White was pleasantly surprised by the young player's initiative, he told Kaboli-Nejad the Ducks softball team didn't have any scholarship money available for her.

That didn't discourage Kaboli-Nejad one bit. After traveling all the way from Omaha, Nebraska, Kaboli-Nejad knew Eugene, OR, was where she wanted to be -- even if it meant that she would have to walk on to the team.

"I have friends that are walk-ons in different sports across the country," she said. "I was very open with it. That's why I felt it was comfortable for me to tell people when I did get some financial aid, because I was open with it and it wasn't like I was hiding or ashamed. It was just the facts."



Kaboli-Nejad walked on to the Oregon team last year and played in 18 games. After finishing up the fall season last month, she was called into an individual meeting with White before winter break. 

"Usually going into those meetings, I'm nervous or I'm worried," Kaboli-Nejad said. "But for some reason, for real the first time I walked into that meeting so calm. These are my coaches. We know each other; I'm not worried. There's nothing that they're going to tell me that I don't know."

White opened up the meeting going over fall numbers, and then he said it: "We're awarding you with a partial scholarship."

"I always thought what is the feeling that I'm going to feel if Coach White were to ever tell me," Kaboli-Nejad said. "And it happened, and it was 10 times better than I could ever imagine."

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Kaboli-Nejad bursted into tears of joy and satisfaction, and her coach shared in the emotional moment. White said he had no regrets about his decision to keep Darya on the team.

"I felt that if she did play for us that she would be more of a fountain than a drain," White said. "That's proven to be true. She brings a smile every day to the field. She makes people feel good around her, and there's something to be said about that."




While Kaboli-Nejad is no longer a walk-on, she hasn't stopped dreaming big in her college career.

This past season, Kaboli-Nejad contributed sporadically on the field, tallying seven runs and two hits in six at-bats. Her next goal is to play one game as a starter by the time her eligibility expires.

There are no guarantees, but she's certainly getting closer to making that a reality.

I truly believe that in the end the people who work hard, who are good teammates, and are passionate about this game, the game will give back to you what you give to it," Kaboli-Nejad said. "So play the game with respect and love the game. Do things the right way. Be honest. I truly believe in one way or another you will be rewarded.