Grandma. Genuine. Chaotic. Team-first.
These are all words that teammates and coaches have used to describe Tomeka Watson, a senior outfielder for the Elon University softball team. Though she is not one of the most well-known athletes on campus, Watson is certainly one of the most successful. She was the first Elon player to be picked for Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in 2010. That honor was only the first of her illustrious career, which has since included three All-Southern Conference preseason picks and two second team All-Conference postseason selections. Then, Feb. 24, Watson etched her name in the Elon record books with her 27th career home run, a new softball record.
All the while, Watson has not prioritized these personal achievements. When asked about her personal improvement as her career has progressed, Watson did not focus on her records and achievements.
“I know what it takes to help these younger girls,” she said. This sort of attitude is what has made the Jackson, Ga., native so popular with her teammates and coaches.
A life in the game
Watson began her softball career in tee-ball at the age of 5 thanks to her parents, Tommy and Daphne Watson. The influence of her parents has had a major impact on Watson and her career to this day.
“Her mom and her dad have made her to be a very grounded young lady,” said Elon head softball coach Kathy Bocock.
As Watson’s career began to take off, she encountered an opponent who would soon become a teammate: senior catcher Camille Hill. After years of having to face Watson, Hill was relieved to have Watson on her team at Elon.
“We’re both from Georgia, so I’m very familiar playing against her,” Hill said. “I know the power that comes whenever Tomeka is hitting.”
When the time came to pick a college, Watson narrowed her choices to two schools — Elon and the University of Georgia. But when she visited Elon, her decision became easy.
“When I came to Elon, I just felt like I was at home,” she said. “That’s how I made my decision.”
As fate would have it, Watson hit a three-run home run Feb. 8 to help the Phoenix upset the No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs 5-2 in a homecoming of sorts for Watson.
Early success
In 2010, the Phoenix won 38 games en route to the Southern Conference championship and the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. Then a freshman, Watson hit .373 with eight home runs and earned SoCon Freshman of the Year.
Even with many other accolades and moments since then, winning a conference championship still sticks out as Watson’s favorite moment in maroon and gold.
“It was an exciting year and we worked hard that year,” she said. “It was a really exciting moment and I’ll never forget that day we won it.”
By her sophomore campaign, Watson had earned her first All-SoCon pick, a second team nod that reflected her .351 season with five home runs.
Even as a sophomore, Watson was already demonstrating her leadership by helping guide then-freshman outfielder Carleigh Nester.
“Freshman year, I started out in right field,” Nester said. “Being out there next to Tomeka, I know she’s going to catch the ball. She taught me to not be so high-strung. To just let it happen and that success is just going to come.”
Watson’s junior campaign was the prelude to her success this year. She hit seven home runs and batted .371, but began to buy into the hitting approach of then-first year hitting coach Mike Steuerwald.
“One of the big things we talked to the lineup about was understanding how they are as a hitter and understanding how good they can be,” Steuerwald said. “That’s a jump Tomeka made toward the end of last season.”
A senior season to remember
Watson’s home run in the upset against Georgia was the first of seven she hit in the season’s first nine games. Her teammates and coaches credit the season-opening tear to hard work throughout the offseason.
“Every year Tomeka comes out and is very consistent at the plate,” Nester said.
“She’s worked very hard over the offseason, she came out and was seeing the ball well.”
Steuerwald agreed.
“She understands how good she’s capable of being when she puts the work in,” he said.
Watson entered Elon history books with her first-inning home run Feb. 20 against Campbell University. The blast was the first Phoenix home run hit in the new Hunt Softball Park.
Four days later, Watson entered the history books again with her 27th career home run in an 8-2 win against Hampton University, giving her the new all-time Elon record.
“It shows that all my hard work has paid off,” Watson said after that game. “It’s a big accomplishment. I want to keep it going and just be consistent throughout the rest of the season.”
Now that the record has had some time to sink in, Watson views the home run as equal to the other 29 home runs she has hit in her career.
“Every time you hit a home run it’s always a good feeling,” she said. “There’s no big change in the fact that I broke the record.”
Watson said being aggressive and using Steuerwald’s advice on patience have led to her home run barrage, yet the success of the team is her overall goal.
Confidence on the field…
When Watson is playing defense, typically in her normal position of left field, she has the trust of her teammates and coaches.
“If the ball goes to left field and there’s someone on second base, Tomeka takes care of me so I don’t get run over [at the plate],” Hill said. “She calls a great game out there in the outfield, just a great communication that we have.”
…and laughs off the diamond
“On a Friday night, Tomeka is apt to fall asleep by 8:00,” Hill said. “She’s like a very, very old woman. You get her at home and all she wants to do is eat some chocolate-covered pretzels and lay on the couch.”
Even when the team is on the road, Bocock said she knows where to find Watson at curfew time.
“When we’re at the hotels, I don’t even have to check on Tomeka because she’s always in the bed,” Bocock said. “She’s pretty much a grandma.”
Moving on
As Watson’s career winds down, her head coach said her smile is going to be missed among the team both on and off the field.
For Watson, she said she has no career regrets, as she said she will go “wherever life takes me.”
Thus far, life has taken her deep into the Elon record books and into the heart of an entire team.