{"id":588,"date":"2026-05-20T09:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=588"},"modified":"2026-05-20T09:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:35:17","slug":"how-duke-softball-got-even-stronger-thanks-to-a-mother-and-her-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=588","title":{"rendered":"How Duke softball got even stronger, thanks to a mother and her daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

One on, two outs.<\/p>\n

Tennessee pinch hitter Makenzie Butt stepped to plate. On a 3-2 count in an eight-pitch at-bat, Butt hit a deep ball to right field. It looked, off the bat, like the Lady Vols would tie the game at five with a third home run of the inning.<\/p>\n

Read more Schwab says free cash flow is the metric every investor should watch<\/a><\/p>\n

Layla Lamar said, \u201cNot so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

The transfer right fielder ended the inning<\/a> with a routine catch at the warning track to maintain Duke\u2019s lead. She made a diving play in the top of the seventh to record the first out. The Blue Devils held on for a 6-3 win.<\/p>\n

This past weekend, Lamar played a key role in Duke\u2019s NCAA Tournament regional win, hitting a two-run home run and going 3-for-4 in Duke\u2019s winner-take-all finale<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These were scenes Duke head coach Marissa Young was used to watching, but not exactly the kind she ever expected to witness in person at this level, from this player.<\/p>\n

A year ago, Lamar patrolled the outfield for Florida in the SEC.<\/p>\n

This year, Lamar \u2014 Young\u2019s eldest daughter \u2014 came home, transferring to play for her mother at Duke. Young\u2019s younger daughter, Jolyna, is a freshman outfielder at UCLA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were so many days where I wondered if I was doing it right, because I spent so much time at work and away from them,\u201d Young said Sunday. \u201cIt was a sacrifice to them. To see them get themselves to where they are through their own hard work and their journey, I\u2019m just really proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NCAA\u2019s recruiting rules used to let coaches to seek talent early, and Lamar received recognition from a young age. She committed to Florida<\/a> in the sixth grade, one season after the Gators finished national runners-up.<\/p>\n

She got to Gainesville almost seven years later.<\/p>\n

Despite her versatility, she competed alongside veterans like Kendra Falby, Kenleigh Cahalan, Reagan Walsh and Korbe Otis, all of whom earned All-SEC or All-America honors. It\u2019s hard to crack a lineup with that level of talent and experience. Lamar made 16 appearances, recording four hits, four RBI and three runs, calling 2025 \u201ca big growing year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lamar could have stayed and possibly started this year. Instead, she decided Florida wasn\u2019t where she needed to be.<\/p>\n

On June 2, 2025, Lamar announced she was entering the transfer portal. She committed to Duke \u2014 and her mom \u2014 on July 14.<\/p>\n

Her father, James, suffered a heart attack<\/a> in 2023 that required a heart transplant and foot amputation. He has made significant strides in the past three years. His health was a consideration, but Lamar didn\u2019t base her decision to transfer solely on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m someone who\u2019s OK being away from home. It wasn\u2019t really like I needed to come home, so I\u2019m just going to choose Duke,\u201d Lamar said Sunday. \u201cI really did take my time and explore other options, but I knew this is where I needed to be, and that this was one of the best programs in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Will Trent’s Scott Foley Breaks His Silence on Controversial Onscreen Death<\/a><\/p>\n

Lamar said it\u2019s a blessing to work with associate head coaches Olivia Watkins and Taylor Wike. Several of her teammates \u2014 including Aminah Vega \u2014 grew up playing travel ball together, too. It\u2019s fun to achieve accomplishments together, like they did as children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI literally thank God every day that I get to just be here and play the game that I love,\u201d Lamar said.<\/p>\n

In her first season at Duke, Lamar has provided a spark at the plate and in the outfield. She holds a .393 batting average and ranks top 5 on the team for runs scored (41), hits (64), doubles (10), home runs (15), RBI (46) and walks drawn (32). Lamar has only committed two errors.<\/p>\n

Duke is 15-5 when the sophomore reaches base at least three times in a game, and 8-3 when she hits a home run.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy to see her happy again and loving the game,\u201d Youngs said. \u201cShe\u2019s got great relationships with her coaches and her teammates. I think her performance is showing that. I think she has a bright future here. Obviously, I\u2019m thankful for our mother-daughter relationship, and I\u2019m glad she\u2019s helping us win games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duke softball is often overlooked on the national stage, despite its meteoric rise since its inception.<\/p>\n

Nine years in, it has made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances, hosted a regional in five consecutive seasons, advanced to supers four times in the past five years and made the Women\u2019s College World Series.<\/p>\n

It plays Arkansas (45-11) in Fayetteville this weekend for a best-of-three Super Regional series. Duke is the lone ACC team remaining. The Blue Devils (43-15) will be the underdog against a stacked Razorbacks team, which won its series\u2019 against Texas, Mississippi State, Florida, Georgia. They must win two games to make their second WCWS appearance.<\/p>\n

Game 1 is scheduled for noon Friday on ESPNU. Game 2 is set for 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where we want to be in some ways,\u201d Young said. \u201cI think our kids continue to play with the chip on their shoulder. They were preseason ranked fifth or sixth in the conference, so for us to be at this point, we\u2019re like,\u2019Here we are. This is what we\u2019re about,\u2019 and they just want to finish in OKC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Hayden Panettiere Was ‘Uncomfortable’ With Connie Britton ‘Nashville’ Dynamic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Layla Lamar returned to Durham to play for Duke under her mother Marissa Young, helping the team make a postseason run in the NCAA softball tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Duke softball got even stronger, thanks to a mother and her daughter - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=588\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Duke softball got even stronger, thanks to a mother and her daughter - 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