This feature originally appeared in the 2025 Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.

 
Audience of one.
 
For some, it doesn't mean much. But it's a motto that California outfielder Holly Medina embodies. Reminded every time she's in the batter's box and with every sip of water – with the initials AO1 written on her bat and water bottle – she is never concerned about the opinions of others nor needs their acceptance.
 
Medina's journey has not always been easy. From an early age, she endured many trials and tribulations leading up to the moment she decided to dedicate her life to Christ.
 
During her childhood, religion was never a huge factor in the household and was not forced upon her at a young age. Instead, after learning of her friend's religious views and deeper discussions with her grandparents, she began to beg her parents, Niki and Adam Medina, to start taking her to church. That is where her religious journey began to take form.
 
"It was never like – we have to go, and I was never in a Christian or Catholic school," Medina said. "I remember my friends in elementary school were pretty religious, and I would go home and be like – 'Mom, can you please take me to church and – can we go to church on Sunday?' My grandparents had a big effect on it. They would talk to me about religion here and there."
 
Growing up in Hesperia in Southern California, Medina made the varsity softball team during her freshman year at Oak Hills High School. But that wasn't enough. She knew if she wanted to reach her career goals, she would have to venture outside her hometown to get exposure. She set a goal to make the Firecrackers Select 18U travel ball team in Huntington Beach, over an hour from her home.
 
"I was committed to the grind, but it was so much fun," Medina said. "I finally met people who were at the same level and pushing me to be more. I was the underdog the whole time. I was constantly being pushed. I had the best memories on that team and being in Huntington Beach, playing softball and traveling with all those people. That was when I knew – this is what I am going to do."
 
Despite finding success on the field, Medina still had not received any attention from major college programs leading up to her senior year of high school. She earned recognition from mid-major schools and visited several campuses, such as Southern Utah and Montana.
 
Even though Medina thoroughly enjoyed her official visit to Montana, she ultimately decided to remain patient. She traveled to Texas to compete in a tournament where college coaches were in attendance.
 
"I go to the tournament and I end up balling out," Medina said. "We had a recruitment guy on our team that handled a lot of that for us, luckily, and he told me – you're not going to believe it, but Cal and LMU are both interested."
 
Overwhelmed with emotions, she immediately scheduled visits to LMU and Cal that following week. While visiting Berkeley, she immediately knew her future and officially committed to Cal during the visit.
 
"I knew I wanted to stay in California," Medina stated. "It felt far enough from home to experience things and the fact I was getting this education and being able to play in a power school. That was great."
 
While on campus during the fall of her freshman year, Medina wanted to commit and dive further into her faith. Despite establishing a foundation during her childhood, she finally felt that everything was coming together.
 
"In high school, a church opened in my hometown, and I started working at the coffee bar there," Medina said. "I got into fellowship with that, but it didn't click until college that I truly felt my faith start to flourish."
 
In December of her freshman year, she made a New Year's resolution to fully grow her relationship with Christ. After enduring many hardships throughout the year, she took a leap of faith and got a tattoo, displaying a cross on her lower left forearm. That decision marked a key moment in her religious journey.
 
"It was kind of the reminder to put God first and to grow in my faith, Medina said. "Ever since that moment, that has been something I have stuck with because I've never felt the way I have in my faith as strong as I do right now."
 
As she returned to campus for her sophomore year in August 2024, and after many months of compiling the thoughts that raced through her head surrounding the idea of being baptized, she finally felt that she was ready for the next step in her journey.
 
"I had been wanting to get baptized for a while," Medina said. "Over the summer, it was a big turning point for me. Prior to it, I was like – I would love to be baptized, but I didn't know why, what the point was, or if I deserved to be baptized. Those are the thoughts that were going through my head."
 
During the nearly seven-hour drive from her hometown back to campus, she convinced herself that it was time. After returning to campus, she visited her church, City Center, and one of the first topics that was being discussed during service was about baptism.
 
"That's crazy," Medina said in disbelief. "I really wanted to do it, but it was happening the next week, and school hadn't even started."
 
As a member of Athletes in Action on campus, Medina went to bible study the next day and confided to one of the mentors and AIA team leader, Karen Butler. During the conversation, she shared her concerns about getting baptized without having her support system with her, as most of her teammates hadn't returned to campus yet, and her parents were seven hours away. That's when she discovered that the organization, AIA, holds baptisms. She was immediately sold and committed to a date.
 
"It was not really about where. It was more about who was doing it and the community," Medina said. "I knew that AIA had been a big thing at school, and it had helped me a lot. I knew all the people in my support system would be there."
 
After crossing off the days on the calendar for months, the moment finally arrived. On November 6, 2024, surrounded by loved ones, teammates, coaches, members from her church, and even her therapist, Holly took the cold plunge into the tub of war and publicly declared her faith in Jesus Christ.
 
"It was just uniting. All my favorite people filled in one room. It was not just celebrating me but how I felt and the fruits of the spirit. It was such a joyful day." Medina said. "Not everyone there, I don't even think, was religious, but they were supporting me. It was so inspirational for them, which is God's work itself."