King University softball’s Deason overcomes odds to become one of conference’s best
BRISTOL, Tenn. (BVM) — When Bailey Deason takes the softball field, it means more to her than it does to some of her colleagues. Whether the catcher/designated hitter is crouching behind home plate or stepping up to the batter’s box, she is able to take some time to lock into the game, letting the world around her fall away until it’s just her and the ball. This is a comfortable space for Deason to be in, a safe space, and one she is familiar and happy with. This ran in conjunction with the life that Deason had grown up with off the field.
“The game of softball is more like an escape for me,” Deason said. “It offered me freedom and allowed me the opportunity to grow into my own person just because I was away from the things that happened at home.”
Deason lived in an environment that was uncertain and dangerous. Deason, along with her twin brother, were raised by their dad after her mother left the family when Deason was 2 months old. Deason’s father dealt with substance abuse and alcoholism throughout her childhood, being a regular at local bars and often finding himself in and out of jail, which left Deason and her brother mostly neglected.
“Basically we were forced to raise ourselves,” Deason said. “Just from a young age me and my brother were really forced to be a lot older than we were. That’s what growing up was like for me. I don’t really call it growing up. I think I was always grown up just because I had to be.”
Although she was struggling to maintain a sense of normalcy at home, Deason was able to find a time for peace and safety with softball.
The Lewisburg native began playing softball at 8 years old. Joining a team coached by her friend’s father, Deason established herself as not just a great player, but one of the best, which helped her fall deeper in love with the game. Though she didn’t realize it at the time, playing softball would be the change Deason needed in her life.
“I don’t think I realized when I was younger what (softball) meant,” Deason said. “I really thought I was just playing a game and it was an opportunity for me to get out of the house and get away from all the things that being at home involved. As I grew up, the game started to mean more to me.”
With her softball teams, Deason also gained something that she was denied for years of her home life — a father figure who she could look up to and confide in. Her coach, Cameron Farrell, who coached Deason for 10 years, became one of her biggest supporters, showing her the love and attention that she could not receive anywhere else. Farrell could see in Deason something she couldn’t even see in herself, as she had struggled to find her own self-worth with the environment she had at home. But softball gave her a sense of belonging and Farrell gave her a sense of comfort.
“At the time it meant everything to me,” Deason said. “At a young age, I didn’t have an adult figure that I could look up to…and that’s what Cameron Farrell always was to me. Like a lot of things, I didn’t realize at the time that he was always there. He was always in the shadows even if I didn’t notice that he was there for me or that he was playing a part in a situation.”
Having grown more in the sport and more with Farrell, Deason approached her coach to discuss the home life she had kept private for so long. The then 16-year-old Deason confided in Farrell, who also worked in the sheriff’s office, the difficulties she and her brother were facing at home. Farrell helped Deason and her brother get away from that environment, providing the young athlete support as the Department of Human Services gave custody of the children to Deason’s aunt.
“I had spent a long time pretending the stuff at home that happened to me wasn’t real,” Deason said. “I think I kind of played a role pretending to be something else just so no one knew. … So when I could finally be who I actually was and didn’t have to worry about what people thought about me, it was really a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
With a new home life, Deason became even more successful. Her work in the classroom went from good to great. Her play on the field also saw a jump as she played well enough to earn a scholarship to play at Columbia State Community College, nearly two hours away from her hometown.
“I always knew going to college was something I wanted to do,” Deason said. “I knew I’d never be in a position to be able to pay for college, so trying to be a college athlete was everything for me growing up. I knew that was my only resource to go to college. It was never a question for me as if I was going to go to college to play softball, it was more like where and how am I going to make that happen.”
Although she struggled during her freshman spring season with the team due to recovering from a knee injury, Deason was able to come back stronger during her sophomore year. As she became more successful on the field, her success in the classroom also increased as she found herself more confident in her own abilities in all aspects of her life.
“My sophomore year was truly incredible,” Deason said. “Even to this day I believe that was the highlight of my career. Everything went well for me. Everything went right. Even when things went wrong, I still felt things were going right.”
Following her time at Columbia State, Deason earned a scholarship to King University. While a junior at King, Deason played in a handful of games, but another injury, this time tearing the labrum in her throwing shoulder, ended her season. Even though she had surgery to repair the torn labrum, Deason struggled on the field the next season, finding it hard to throw or bat with much consistency.
Deason was approached with an opportunity to get a Masters degree in Business Administration following a successful year in the classroom, which would also allow her to end her career in a more positive manner. Deason took the offer, giving her one more chance at ending her career the way she wanted.
Deason not only played well, but showed the talent she always had before injuries threw her playing time off track. Deason was a force for the Tornado during the season, starting 19 games while finishing in the Conference Carolinas’ top 10 in walks (14), on-base percentage (.466), runs (13) and home runs (3) while also finishing with a .316 batting average and three doubles. For her efforts, Deason was named to the All-Conference Carolinas team.
“That was my whole goal from the beginning of time, even from my senior season, that’s what I wanted,” Deason said. “To actually do that in the extra year, I felt like I had accomplished everything I had set my mind to.”
Nine from @KingUSoftball selected All-@ConfCarolinas https://t.co/EXjBaVdjT8 #KingPride pic.twitter.com/lROHurffpq
— King Athletics (@KingAthletics) April 2, 2020
That was not the only recognition Deason would receive for her senior season, however.
In May, Deason was named a recipient of one of the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Awards. The award is given annually to student-athletes who overcame great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. Deason was the only non-NCAA Division I athlete to receive the award this year and is just the second Division II student-athlete to earn the award in the last five years.
“I never even imagined I would win that award,” Deason said. “I never expected to win. But when I did, I think it was really incredible. I had gone through so many bad things and for once it was kind of like I was being rewarded for it. It’s kind of exciting; it still doesn’t even feel that real.”
Congratulations to our N4A 2020 Wilma Rudolph Award Winners! Read about these inspiring student-athletes at the link below:https://t.co/17rtmDpAcG
— N4A (@nfoura) May 11, 2020
Deason also completed her coursework for her MBA this spring and will officially graduate following one additional summer course.
Although Deason and her parents have had a difficult relationship, she still avoids trying to put them in a bad light. She understands the difficulties she was put through, but also understands that they are her parents first and she still cares about them.
“I never want to say anything bad about my parents,” Deason said. “I know they did bad things, but I never want them to look like bad people. … I don’t ever want my father to look like a bad person because he is my father.”
Deason understands that now that her story is out in the public, it could be used as inspiration for other young athletes facing similar challenges. She wants those athletes to know that there can be success in their lives, even if it may seem difficult to achieve.
“I just hope that it lets every child who even goes through anything close to what I’ve gone through know that it doesn’t have to stop you,” Deason said. “You can actually use it to fuel you, to motivate you. In the long run it potentially has the ability to make you a better person. I truly wouldn’t give up anything I’ve gone through because it has made me who I am.”
