Raigan Barrett transferred to Liberty from the University of Washington over this past summer. Raigan was the Washington State Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020. We sat down with Raigan to find out more about her story and what lead her to Liberty.
ASOR: You transferred from Washington and played high school ball in Washington, but are you originally from Washington State?
RB: Yes, I was born and raised in Puyallup, Washington and attended Roger’s High school. Both my parents went there, all of my mom’s siblings went there, all my family is in Puyallup.
ASOR: When did you first get interested in Softball and how did you first get introduced to the game?
RB: My mom coaches college softball for Pacific Lutheran University so she has always been my coach and got me into it. Ever since I was really little, like T-ball, I just fell in love with the sport and loved to compete. I continued to work hard and it just took over.
ASOR: You play shortstop but is that your favorite position or do you prefer to play a different position?
RB: Shortstop is definitely at the top of my list and that’s my position, but I did play a little bit of 3rd in travel ball, but I definitely always moved back to shortstop. I play on the left side of the infield the majority of the time, sometimes I played a little bit of second in travel ball, but shortstop is my favorite position.
ASOR: You played high school basketball, are you talking to Liberty about playing basketball as well?
RB: No, but I love playing hoops that is for sure. It was a hard decision to choose between softball and basketball, but with every sport you travel everywhere and I had to make a decision on what sport to focus on, but I still played all the way through high school and love it.
ASOR: As far as the process of your recruitment out of high school, did you have interest in a lot of different schools or were you pretty narrowed in on Washington during that process?
RB: WIth softball, it’s a little different than a lot of sports. Now there is a rule that you can’t commit until junior year or older, but I committed in my 8th grade year at that time. UW was a dream school, growing up and seeing what Coach Tarr had accomplished at Washington, everyone in state wanted to go there. But I did have a lot of schools interested in me throughout my high school career.
ASOR: How was your first year at Washington, what did you learn in that year?
RB: We lost to Oklahoma, COVID made a big change in how things worked out. I redshirted since Sis Bates was still playing due to the COVID rules. The redshirt year definitely gave me a different perspective.
ASOR: How did you get connected Liberty? What was the journey of what took you to LU?
RB: When I entered the transfer portal it is like you are getting recruited all over again. You are getting emails from a lot of different schools, but I actually received an email from coach Dot but it ended in my junk file. I was looking through all of my emails one day and saw her email and called her. The instant I talked to her our conversation was very good and coach Dot seems like an incredible person. I was like I have to visit Liberty and I looked it up and loved what it stands for. I’ve been a Christian my whole life and Christ is very important to me. It looked really cool and I went and visited and loved it.
ASOR: Have you been back since your official?
RB: No, I played in the Florida Gulf Coast Summer League, this summer. I needed to get a lot more at bats and I visited there on my official while playing over on the east coast, but I haven’t been back since. So I will actually be back on campus on August 20th.
ASOR: What was your favorite part of campus or something that stood out to you and what was your impression of the school?
RB: Well, for starters every facility is really nice, like the campus itself is beautiful. Everything seems so new, it is definitely different than Washington. UW’s facilities are really big and nice but they are not as new as Liberty’s! The weight room and the softball stadium is amazing. I like Liberty’s softball stadium more than UW’s because its more of a stadium and it is a bit bigger.
ASOR: You have a twin brother, is it true what they say about twin beings able to read each other’s thoughts?
RB: We are definitely really close. We both had the same friend group growing up, both played basketball and pushed each other to get better. We are very close. Sometimes he mumbles and I have to translate for other people what he was saying.
ASOR: You had a year last year of playing behind Sis Bates, who is one of the top shortstops in the nation, and now you have coach Dot who is one of the best shortstops of all time, how do you think that is going to help your development as you move forward?
RB: That is a big reason why I chose Liberty. I can become the best shortstop I can here. Being behind Sis and seeing her play everyday and being able to learn from her was a great experience.
ASOR: Some quick hitter questions to get to know you better: What is your favorite type of music?
RB: I like a lot of Christian music and pop music.
ASOR: Favorite movie or genre?
RB: Instant Family or Just go with it. I like comedy’s.
ASOR: What about hobbies?
RB: We love sports, I love pickleball! That is my new hobby. I love hanging out with friends.
ASOR: What is your major?
RB: I am starting out with exercise science or probably business.
ASOR: What books are you currently reading?
RB: “Don’t give the Enemy a Seat At The Table” by Louie Giglio, I love his teachings and books.
*photo courtesy Liberty Athletics
