Representing Thomasville and Brazil: Barbara Woll heading to first following a walk. (Carla Nakajuni)

THOMASVILLE– Barbara Woll, a Thomasville native and Thomas University alum, helped lead the Brazilian National Softball team to a berth in the 2027 Pan-American games.

Woll first picked up softball at 11 years old at home in Curitiba, Brazil. “My Mom is a hairstylist and had her salon at our house.” she said, “Some of her clients, whose kids played softball, asked my mom if they could take me to try it out. I fell in love with the sport and have been playing ever since.”

Soon, Woll watched as the first group of Brazilian softball athletes went to play in the U.S. this drove Woll to make a goal for herself, “So since the first group came, it became my dream to come to the U.S.”

By the time she graduated high school in 2010, Woll received several offers from schools in the U.S. and was close to reaching her dream, however, her visa was denied five times. But there was a silver lining as Woll found her faith through adversity. 

“So that was always my dream to come here and when it didn’t work out, I just gave up. But further on, I gave my life to Christ and he said I would be coming with a purpose.

By 2011, Woll began her career with the national team at the adult level, “I was already on the Women’s National Team. It wasn’t under 19 or something like that,” Woll remarked, “So I started my career in the national team already at the women’s level.”

In Brazil, softball is a smaller sport; girls will play in club teams and be selected to the national team by the coaches who also coach the club teams.

Five years following her first appearance with the national team, in 2016, Woll finally made it over to the U.S., playing softball at Chipola College, a junior college in Marianna, Florida. 

There she led the team to back-to-back conference titles and NJCAA National Championship games, while earning spots on multiple All-Conference, State and Region teams along with being named a third-team All-American by the NFCA. 

In 2017, she won conference Player of the year and in 2018 she earned All-Tournament honors from the NJCAA and took home Most Outstanding Defensive Player. 

After earning her associate’s at Chipola, Woll accepted an offer from Thomas University. In what was her final season collegiately, she earned first-team All-Conference and All-Tourney team nods as they finished the runner up in the SUN Conference tournament.

While at TU, She became a student-leader at Goalline Ministries. Finishing her masters, she was hired at Goalline as the Administrative Manager and head of the girl’s sports division. Where she ministers to the student-athletes at TU.

Woll recalled how it was challenging at first, but is grateful that God enables her to be a part of the student-athlete’s lives, and watching them succeed and get better everyday. 

“I had no clue what God would do and then I started working with the ministry and then I just fell in love because I really love to help the girls and try to show how much God loved them through my life and serving them and just to be there to listen to their stories when they need a shoulder to cry on or a person to talk with.” 

Through it all, Woll received plenty of support from the community, “It means a lot because I don’t think I would ever be able to keep playing if I didn’t have that support.” 

The support first came from Rose City Barbell Club, where Woll goes to do another passion of hers that she began while rehabbing a knee injury, crossfit. “I really fell in love with crossfit and I looked up if we had any crossfit places here in town and I went to have a meeting with them, I explained my situation, and they allowed me to work there and they kept supporting me all these years.”

She also found a sponsor in Factor Fitness owned by Harold Jackson and of course at TU with Coach Jessica Sanders who always opens the door for Woll to practice on the field.

Going into this year, Woll was hoping she would make the team. “Before I went there, I was really praying to see if I was able to be on the team because I am already older, I haven’t played in college since 2019 and I always have been practicing on my own.” 

Once she was named to the team, she felt called to share her faith with her teammates, “Back home, Christianity is not as strong as here in the U.S. So I felt like this time it was there for me to really talk about Jesus with the rest of the girls and, but I kept playing and praying to God to say, God really still wants me to be there.”

When reflecting on softball’s impact on her life Woll said, “I know God put softball in my life when I needed to before I became a believer, but I can say that it saved my life when I was younger, for sure.”

The team finished sixth in the XI Pan Am Women’s championship to earn the bid to the Pan American games in 2027. The national team will continue to prepare for 2027, by participating in a tournament in South America and the Canada Cup in 2026.