WSU softball star shines in classroom and with the bat

Addison Barnard

Wichita State senior center fielder Addison Barnard is lighting up college softball this week at the American Athletic Conference Championship at Wilkins Stadium. In two wins, she hit five home runs, including a grand slam to seal Thursday’s 11-9 win over Tulsa.

Barnard owns 92 career home runs, tied for fourth in NCAA history.

Her performance as a health science major is also a highlight.

She earned College Sports Communicators first-team Academic All-American in 2022. She is a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete and a fixture on the AAC All-Academic teams and WSU's Athletic Director's Honor Roll (most recently with a 4.0 GPA last fall).
 
Barnard applied to the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing with plans to work in anesthesia. Her mother Deann Barnard is a nurse practitioner.
 
Watching her work inspired Barnard.
 
"As soon as I got into the hospital setting, I got a feeling that was where I was supposed to be," she said. "I really love helping people. Being able to connect with people in that aspect of life was really interesting to me."

Wichita State plays Florida Atlantic at 2:30 p.m. Friday (May 10) in the tournament semifinals. The game is on ESPN+.

Read more about Barnard’s career at WSU and what’s next for her


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