Her mom, Kara Brun-Garcia, starred at Arizona State and is a member of the Arizona Softball Foundation Hall of Fame.
She also knew exactly how much work it would be for her daughter to play at the level she dreamed of reaching.
“My mom is honestly the person that I look up to the most when it comes to softball,” Gabbie Garcia said in November. “It’s crazy being young. She asked me at a young age what I want from the game and I said ‘Well, I want to be one of the best players, right?’ And from there, she’s like ‘OK, do you understand what it takes?’ I was eight, nine years old and I had not idea. She goes, ‘It’s going to take a lot of work. From there, we set our eyes on a goal and just working as hard as we can.”
So Garcia set out, honing her craft as an infielder and an offensive weapon, though it wasn’t always smooth sailing.
“I remember there were many nights of fighting,” Garcia said, “but eventually you get to that age where we ended up, instead of butting heads, working together. From there, I was able to put my head down and continue to work and continue to grind.”
By high school, it was clear just how good Garcia would be.
She finished her high school career with a .496 batting average, a .546 on-base percentage, 122 hits and 70 RBIs. Garcia also played travel ball with the Orange County Batbusters, which predictably led to something so many other Batbusters have experienced — a visit from Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso.
“The first conversation with Coach Gasso, I was super intimidated, I’ll be honest,” Garcia said. “I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is Coach Gasso.’ I got to say the right thing, I got to act the right way, right?
“And then honestly, getting here, learning that she has that mother figure over the team and wants us to become like … She sees us as her children. She wants us to become great young women and seeing her sense of humor and seeing her motivation for us and seeing how she won’t let us stoop under her expectations and holds us accountable. It’s incredible. It’s awesome.”
For Gasso, the pursuit of Garcia was a no-brainer.
“Gabbie knows the game and is engaged on every single pitch. She’s constantly talking with her teammates and her pitcher. I love her athleticism on the field and her knowledge of the game,” Gasso said when Garcia signed with the Sooners. “… You can see Gabbie’s natural athleticism and feel for the game coming from her parents.
“I’ve seen her hit it over the fence, I’ve seen her drop down a bunt and I’ve seen her be very clutch at the plate. She enjoys those big moments.”