Photo by: DJ Cabanlong
Quiet Edwards Speaks Loudly on the Diamond
4/12/2024 12:02:00 PM | Softball
After a game ends, most athletes are quick to scan a box score for their names. University of Tulsa softball player Imani Edwards is the opposite. She will do whatever it takes to avoid seeing her stats.
"I just don't like to equate success as only numbers because there's so many little things in this sport that are not really celebrated because they're not a stat," Edwards said. "I try to focus on those things over just getting a hit or getting on (base)."
In four years with the Hurricane, Edwards has consistently shown her value in ways extending beyond statistics. A versatile athlete who bats left and throws right, she has played second base, third base, outfield and DH before solidifying herself as starting shortstop.
"To watch Imani grow in her four years personally, but then athletically, it's more of a tribute to her methodical approach that she has to her craft," TU coach Crissy Strimple said. "She cares about it. She puts the effort in. She's been able to repeat her process day in and day out, which I think is the epitome of what a good softball player does."
As a kid in a small Texas town, Edwards started playing softball at age 8 because her older brother, Ishmael excelled at baseball and she wanted to be like him. Her career had a humble beginning when she signed up for league ball at a local Chick-fil-A. Natural ability combined with her dad's coaching direction propelled Edwards to success. By high school, she settled into the shortstop position and was an elite player, with a .495 batting average and a .995 field percentage as a junior.
While trying to choose a college, Edwards was drawn to TU because of its size, the smallest school at the FBS level. Her hometown of Tomball has a population of about 13,000.
"Classroom sizes are probably the same size as my high school," she said. "That was really important to me because if I have a question, I'm kind of a shy girl, so I'm not going to raise my hand in the lecture hall of a bunch of people. Having Tulsa be a smaller campus was really cool."
In addition to starring on the field, Edwards has always been a stellar student. She has a 4.0 GPA and is graduating next month with a degree in business management. She also is president of TU's Baptist Collegiate Ministries.
"Tulsa is a place where I've grown a lot as a person," Edwards said. "Being able to meet new people and hear different perspectives has been really cool here. It's encouraged me to go out and meet people, and it's encouraged me to go find out what's happening on campus, what's going on here."
Edwards has continued to come into her own as an athlete, building on a solid freshman season and becoming an all-conference performer in the American last year. This season, she leads the Hurricane with a .411 batting percentage and 32 runs.
Additionally, Edwards is an extremely respected member of the team whose experience and leadership have been significant assets.
"Imani speaks when she needs to speak, and I think that holds a lot of value with the team because what she says has probably been thought out," Strimple said. "It comes from a good place. It comes from her heart. I think you have a team that sees that because they know how much she cares."
With less than a month remaining in the regular season, Edwards is preparing for her career to wind down. She is getting married in July and moving back to Texas, but she's first focused on finishing college on a high note.
"Honestly, I'm just really hoping and praying that it's fun," she said. "This game can really get the best of you, and it's really easy to see this game as input-output.
"I realize how blessed I actually am to be at TU with the ability to play a sport. It's really not something that a lot of people get the chance to do. It's really (about) understanding how much of a blessing it is to just be out here and the last thing I should be worried about is me not getting a hit."
Edwards is savoring the final moments spent with her teammates and coaches while playing in front of the fans who have supported her throughout her career, watching her develop into an all-region player who has delivered plenty of highlights.
"It's just been really nice to see how much I've grown into the athlete that I am today and how big of an impact I've had," she said. "I couldn't have pictured a better place for my four years. I really could not see myself anywhere else. I'm really glad that I picked Tulsa."
Players Mentioned
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