Dad’s a Jayhawk; she picked Mizzou instead. The rest is Tigers softball history

On Oct. 12, 2021, Madison Walker, a highly sought high school softball recruit from Olathe West, was ready to officially announce her college decision.

She’d actually made the choice in her head a couple of weeks earlier, but she waited until she was extra certain — her dad was a Jayhawk, after all — to make it publicly known.

Walker decided a Zoom call with Missouri Tigers coach Larissa Anderson would be the best way to break the news.

“I felt like it was super awkward on the call to be like, ‘Hey, I’m going here (Mizzou),’” she said.

So, she didn’t. Instead, with her parents watching, Walker lifted up her dog, a baby yellow Labrador retriever named Charley who was wearing a Missouri Tigers T-shirt.

“It was fantastic and somewhat emotional,” Walker’s dad, David, recalled.

Walker was one of Anderson’s top targets for the 2023 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 14 by Extra Inning Softball.

“I remember it so vividly,” Anderson said. “She’s such a pleasure to be around.”

Despite being highly recruited, nobody truly knew the impact that Walker would end up having on Mizzou’s softball program.

A visit that changed everything

Walker was first eligible for recruitment on Sept. 1, 2021, and elite programs expressed an interest early.

“She knew people were going to call,” Walker’s mom, Aimee, said. “But when everybody called on Day 1, she was like, ‘Oh, my gosh!’”

Walker eventually narrowed her options to her top four: Mizzou, Kansas, Penn State and Iowa. But at the time, MU was not at the top of that list.

During a visit Sept. 15, 2021, Walker got to talk with Anderson for the first time.

Walker had gotten the chance to meet Anderson’s husband, Patrick, through a summer camp, but it wasn’t until the recruiting window opened that Anderson could talk to Walker about potentially choosing Mizzou.

Although it was just Walker’s first visit and she still had other visits planned with her top four, Anderson left a lasting impression.

“At the end of the day, Coach Anderson sat us down, and she said, ‘Madison, you’re one of my tops this year,’” Aimee recalled. “She said, ‘I’m going to hold a spot for you, but I want you to go look at every place that you want to look at.’”

By midway through the trip, David, who couldn’t make the visit, received a text from Aimee.

“This has completely changed everything,” Aimee said.

Adjusting to a new reality

In August 2023, Walker packed her bags and moved to Columbia.

Her parents suspected that Walker might have some trouble adjusting, but her experience surprised even the people she was closest to most.

“I’m a very big family person,” Walker said. “I’m someone who’s really hard at dealing with change.”

Within one week of moving into Center Hall, a student living dorm at Mizzou, Walker went home for the summer.

“That was a shock,” Aimee said.

Walker was completely off, and it wasn’t because of softball.

“My anxiety went to an all-time high,” Walker said, “just from being away and everything ramping up after that.”

Walker described her first semester at Mizzou as three or four of the hardest months of her life.

But then came the season. With the Tigers coming off a 35-26 year in 2023 — and an abrupt regional elimination — Anderson knew that if she wanted things to click, the freshmen would need to step in.

Walker started her freshman campaign strong and earned the top spot at first base. But in the stretch leading up to the postseason, she hit a slump: She had just four hits across 12 games, officially losing her starting job on March 26 vs. Fordham.

Walker’s roommate Abby Hay, a fellow freshman, replaced Walker at first base during the month of April. Hay notched 17 hits in her first 14 starts after replacing Walker.

“We really didn’t expect her to ever come back in,” Aimee said.

Walker was working hard to win a spot back, but it wasn’t until the super regional series against Duke that she earned a starting role as designated player.

“If she didn’t prepare all season long, she wasn’t going to be prepared for that moment,” Anderson said earlier this year.

The big game

The Tigers, who were once down 4-0 thanks to a surge in the top half of the ninth inning from Duke, rallied on behalf of a three-run homer from Hay to give Missouri a fighting chance at 4-3.

With a 1-1 count, two outs in the bottom of the ninth and a stadium record 4,021 fans in attendance on May 26, 2024, at Mizzou Softball Stadium, Walker smacked a fly ball to center field.

D’Auna Jennings — the Duke sophomore center fielder who hit a home run in the top of the frame — made a running catch to secure Duke its first Women’s College World Series appearance in program history, stripping those chances from Mizzou.

Walker was heartbroken.

“She wasn’t ready for it to end,” David said.

The next morning, Walker woke up at Abby Hay’s parents’ house in Columbia.

“She had a bedroom at Amy and John (Hay)’s house, and sometimes she would just go over there,” David said. “Amy and John have been just wonderful and so supportive.”

Sophomore surge

Following a freshman season with 23 hits, 16 RBIs and one home run, Walker was determined to bring a better mindset into her sophomore campaign.

And she started year two hot, knocking a pair of home runs over the fence during Mizzou’s opening weekend.

“It wasn’t really anything physical (in the offseason),” Walker said. “I just wasn’t mentally prepared last year.”

The home runs kept coming, one after another. While the wins weren’t piling up the way they had the previous season, Walker’s stats were. She drove in a career-high five runs during a March win against South Dakota State.

“She’s unbelievable,” senior designated player Taylor Ebbs said. “She can hit literally any pitch that comes at her.”

With the Tigers graduating four key seniors in 2024 and only two starting upperclassmen returning to the squad (Kara Daly and Crenshaw), there was plenty of room for Walker to take on a bigger role with the team.

“She’s naturally a leader,” David said.

On Feb. 15 of this year in Clearwater, Florida, Walker hit a two-run shot in the fifth to left-center field, giving the Tigers a crucial 4-3 lead over Liberty in a game they’d win 5-3.

“She sees the game within the game,” Anderson said. “(Walker) gives you confidence you’re never out of it.”

Becoming the anchor

In mid April, with seniors Daly and Crenshaw sidelined by injuries, Anderson fielded her youngest lineup of the 2025 season.

The designated player, Ebbs, a transfer from Kentucky, was the only senior in the starting lineup against then-No. 15 Mississippi State. MU was no match for the Bulldogs, losing 10-2.

Although it was not the result the Tigers were looking for, Anderson emphasized how important it was for younger players to gain playing time.

“I don’t want any of these freshmen to feel like they’re freshmen again next year,” she said.

With the 2025 season coming to a close, Walker continues to produce. Two home runs April 17-18 against then-No. 1 Texas A&M and another vs. No. 15 Alabama upped her season total to 18. She now ranks third all-time in single-season homers at MU.

Walker has just three regular-season contests remaining to bolster her stats even further. The Tigers play host to Georgia for a three-game series at Mizzou Softball Stadium that was scheduled to conclude on Saturday.

When Walker held up her dog in a Missouri T-shirt on that Zoom call, she was confident in her choice — but she couldn’t have predicted what was ahead.

Her first year tested her in ways she hadn’t expected, both on and off the field. After losing her starting role late in the season, she stayed ready and made the most of her shot when it finally came.

She hasn’t looked back, leading Mizzou in home runs and RBIs and assuming an ever-greater role as Anderson retools around her.

“If I was the other team,” Crenshaw said, “I wouldn’t throw her a strike.”

Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 1:28 PM.