STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University senior softball player Ka’ili Smith doesn’t mind a good seafood dish. However, the Kapolei, Hawaii, native isn’t ready to start her mornings with a bowl of grits.
In her four years at MSU, Smith still has one thing on her Magnolia State to-do list.
“Well, I still haven’t seen the Mississippi River yet,” Smith said. “I am running out of time, and that is something I want to do.”
There may be some down time for sight-seeing upcoming this summer. However, the Bulldogs hope there is still business at hand for this season. MSU will learn tonight if there is when the NCAA unveils its selections for the 64-team regional tournament field. MSU is expected to receive an at-large bid to postseason play for the first time since 2009.
MSU will play host to a selection show party at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Starkville. Fans are encouraged to arrive at 8:30 p.m. to join coaches and players as they watch the announcement. The hour-long selection show will begin at 9 p.m. (ESPNU).
While the Bulldogs will accept any postseason destination, odds are this trip will be much shorter than the one Smith took to become a Bulldog.
“I was reading The Commercial Dispatch and I saw a story that said Hawaii girl plays before her home fans,” Columbus resident Jack Kanemura said. “I just chimed in on that like a duck on a junebug. I could not believe someone from Hawaii could be playing here. I did my research and I called (former MSU head) coach (Jay) Miller and I said, ‘How, can I get to know this girl?’ His answer was simple, ‘Come to the games.’ ”
The article Kanemura read was a recap of MSU’s 2009 results from a tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii. In his nine seasons as coach, Miller typically arranged for the Bulldogs to play close to each player’s hometown.
Kanemura, who is from Hawaii, attended MSU’s next game. In between games of the doubleheader, teammate Brittany Gates introduced him to Smith. An instant bond was formed between Smith and the man she now calls “Uncle Jack.” The bond they share stems from their experiences back home.
“You can tell they make a great pair,” said Cindy Smith, Ka’ili’s mother. “The biggest fear when you have a child leave home is the unknown. To know she is provided for and well taken care of is an enormous relief. Ka’ili has really cherished every moment of her time here.”
Smith began playing baseball “with the boys” in her early teen years. Without an opportunity to play softball at an early age, her love for that sport developed late. Her high school softball coach also coached her on a prestigious travel team that played all over the islands in her last couple of years in high school.
“I really didn’t get entered into some of the exposure tournaments until my junior year in high school,” Smith said. “For some, it is too late by then. We had a combine before one tournament and I hit eight out of 12 balls out. From there, the interest in me really picked up.”
Smith said she had offers from Fresno State University, UCLA, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, and University of Hawaii, among others. The recruitment by Miller and his staff helped tipped the scales for MSU.
“Coach Miller was there from the beginning,” Smith said. “Each week, they were allowed to make a call and they called me first. They told me what I needed to score on the SAT. They told me about the way of life in Mississippi. Not only did they ask about me, they asked about my family. That is what really set them apart.
“My No. 1 goal was to choose a school which would offer and provide for me and my family. Jay Miller did just that.”
The family connection for Smith is strong. Her brothers include Kaleo, Kaulana, and Kuliaikanu’u. Younger sister Kara’iaupuri is the “girly girl” of the family and also is a talented junior pitcher in high school. Kaulana is a freshman baseball player at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash.
“(Kaulana) likes it a lot. I don’t know their mascot (the Loggers). I do know they are maroon, as well,” Smith said.
Throughout their children’s lives, sports have kept proud parents, Cindy and husband M. Kalani, very busy.
“I have a pregame ritual where I call both of my parents,” Smith said. “With a five-hour difference, I might be calling in the middle of the night. In that case, it is very quick – maybe a ‘good luck’ and ‘I love you.’ ”
Senior Day at MSU was an emotional experience for Smith. Her mother and her grandparents on her father’s side made their first trip to Mississippi. Family members had the chance to see the team play in tournaments at Hawaii in 2009, Fresno, Calif., in 2010 and Las Vegas, Nev., in 2011. This, however, would be the family’s first visit east of the Mississippi River.
“I am glad I was able to hold up because Ka’ili was really emotional,” Cindy Smith said. “It would not have been good for the two of us to have been that way.”
While the family support system is in place, new friends have helped feel the void.
Kanemura was 19 when he left Hawaii because of an assignment at the Columbus Air Force base. After 20 years of service, Kanemura retired as a master sergeant in 1982. This year marks 50 years of living in Columbus for Kanemura. His wife, Peggy, is a New Hope High School graduate.
