BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Competition. Security. Success.
 
Those three words are hallmarks of Tyra Parker's journey as a collegiate student-athlete.
 
Competition drove her to earn athletic and academic scholarships not only to a championship Division I softball team but also to one of the most respected academic programs in the nation. 
 
Parker has found security through the guidance of three head coaches in four seasons as well as working toward her degree in trust and wealth management, from which 95 percent of Campbell graduates find full-time employment within one month of graduation.
 
A senior outfielder from Houston, Parker has been a starting outfielder on teams that have won five conference titles so far (three regular season, two tournaments) and are once again at the top of the CAA standings in early April.
 
Individually, she already ranks among Campbell's all-time leaders in batting average, runs scored, triples and stolen bases.  As a senior, she's enjoying her best season ever, with a batting average of better than .400 while leading the CAA in hits and runs.
 
With two parents who both hold master's degrees; higher education was always stressed in the Parker household. Tyra's promise on the softball field was recognized by former Campbell head coach (and fellow Houston area native) Sharonda McDonald-Kelley and her combined athletic and academic performance will enable Parker to graduate next month debt free.
 
"My scholarship means opportunity," says Parker, who hails from Humble, Texas and starred at Summer Creek High School.  "Having that scholarship really set me up for success in the future and has blessed me with the career I'm going to have and a place of security."
 
The generosity of Fighting Camel fans, alumni, family, and friends truly makes a difference in the lives of student-athletes at Campbell University.  Through the newly created Women's Empowerment Fund, the Fighting Camel Club's goal is to make that experience even better, specifically for our female student-athletes.  To join the Fighting Camel Club, click here.
 
Why Campbell?
Tyra began playing competitive softball by the time she turned 12 years old, but wasn't certain that she would pursue the sport at the collegiate level until she joined the Blaze United club program when she was 16.
 
"Campbell came on my radar with Coach Sho.  She's from Houston, I saw her at a camp, we talked, and she asked if I wanted to come (to Campbell)," Tyra recalls.  "My parents did a lot of research and realized that (Campbell) was a good school, and Coach Sho – the way she used to play is the player that I am – I felt inspired and that I would learn a lot from her."
 
Tyra admits that she gets her competitive nature from her father, Thedrit, who has served in the U.S. Coast Guard. 
She also participated in volleyball, basketball, track and field and swimming before focusing solely on softball as a high school sophomore.  She committed to Campbell just two months after joining the Blaze United travel team.
 
"I was most influenced by my father in sports, he took me to all of my practices, and we really bonded through that," said Tyra.  "I was blessed; I'm a natural athlete, but when I joined (Blaze United), I learned a lot more and it made me so much better."
 
As a freshman, Tyra led the Camels with a .322 batting average while stealing 18 bases and starting 48 of 56 games for the 2022 Big South regular season and tournament champs.  She batted .303 and stole 29 bags during her sophomore year as the Camels repeated as regular season and tourney champions.
 
She hit a team-leading .355, swiped 25 bases and was a first-team All-CAA outfielder for the 2024 squad, which won the CAA title in its inaugural campaign, but fell short of the tournament crown and a third-straight NCAA postseason bid.
 
Parker has been a key figure in one of the most successful four-year stretches in Campbell softball history.  With 18 regular season games, plus (at least) the CAA tournament contests to play, her graduating class has already amassed 139 wins, which ranks fourth all-time in program history.  The 1996 class finished with 149 victories, while the class of 2024 had 144 and the 2009 grads posted 140 wins over a four-year stretch.
 
As of April 2, Parker led the CAA in hits (46) and runs (37), while ranking second in steals (23) and fifth with a robust .411 batting average.
 
She already stands second in the school record books with 95 stolen bases behind Jessica Huffman, who swiped 116 bags from 2004-07.  Tyra's .344 career batting average is eighth highest in school history and she is eighth (and climbing) with 124 runs scored as well as triples (12).
 
What's the key to being a great base stealer?
 
"Honestly, number one, I'm fast," Tyra admits.  "I've been fast my whole life, but in college stealing bases is way different.  It's picking which pitch to steal on. We practice every single day and that repetition every day, it's made me a better base runner.  Experience, softball IQ, instinct are all a big part of it."
 
Hurdles along the way
Parker joined a Campbell team that was coming off the 2021 Big South title and NCAA postseason appearance.  While she was a talented performer on the prep and club level, the adjustment to college athletics was substantial.
 
"When I came here, it was a huge step up, honestly, and really hard," said Parker.  "Most of the girls who go to college have spent their whole lives preparing for softball. For me, it was more like a two-year thing. I grew the love for the game when I came to college"
 
Following her first season, McDonald-Kelley accepted the head coaching position at Michigan State.  However, the nucleus of that championship team stayed to make another run.
 
