UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS

Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

In her four years at Auburn, Jackie Barrett Frazier felt like she got into the same routine "every single day," and was just comfortable.

Entering the transfer portal after a 20-10 season that ended with an NCAA Tournament first-round loss at home to Western Michigan, the 6-foot-2 setter asked herself, "What is God doing here for me? What opportunity is He giving me?"

"And sure enough, the blessings were unimaginable in what God was giving me to come here and play," she said of the chance to play her fifth season of college volleyball for the 17^th-ranked Baylor volleyball team.

"Coming here is not what I expected whatsoever. I came here for volleyball, and now I'm getting another master's degree. There's just so much good that came out of it. . . . Seeing the coaches be so faithful to our Lord and just seeing the players and seeing everyone at Baylor have this specific Jesus glow about them, that's so much fun to be a part of it."

Hoping to follow in the coaching footsteps of her mother, father and two older sisters, Jackie got a master's degree in administration supervision and curriculum and is now working on a master's in theology and sports studies through Baylor's Truett Seminary.

Tina Raddish, Jackie's mother, was the head coach at Rutgers and Humboldt State, while her father, Martin Barrett, is a longtime NFL scout who is in his seventh year with the Los Angeles Rams as senior personnel executive. Her oldest sister, Hannah Barrett, is a former collegiate volleyball player who is the head volleyball coach at Division II Tusculum University; and Natalie Barrett, the middle sister, is on the Duke University football staff as coordinator of recruiting.

"We have a long generation of coaches in our family," Jackie said. "But I don't want to coach collegiately, necessarily. I want to coach the high schoolers, and I want to teach them that there's so much joy in this sport. And when you find that joy and that love for it, everything is possible."

Jackie's joy began at an early, playing club volleyball for her mother at Rancho Valley, California. Expected to be an outside hitter, especially growing to 6-2, she wasn't that good at hitting and was encouraged to try the setter position.

"My mom told me, 'Maybe let's see if you could be a setter. You've always had good hands,''' Jackie said. "Once she knew I was developed in setting and could go places with that, she was the one pushing me. I was pushing back, because I was a 13-year-old who wanted to be an outside hitter. Sadly, mother always knows best. But it's definitely paid off."

Under the tutelage of Morgan Coberly, a setting specialist who also trained high school All-American Kylie Miller, Jackie developed at the setter position at Forza 1 North club and Citrus Valley High School.

"He just helped me develop more than I probably would have known," she said. "I had Aaron Flores as my head coach for club team for three years while I was at Forza. And he knew what Morgan wanted and knew what Morgan was teaching. So, it wasn't like I was learning two different things at once. They were pushing the same things. They really helped me understand the game and the flow of volleyball."

Jackie was also getting critiques and words of encouragement from her mom and sister as well. "They would come off and tell me what I was doing wrong and what I needed to work on."

At Auburn, she worked under another setter specialist in associate head coach Alex Dunphy, whose father, Marvin Dunphy, was the former Pepperdine coach and a "legend in volleyball."

"Little freshman me was like, 'How much can you learn in college for four years?''' Jackie said. "And wow, she just rocked my world. It was so much fun to get the experience of learning under both Morgan and Alex. I wouldn't be where I am today without both of them."

Alex Dunphy, now at USC, taught Jackie the speed of the game at the college level, how to set the ball with tempo, how to get it out to the pins with the right speed "and she really developed my out-of-system setting."

"My freshman year, i probably would cry every single day after I left practice," she said, "because I could not out-of-system set to save my life. Every day, we would just out-of-system set, out-of-system set. At the time, you don't like those days. But they finally paid off for me. . . . She also taught me how to read the game. 'Where's the middle compared to where you are on the court? Are they going out, are they going to the right side?' She really developed that part."

After dating Auburn football tight end Brandon Frazier for four years, when Jackie committed to Baylor in January, Brandon proposed in February, and they were married on May 3. Fifteen days later, she reported to Baylor and went with the team on a European tour this summer.

Jackie Barrett Frazier

"We wanted to be faithful to each other, and we felt like getting married sooner was better," Jackie said, "so that when we travel and see each other this fall, it would just be easier, in the best way. . . . It was a very quick turnaround. And then, after Europe, we got a month off. So, I got to spend time with him for that month. Came back here in July, and now I have like a month left of long distance."

The thing is, nothing was promised. Even with starting setter Averi Carlson transferring to Texas, "I've got a top-25 setter in Harley (Kreck), who's going to go all spring," Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. "But I want to win."

Developing an immediate chemistry, Barrett Frazier was named a captain for a Baylor team that is 20-7 overall and 12-4 in the Big 12 going into Wednesday's 1 p.m. matchup on the road at Cincinnati (14-13, 5-11).

"I think she has this incredible gift of leadership and a high emotional IQ when it comes to letting the team know what they need to hear," McGuyre said. "I've never had someone come in and be elected as a captain in the first semester. We've had some great transfers come in that were incredible leaders, but I think she won the respect of her teammates by how hard she plays, how she competes. She wants to win, but just how she consistently loves others."

Not surprisingly, Barrett Frazier is by far the team leader in assists with 8.13 per set. But as a six-rotation player, she is also second in digs (285) and aces (24), fifth in kills (74) and sixth in blocks (48). And her attack percentage of .335 is second among regulars.

"My biggest thing was, how can I earn respect of the girls before they can trust you on the court, that I'm going to do my job and I'm going to help them succeed?" Jackie said. "And the biggest way you can do that is by working your tail off. I feel like even now, everyone is like, 'You are the biggest competitor.' And I tell them, 'Yeah, I have a passion for the sport. And my passion is to make you better. How can I make you better, even if you don't see it right now?'''

After Brandon let Jackie pursue her dreams with the transfer to Baylor, she will get the chance to follow him next season when he returns for a sixth year at Auburn and hopefully gets a chance to play in the NFL.

"It hasn't been easy," Jackie said of the long-distance relationship, "but the girls have definitely rallied around me; the coaching staff has rallied around me. And then, both of our families have been absolutely incredible. So, we are very lucky."

UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS

Players Mentioned

Jackie Barrett Frazier

Averi Carlson

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