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27 U niversity of Iowa soball's freshman Nia Carter traded her dance shoes for cleats when she was 10-years-old and hasn't looked back. On Feb. 24, she was named the Big Ten Player and Freshman of the week aer hitting .744 through five games at the Hawai'i Invitational. She also leads all Big Ten players with a .509 batting average. For anybody who knows the Rancho Cucamonga, California, native and her family, her success on the soball field is no surprise Her parents, Clarence and Bettina Carter, were star athletes in college. Her dad, Clarence Carter, earned the nickname "e Human Bullet," and is in the Seattle University Hall of Fame for baseball. Her mom was a standout basketball player at Seattle Pacific University. Her brother, Trey, plays baseball for Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona, Florida. Carter's athletic family led her to quitting dance and pursuing sports like soccer and soball. She gave up soccer to focus on soball. "I wanted to be like my older brother," said Carter. "Watching him play baseball growing up made me want to be like him, too." Her brother, Trey, believes he played no role in Nia wanting to play soball; she was meant to be a standout athlete like the rest of her family, despite her claim. "It was just meant for her to play," said Trey. "She's a better athlete than I am. Whatever she does, she's better than I am." Before Carter started playing soball, she claims she was the only person in her family who didn't play sports. "I was always the lone dancer in a family with a long list of athletes," said Carter. "Besides my parents and brother's athleticism, I have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins who have many athletic accomplishments." For starters, her cousin Zach Lavine averages 25.5 points per game for the Chicago Bulls. Her cousin, Veronica Wootson-Ross, starred for the Florida State soball team. She is a three-time All- American and Florida State Hall of Fame inductee. Another cousin, Royce Freeman, played football for Oregon and is now a running back for the Denver Broncos. Freeman recorded 5,621 rushing yards in four years at Oregon. Her other cousin, Robert omas, played football for UCLA and for various NFL teams. As a senior, omas was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the year and consensus First-Team All-America linebacker. e NFL bloodline continues with her uncle Kelly Skipper. Skipper played college football at Fresno State and is the running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills. Her uncle, Marvin Carter, was inducted into the Seattle University Hall of Fame for his baseball accomplishments. Her aunt, Krista Granger, played basketball at Biola University and her uncle, Joshua Granger, played golf at California- Davis. "My parents never pushed me to play sports, even though there are so many athletes in my family," said Carter. "But, my mom was so happy when I first told her I wanted to play soball." It didn't take Carter long to realize she was a pretty good soball player. In high school, she racked up honors, including being named a three-time first-team all-area and league selection. FloSoball tabbed her as a Top-100 recruit for the class of 2019. In her first game as a Hawkeye, Carter played hero as a pinch-hitter against East Carolina, hitting a walk-off RBI single to win the game. Carter also collected the game-winning RBI single against Kansas City at the Hawai'i Invitational. Carter's athletic family members inspired her to dream big and work hard on the soball field to enjoy similar success. She is doing just that through 21 games into her freshman campaign. MARCH SCHEDULE March 13 vs. Southeast Missouri State March 13 vs. Ohio March 14 at South Florida March 15 at South Florida March 16 at Florida Gulf Coast March 19 Maryland March 20 Maryland March 21 Maryland March 25 Missouri (DH) March 27 Michigan State March 28 Michigan State March 29 Michigan State