“The first day I met Ka’ili I was wearing a University of Hawaii shirt and hat,” Kanemura said. “We met, talked, and traded phone numbers. I felt bad going back to Columbus because I thought I may have been too strong. I have always been real passionate about Mississippi State sports, and I couldn’t believe a Hawaii girl was here playing at State.”
Smith was pleased with the meeting. Without a car, her homesickness was high that first year. During her first Thanksgiving holiday, Smith and pitcher Kelsey Nurnberg spent it with coach Miller and his family. Smith decided to take the loneliness and channel it into becoming a better softball player.
“I had a lot of time on my hands,” Smith said. “I decided to use that time to make myself a better player. I worked on my swing, pop flies, taking infield. I realized this time was all about me. I thought this was the best thing to do with a difficult situation.”
Kanemura and his family would eventually be the destination for Smith and some of her teammates during the down time of a holiday or rare weekend off.
“He embraced us with loving arms from day one,” Smith said. “He comes to just about every game. He is a lot like a proud Dad. Some players have family members at every game. I am not that fortunate, so the love and support really means a lot to me.”
While improving her game, Smith also has spent the past four seasons learning about the way of life in the Southeast. Smith said living in Mississippi is “different” but different “in a very good way.”
“When I got here, ‘Yes, ma’am’ and ‘No, ma’am’ were not in my vocabulary,” Smith said. “It is so different here. Everyone is so nice. It is a laid-back way of life. I really can’t explain it to my friends back home. It’s like everyone acts like brothers and sisters. I never know when it is going to be cold or hot. I guess that is my only complaint.
“Everyone has their own thoughts about this state and living here. However, if you haven’t done it, you really can’t express it in words.”
Kanemura was ready to help Smith learn those cultural differences.
“When I first arrived at the base, I was living with people from Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana,” Kanemura said. “I realized quickly how different those people were. It is a way of life here. It is a lifestyle. People work hard here but people also get alone. You can’t understand it until you are a part of it.
“With Ka’ili, I just wanted to be a contact person for her since I knew some of the things that she was going through. Each year that passes the pain (of homesickness) goes away a little more. It is hard to believe that these four years have gone by that quickly.”
A love for the Magnolia State is what kept Kanemura anchored and ready to raise a family here.
“It was too expensive to go back to Hawaii when I had the opportunity,” Kanemura said. Staying in the Golden Triangle was the best decision I could ever make.”
Smith feels the same way about her time here. While her eligibility is up this season, Smith will need one more year to complete her degree in Industrial Technology. Already planning to be a huge supporter of Bulldog softball, Smith sees a program on the cusp of greatness, even though it plays in “the best conference in America.”
“From my freshman year to now, I have been soaking it all in,” Smith said.
“I see things differently. I see them now from (new coach) Vann’s (Stuedeman) standpoint. She has opened our eyes to things I had never seen before. We deserve to win. We deserve to be here. That is a new feeling around here
“It goes back to buying into what the coaches have been telling us all year. It was reinforced when (motivational speaker) Brian Cain spoke to us as the beginning of the year. In the past, we couldn’t get over the hump. Now, I think the program will be successful from here on out.”
Stuedeman knew a critical task once hired last May would be to get her seniors to buy into a new philosophy.
“We had just had a fall workout and I was sitting with KK (Smith) and she looked at me and said, ‘You know what my goal is for this year?’ I told her I didn’t,” Stuedeman said.
“She said, ‘Coach, I want to get us ranked. We deserve to be ranked.’ I knew then I had a team player. I knew I had someone who would run through a wall for me and this staff. I can’t tell you how emotional that one visit was. When a player lists a team goal before an individual goal, you know you have a winner.”
While the Bulldogs weren’t ranked in the regular season, 2012 has been a success. MSU has won nine more games than 2011.
After back-to-back losing seasons, the Bulldogs have clinched a winning one. MSU finished third in the SEC’s Western Division.
Now thoughts have turned to the posteason. The Smith family will be connected nationwide tonight by the nationally televised selection show. It will be a tad different than how Smith’s father usually keeps up with MSU.
“My dad watches every game on the computer, whether it is live stats, or audio, or video,” Smith said. “He memorizes all of the statistics. He obsesses over this team. I think he knows more about us than a lot of our opponents.”
The Bulldogs will gather tonight with anticipation of at least one more trip in the future. Maybe even, this time around, the Mississippi River can be seen on the way.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.