UNLV SOFTBALL ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Maggie Huffaker (Livreri)  (2005-06) - Boise State Head Softball Coach

Former UNLV catcher and current Boise State head softball coach Maggie Huffaker (Livreri) may not have played the full four years for the Rebels that most student-athletes do, but the Las Vegas native left her mark on the program in a short amount of time. Huffaker transferred to UNLV from Colorado State - Pueblo just prior to her junior season in 2005 and had to earn her spot on the field after walking on. The challenge was worth it though to be able to come home and play for then-head coach and current Florida State head softball coach Lonni Alameda.

"I'm slightly unique, I transferred here after two years at Division II," recalled Huffaker. "But I'm from Las Vegas, so my family was there and then Lonni became the head coach. I had a couple friends that were committed and you could just tell that things were moving in the right direction, so I thought why don't I take a shot at this, go and live at home and walk on. I was able to earn a spot and some scholarship money and it really was the best decision I ever made. But playing for Lonni and the ability to play in front of my parents and extended family was huge."

In Huffaker's first season in 2005, the Rebels won 44 games, which included a 17-3 mark in conference play, helping UNLV make its first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade. She looks back on that season and on her student-athlete experience as a whole fondly.

"I think every student-athlete experience is a journey. We were a part of a pretty exciting time, my junior year, we were the first team to go to the postseason in 10 years and we won 44 games. We had players breaking records, a ton of great players on that team. We lost in our conference tournament, but we were right there, and still got into the NCAAs. It was a fantastic athletic experience and I had a great student-athlete experience all the way around. So I was really, really blessed to have a lot of fun, make a lot of memories and learn a ton as a softball player and as a person. It really goes back to the people - I had great teammates and great coaches that I got to really love and become family with."

That season, Huffaker was one of five Rebels (Brittany Meade, Marissa Nichols, Caitlyn Paus, Jacque Kerrigan and Huffaker) to earn Mountain West Conference First Team honors, which still stands at the most first team selections for UNLV as a member of the Mountain West. She also earned a Mountain West Player of the Week award, was a two-time member of the Mountain West Spring All-Academic team and was named a Mountain West Scholar-Athlete twice.

Like our previous alumni spotlights who went on to pursue coaching - Fordham head coach Melissa Inouye and Indiana associate coach Kendall Fearn - Huffaker also started her own coaching journey at UNLV, first as a volunteer assistant in 2007-08 and then as a full-time assistant from 2009-11. As a member of the staff, Huffaker was able to help the Rebels return to the postseason in 2009, when Fearn was a junior.

Huffaker always had an interest in coaching but it was her experience at UNLV and playing and coaching under Alameda that pushed her to go down that path.

"I think I wanted to coach in some capacity, but I didn't know that I wanted to coach at a college level," said Huffaker. "Lonni was the difference maker and all of our coaching staff, but Lonni was somebody that you didn't just want to play softball for you wanted to learn from, you wanted to be around and just feel her energy. I learned that there was so much more to college softball, college athletics than just softball. It wasn't just about being a player, it was about being the full package as far as being good person and being a part of the community and giving back. So, that was really kind of the game changer. I have an example of somebody and obviously I'm never gonna be her, but she inspired me to want to give back to the game a little bit in that way."

After UNLV, Huffaker went on to be an assistant coach at Utah in 2012 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach just prior to the 2017 season. She made her return to the Mountain West when she was named Boise State's head coach on July 5, 2018 and went on to lead the Broncos to just their second NCAA tournament appearance in program history in her first year in 2019.

So what did she learn from Lonni that has helped her to be successful now as a head coach?

"I would say servant leadership. Those that I'm leading, if I can serve them, if I'm humble enough to serve them and provide the avenues for them to be successful, then we're all going to be successful. She was the ultimate example of that and nothing was ever beneath her. She was right in the thick of things working hard with us no matter what and was always available for anything you ever needed. That's something that I've strived to take with me as a coach is to be available to serve both the players and the staff and the community that I work with."

Now that Huffaker is back in her old conference, there is an added element when the Broncos meet the Rebels for one weekend each season, especially when she returns to her hometown and alma mater every other year. 

"I've only done it once so far and we will be down there this year. Initially, it [the first trip] was a little bit of jitters, but I think that's all kind of gone now. But a fun homecoming of seeing people like Tausha Smith and our old SID, Jeff Seals - I love Jeff - and others, so the homecoming in that way is awesome for me. My parents get to come, I'll get to bring my daughter and just have family around, so that's fun. Obviously once you step between the lines, competition is competition, no matter what, but as soon as we're done and able to see familiar faces and recall memories, it is pretty awesome."

Since Huffaker took over the Broncos, the series between the squads have also become tightly contested, intense and competitive and she's impressed with what she has seen from the Rebels under Coach Fox.
 
"I think this year is gonna be very competitive all the way around. The Mountain West has really upped its game," said Huffaker. "I've definitely been impressed with what Kristie's done with the program, just the the class that's come back to the program and the discipline and the competitive nature. I love playing a good ballgame. I love the cat and mouse and the strategic side of it all, so it's gonna be fun to see how both sides come together. At this point with all of us, we're all just happy to be playing. This year, it's the conference opener weekend for us and how you start is a big deal, so it will be interesting on both ends. Everybody is going to be getting after it and one game might make a difference."

In reflecting on her time at UNLV, Haffaker explains what makes this place so special to her.

"I think it was just the people. We had a lot of great people around us, from staff to community members and it felt like a family. We had good crowds that would show up and we were very much a part of the community. We'd do clinics and events around the city and they would show up and watch us play games, so it was neat to be a part of that. But really that family aspect there and we really felt like we were part of growing something and you felt like you were a part of something bigger than yourself."

When asked for her favorite memories at UNLV, Huffaker smiled widely.

"There's so many, but I think the [NCAA] selection show my junior year, not just that moment, but it was a big deal to be going to the postseason, setting out to do that and then accomplishing that goal. It was something that the program hadn't done in so long so that was one of the coolest memories ever. Being a part of that on the coaching side [in 2009] was cool, but everything is different as an assistant and then it's different as a head coach too."

"The other one I have to bring up when I was coaching that was really fun is when we walked it off with home runs against San Diego State in back-to-back games (in 2011). Taylor Van Acker was a freshman and she hit the first one in extra innings to win and then the next day Ashli Holland hit a grand slam and it was a pretty cool moment - I know Ashli is going to love that one when she sees this."

The Rebels are set to take on Huffaker and the Broncos at home this weekend, March 20-21, in the Mountain West Conference opener for both squads. Saturday will feature a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. with Sunday's finale set for 12 p.m. at Eller Media Stadium.