Bright, Hickerson Leave A Lasting Impression

Cheers rained down on this year's Tar Heel Trailblazers, Sonya Bright and Mickey Hickerson, on Saturday afternoon as the two were honored at center court at the Dean E. Smith Center. The halftime honors for Bright and Hickerson – Carolina's first Black softball player and first Black baseball player, respectively – were the most public display of the Trailblazers weekend but not the only way the two left their mark during a weekend in Chapel Hill.

Following the Tar Heel men's basketball victory, Bright and Hickerson joined UNC administrators, staff and students, as well as friends and family, for a panel discussion about their experiences in Chapel Hill. Junior Bella Miller, a member of the gymnastics team, and senior Kaimon Rucker, a member of the football team, moderated the panel in the Carolina Basketball Museum, guiding the conversation about the Trailblazers' experiences at UNC and beyond.

"I can't say there's anything I'd change," Bright said of her time in Chapel Hill.

Neither Trailblazer was aware of blazing a trail before joining their respective Tar Heel teams. Bright hadn't plan to play softball in college but, appropriately, became one of the best leadoff hitters in program history, using her speed to get on first then piling up stolen bases. Hickerson started playing baseball at age 5 and tried out for the UNC team not knowing he'd be the first Black player in the program's history. After his Carolina career, which included three years as UNC's starter at second base, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1973.

Both offered advice for the student-athletes in the room, words that could apply to life after college as well. Hickerson urged students to be sure the goals they set also included academic priorities. Bright told a story about a chemistry professor doubting her academic fortitude and suggesting she was headed toward a career in softball, a professional path that didn't exist at the time. The conversation only served to motivate Bright, whose mother told her later she should go back and thank the professor for the fire his comments provided.

The panel capped a weekend that opened Friday evening with a welcome reception and continued into Saturday's events. Bright and Hickerson make up the seventh class of Tar Heel Trailblazers, a Carolina Athletics tradition that started in 2014.

Past honorees include:
2014: Courtney Bumpers, Robyn Hadley, Ricky Lanier, Charles Scott
2015: Stuart Scott, Karen Stevenson, Charles Waddell
2016: Sharon Couch, Phil Ford
2018: Peter Henry, Rochelle Small-Toney
2020: Willie Cooper
2022: Synthia Scott Kearney, Reggie McAfee

Over the years, each of the honorees has spoken of how the Carolina experience endured, and this year's Trailblazers were no exception. Both spoke of the impact UNC had, even in some unexpected ways: Bright talked of switching from righty to lefty to utilize her speed. Although awkward at the time, it's stuck with her to this day – she still plays tennis and golf lefthanded.

The weekend emphasized the ways in which Bright's and Hickerson's time at Carolina has continued to impact them, and also the way it influences the Tar Heel student-athletes who came after them.

As Rucker said in wrapping up the panel, crystalizing the thoughts of all who listened to the panel or came in contact with Bright and Hickerson, "You've truly left an amazing impact on those around you."

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