"I appreciate all my coaches, honestly," said Parker.  "Coach Sho taught me how to face adversity, how to incorporate coming from high school to a college lifestyle."
 
Trena Prater took over head coaching duties and the 2023 team reeled off a 42-18 record and again won Big South regular season and tournament titles in Campbell's final year before joining the CAA.
 
"Coach Prater, (Assistant) Coach (Megan) Hill and (Assistant) Coach (Nerissa) Myers all taught me parts of the game that I really didn't pay much attention to earlier," said Prater of the staff that led CU before Prater took the head job last summer at Memphis.  "They taught me how to be a great player."
 
Parker earned first-team all-conference honors in 2024 and batted a career-best (at the time) .355 with 25 steals, but she was admittedly distracted by news from back home.
 
"Last year, my mom (Linda) was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I didn't really know how to deal with it," said Tyra.  "Playing softball (last year) was really hard. I felt like I was missing so much time away from my mom, but talking with Coach Myers, she really helped me get through that."
 
Linda's battle with cancer continued through the summer and Campbell announced the hiring of former Auburn associate head coach Emily Carosone, a former Olympian and three-time All-American.
 
"My mom was still fighting it when we got back to school in the fall, I let Coach Carosone know that, and she's always been there for me," said Tyra.  "I told her all the things I was feeling, she really helped me stay focused, took care of me emotionally, and checked up on me."
 
Thankfully, Linda has been given a clean bill of health, but Tyra still wears pink batting gloves and a pink bandanna to continue to bring awareness to the second-most common cancer in women worldwide.
 
In addition to receiving emotional support, Parker has learned even more about the sport from her third head coach.
 
"Coach Carosone, she taught me the game," said Parker.  "I had all the background knowledge, but she's taught me why the game goes the way it does, and how to see it in a different perspective."
 
Parker also points out the fact that although Carosone was a standout player, she communicates equally well with the starters and the reserves.
 
"I needed mental stability, and (Carosone) brought that," said Tyra.  "She knows how to play both sides of the field. She was a star player but also faced adversity to get to that point.  Having that perspective really fits the entire team. She let us know that she wasn't a star player right away and had to build up to that.  She can connect with the players that don't get as many opportunities and the players that do. That brings us together as a family and makes us feel like everybody has a role on the team."
 
Unfinished business
Last season, the Camels rolled into the 2024 CAA Championship with the top seed after amassing a 22-5 league won-lost record.  After dropping their first contest in the tournament, they battled back to win three-straight before ultimately falling to host UNCW in the title contest.
 
Normally, coming so close to another berth in the NCAA regionals only to fall in the final would be a rallying cry for the 2025 squad.  However, only seven players – and three position starters – returned this fall from the '24 team.
 
"We only have 7 returners from (last year's) team and I was very nervous," said Parker of her feelings entering her senior year.  "But after talking to Coach Carosone, and getting to know my (new) teammates, I feel like this team is the best inside and out, athletically and as great teammates and friends.  We don't get motivation from last season; it's something Coach Carosone has taught us about the game. It's a comfortable environment, both emotionally and physically.  She made it an easy transition and is bringing that championship mindset back to what it was."
 
While graduation and the NCAA transfer portal make continuity a challenge in nearly every sport, Parker knew that Campbell was the place for her during all four years of her academic and athletic career.  Not only had she reached the ultimate goal of competing at the highest collegiate level in amateur softball, but she was also set to graduate from an academic major with a nearly perfect job placement record.
 
"After my freshman year when Coach Sho left, all my teammates stayed," said Parker. "Yes, Coach Sho was a big part of our success, but the team as a whole, I felt like I'd never find this anywhere else.  I wasn't ready to leave to go somewhere just because of the name of the school.  I feel like everything I've ever needed is here. Good teammates, a good program, like-mindedness.  Loyalty. I feel like this is what made me."
 
Campbell will host the 2025 CAA Softball Championship May 7-10 at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.  The top six teams in the standings will compete for the league's automatic berth in the NCAA regionals.
 
What's next?
Parker completed an internship with Wells Fargo in the summer of 2024 and intends to move back home to the Houston area and enter the trust and wealth management field.  Beyond that, law school is on her horizon.
 
"I'm excited to get back home closer to my family and start my career as an independent woman in the big city," says Tyra.  "I feel like I'm well prepared for the opportunities that I'm facing.  Getting a job and some experience under my belt, then finding time to start the next part of my life."