LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — University of Kentucky fans know her father as the tough-talking recruiter and associate head UK football coach, but Vince Marrrow’s daughter Aryanna is also outstanding in her field. In this case, it is a softball field.
After graduating from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, the 18-year-old will attend the University of Pittsburgh on a softball scholarship.
"My dad, at first, was kind of iffy about letting me go that far, especially because it’s very close to his hometown, Youngstown, which has those experiences that he shares with me," Aryanna explained. "He was pretty iffy about it but when he went down there he was like ‘Oh my gosh. Honey, you’re gonna love it.'”
What she has not loved is not being able to spend time with her friends and teammates the past few months.
“It’s been pretty tough. With me, it’s been more of a lot of anxiety, just overthinking it. ‘Oh my gosh. What if this is gonna be for 5 more years and what are we gonna do? As a teenager, it’s been tough," Aryanna said.
Aryanna has tried to make the most of the tough situation by spending more time with her dad and mom and practicing softball.
“It’s also given me a lot more time to be able to focus on my craft," Aryanna noted. "To be able to hit and stuff like that. We have a park across the street, and we just hit there pretty much every day and do stuff.”
She is disappointed that she will not be able to celebrate her memorable milestone of graduating high school at a ceremony with her classmates.
“I understand why it has to be this way. It’s kind of hard just because I’m the youngest of 5 kids. I went to all of their graduations. I saw them all walk across the stage, and my family being so excited for them,” she said.
She and her family are excited about her future as a college student and athlete. She is also grateful for the life lessons learned along the way.
"Don’t take a single day for granted because none of us knew that this was gonna happen. When we heard about it, we were all just like, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll be back in school in 3 weeks.’ Then all of a sudden it’s like, ‘No. We’re not coming back at all.’ I would definitely say don’t take it for granted. Get involved a lot more. With me being gone for tournaments and stuff like that, I wasn’t always able to be as involved as I wish I could’ve been," Aryanna advised.
Aryanna Marrow knows all the long hours of softball practice and road trips to tournaments are paying off, and she is ready to take on any new challenges that are thrown her way.
