This is the time of year when the days slowly grow longer.
Soon, diehard softball fans will bring blankets and gloves to the fields amid chilly temperatures common with early season games.
Eventually, the cold weather will yield to summer nights and long warm days. It’s a routine that Takia Nichols has known since she was an adolescent playing in Hillsborough and Mebane.
Eventually, all athletes, regardless of caliber, must face the task of transitioning in life to the next chapter.
For Nichols, that time is now.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude from North Carolina Central University in December after three years, Nichols has ended her playing career. She is now a graduate assistant under Eagles head coach Now-Allah James.
The Eagles will start its season against Pittsburgh and Rutgers in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, FL on Friday.
In her first year with the Eagles in 2023, she was named first-team All-Conference after she helped the Eagles win the MEAC Tournament Championship, the first in school history.
“When I found out that I was able to graduate early towards the end of my sophomore year, I decided that my junior year would be my last season,” Nichols said. “Of course, it was hard. I’ve been playing the same game for 18 years, met so many people, been so many places because of this sport. It’s taught me so many life lessons and I’ll forever be grateful for all the memories that came with this journey.”
Nichols got her undergraduate degree in criminal justice with a concentration in juvenile justice. With a 3.8 grade point average, Nichols will be in graduate school until the spring of 2027. She is pursuing a career as a social worker or a juvenile court counselor.
Nichols made the Honor Roll and Dean’s List each semester at NCCU.
At Cedar Ridge, Nichols helped the Red Wolves win the Big 8 Conference championship in her freshman season, the second conference title in softball ever for Cedar Ridge. Alongside Big 8 Hitter of the Year Tori Dalehite, who would go on to play four years at UNC Greensboro, Nichols hit a home run in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs at West Carteret, a 6-3 Red Wolf victory on a day that started with the team talking a walk along the beaches of Emerald Isle.
In her senior season, Nichols was named the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year. She hit 13 home runs in her final year, including one in her last home game against Walter Williams. She remains the all-time home run hitter in school softball and baseball history with 26 during a time when the fences at Red Wolf Field were at 225 feet. Last year, Cedar Ridge head coach Allan Byrd moved the fences about 15 feet closer to home plate.
Nichols took the MEAC by storm in her freshman year. She hit .338 with 44 hits, 31 RBIs, 23 runs scored and eight home runs. In the MEAC Championship game in Norfolk, VA, Nichols had two hits, one RBI and her first collegiate stolen base as the Eagles defeated Coppin State 6-3.
The Eagles would go on to Georgia to play in the Athens Regional for its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
“That was my proudest moment,” Nichols said. “The energy was electric in Athens. Playing on a stage that big was so exhilarating. It’s something you dream of as a little girl so being able to experience it was a blessing.”
Hanging up her spikes didn’t come easy for Nichols, but it’s clear what she will miss the most as she moves forward into a bright future.
“Just being able to go out and compete with my teammates it what I will miss the most,” Nichols said. “It’s different being on the sidelines knowing I was just out there not too long ago.”
