Alabama is Home Sweet Home for Softball Player M’Kay Gidley
For many a Tuscaloosa lifer, especially those in this generation, playing a sport at the University of Alabama is considered nothing short of a dream. It's been more than that, though, for M’Kay Gidley, a junior interior design major with longstanding ties to the UA community that run deep.
Some would say it's been somewhere between a calling, and her destiny, the kind that goes well beyond the playing fields of the Crimson Tide softball team. Regardless, it's where one can often find her this spring, as a reserve outfielder and pinch-runner for Alabama.
What does playing for the Crimson Tide mean to her? Consider Gidley's description of what it was like for her to wear an official Alabama jersey, embossed with the number 1, for the first time as part of the team.
“It was crazy," she said. "The first time I actually put on the jersey was for media day, for pictures. I remember going into the locker room and seeing my nameplate on my locker, and my jersey hanging there. I was like, ‘This is the most insane feeling ever.’ My first time going out on the field for a home game, it was absolutely incredible. The stands were filled … It was completely surreal.”
It still is with nearly every game, thanks in part to her upbringing. The Gidleys are a true crimson family. Her parents met at the university, and her father works there now. Her mother was a cheerleader during her time in college, and M’Kay has a sibling who is a sophomore in the Million Dollar Band.
“I have grown up in Tuscaloosa my whole life, so I have always watched [Alabama softball] and I’ve always wanted to either come to ‘Bama or do something with ‘Bama,” she said.
But playing softball for head coach Patrick Murphy wasn't the initial plan, far from it. Gidley is a former state champion in diving, an accomplishment she earned in 2019, and her sports career began in gymnastics. She didn't start playing fastpitch softball until seventh grade, going that route in a change of scenery from picking up new skills and showing off acrobatics in the gymnasium.
“I started gymnastics when I was 18 months old, so I’d been doing it for forever [until seventh grade]”, she said. “I ended up just being like, ‘I want to try softball,’ so I did. I also played volleyball in high school, and I dove in high school too… That’s where my mind was, just wanting to try something new.”
Her college softball career didn't start at the Capstone, either. While she was never too far from home, Gidley first played at Shelton State Community College, also in Tuscaloosa. It wasn't until after the 2021 season, between her freshman and sophomore year, that she ended up transferring across town.
"I didn’t know if softball was going to be an option [at Alabama],” Gidley said.
It started to be a possibility after a FaceTime call with Crimson Tide assistant coach Alyson Habetz, and the relationship grew from there. Gidley hit .266 while playing every game in center field during her lone season with the Buccaneers, but there are all sorts of roles that need to filled on an SEC-level softball team. Before long, she was joining baseball pitcher Garrett McMillan in the club of diamond athletes whose journeys have taken them from Hillcrest High School to Shelton State and then to the Crimson Tide.
“It’s a huge opportunity, and I can’t pass up going to ‘Bama,” Gidley said. “You can’t pass up an opportunity to grow in every aspect of yourself.”
She expanded on the aspects of personal growth that she's experienced at Alabama, including interacting with many members of the UA community and growing in her social interactions:
“The program is really big on growing people as people,” Gidley said. “We do a lot of things with the community … I’ve definitely grown in a social aspect- before I was in college, I stayed to myself a little bit more, but now that I’m part of a bigger program, it’s a whole lot easier. I’ve gotten a lot more used to going out of my way to say ‘Hey,’ to people, get to know people. [I’ve] just grown in being a better person.”
Among Gidley's points of pride include the softball team's now-traditional and well-known concept of Mudita — having joy in other people’s accomplishments. The idea has helped shape team culture and bring new levels of togetherness to multiple sports and athletes during their time at Alabama.
“Even if you’re not doing great, and somebody else does good, it’s like it’s your success, almost, because you’re just that happy for them,” Gidley said. “It just adds a whole other aspect of teamwork, and family, and community, and joy to a team.”
The concept isn’t limited to softball — it was also integral to the legendary Alabama soccer run last fall that captivated the Tuscaloosa community and went all the way to the College Cup — the soccer equivalent of the Final Four.
“[Mudita is] something that really stood out to me,” said former goalkeeper McKinley Crone. “It meant so much to our team because we knew if everyone was at their best and supporting each other that we could be a force to reckon with during the year.”
The atmosphere at Rhoads Stadium has been another huge plus as it's widely recognized as one of the best venues in college softball.
“Our team is really big on not losing at home, for us and for our fans,” Gidley said. “It’s just a pride, really, because you don’t want to let them down, but you also know you’re there with your best friends and you’re there with all these people that support you. It makes a world of difference to know that all these people that are watching you are your biggest fans. It’s amazing.”
Of course, Gidley's biggest fans at every game are her parents, who remain the biggest influences. It was their longtime involvement with the university that inspired her to want to stay in Tuscaloosa for college.
“Just them being associated with ‘Bama for so long, just influenced me to want to be [here],” she said. “Just seeing them always be so into ‘Bama, their support, their good influence in life, and their good advice and everything, it really helps and it’s really uplifting to have them to help me through everything.”
Another key, and steady, element has been her faith. Gidley is longtime attendee of Cavalry in Tuscaloosa, where she also participates in the college ministry, The Well. Her friends there have provided an important support system as she continues her career at the Capstone.
“When I’m hanging out with [my church people], it’s so comforting to just know that I’ll always have that group and that support system there behind me," she said. "They’re always going to be there for me, and whenever I’m having a hard time or whatever, they’re there to pray with me, pray for me.”
The dream was finally realized in 2022 when Gidley played in 29 of the team’s 57 games, and scored a run in the final victory of the campaign at Rhoads Stadium. To date, she's played in 39 games, with 14 runs scored and four stolen bases.
But sometimes, even in sports, it isn't only about the numbers. At the 2023 Crimson Choice Awards on April 25, Gidley added another accomplishment to her resumé in the form of the Unsung Hero Award, which recognizes athletes for making substantive contributions to their teams’ success in ways that aren’t easy to measure. She was the recipient for the Crimson Tide softball team, adding to her own legacy and her family’s at the university.
It's all been a dream come true, and then some.
See Also:
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