ARLINGTON -- It’s been a wild few weeks for Tamya Waiters. No, the last year has been a roller coaster for the high school senior, who has been playing softball at the Texas Rangers Youth Academy since early 2020. 

Waiters, a pitcher at The Colony High School in Denton County, reached the peak when she signed with Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Fla., on National Signing Day last week. 

It’s all been a worthwhile experience for Waiters, as she’s excited to continue the next chapter of her softball journey at Florida A&M. More importantly, she’s eager to see firsthand and be a part of the growth of HBCU sports across the country. 

“The environment and the culture and the pride [the students and players] have to go to Florida A&M made me want to go there,” Waiters said. “Everyone was so welcoming. It was really awesome. Like, I'm so excited to go there.

“Florida A&M, they also just got a new contract with LeBron and Nike. So I'm really excited to be a part of that and really bring them awareness to HBCUs. Like bringing to light that we are a Division 1 program as well, despite us being HBCU and we can also be competitive.”

Waiters has been a star for the Rangers Youth Academy ever since her arrival in 2020. She was named the 2021 All-Star pitcher for the RBI Regional Tournament in July, when Rangers RBI Softball finished second.

Her work also led to her being selected for the MLB's Breakthrough Series in Vero Beach, Fla., along with four of her teammates. The Breakthrough Series was developed in 2015 to provide instruction and mentorship for youth softball players across the country as they prepare for the college recruitment process.

There, Waiters refined both her physical and mental skills in the circle with instruction from softball legends like Jennie Finch and Lauren Chamberlain, as well as the star of the 2021 Women’s College World Series Odicci Alexander, a pitcher for James Madison University.

“It was amazing, meeting all those people,” Waiters said. “It was crazy, because you kind of forget that they're human too. Getting to be with them all day and hang out with them, it was awesome. ... I got to have a whole pitching lesson with Jennie, and she helped me fix a couple things to make my pitching better. And Odicci really taught us how to just stay within ourselves and be us.”

Meeting Alexander was even more special for Waiters, as one of the most prominent Black pitchers on the highest stages of the sport. Waiters emphasized how important it was for her to see Alexander thriving and how it encouraged her for her own future within the sport.

“You don't see Black pitchers,” Waiters said. “Even in my area, there's so many Black players, but you don't see a lot of Black pitchers. So watching the Women's College World Series, even from early on, when they were playing Missouri [in Super Regionals], we were just like, ‘Oh my goodness, it's almost like watching myself up there.’ It was so cool, just to follow her journey. We went to the World Series just so that we could support her. When they made it to the Final Four, it was so awesome.”