Even if others don’t.
‘Always been natural’
Mateen was destined to be a collegiate athlete.
Born into a family of athletic success — her parents are coaches, and her younger twin brothers are athletes — Mateen excelled from an early age, playing four different sports and earning all-state honors in three.
“I was just kind of athletic enough to do whatever I wanted,” Mateen said.
Coaches began reaching out to the budding athlete for softball, basketball and even track — a sport her mother starred in at Western Carolina.
“I tell everybody, ‘She got her speed from me, but she did not get her softball skills from me,’” said Rahma Mateen-Mason, laughing modestly. “Even when she was little, she was fast.
“It’s always been natural for her.”
Mateen’s speed was legendary in her home of Siler City, N.C., with opposing coaches and even umpires telling her they hadn’t seen a faster player in decades.
“It’s just not all God-given talent,” said Mateen-Mason, who recalls her daughter’s tireless work ethic. “Aquilla works hard to be able to do what she’s doing. Her work ethic is just ridiculous.”
Her mother remembers Mateen’s early-morning batting practices — while her peers laid in bed, she was laying down bunts. But as talented and dedicated as she was, playing in rural Chatham County limited her national exposure.
Mateen was determined to change that.
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“Around the age of 10, that’s when she told me she wanted to play softball in college,” Mateen-Mason said. “You don’t hear a lot of kids going to big Division I schools from where we are.”
Despite being raised by North Carolina faithful, Mateen had her eyes on another in-state school — one that didn’t even field a softball team — and her mother could only guess as to the reason why.
“I think she was rebellious,” said Mateen-Mason with a bittersweet chuckle, disgusted by her daughter’s former Duke affection. “I tried my best to make her love Carolina.
“She’s never been a follower, and that’s what I love about her.”
But Mateen’s uncle, who played football at UNC, was determined to continue the family tradition.
“He called Coach (Donna) Papa probably three times a week about Aquilla,” Mateen-Mason said. “He was the catalyst to get her there.”
During one call, Papa suggested Mateen attend her annual softball camp — which her uncle gladly paid for — to see if she might fit into the program.
And once there, Mateen didn’t disappoint.
“It was probably one of the best weekends I’ve ever played in my life,” she said. “I guess it was just my calling.”
Mateen showcased her signature speed, legging out triples and making diving catches — including one that caught the eye of the UNC coach.
Playing out from her natural shortstop position, Mateen chased down an outfield hit and made a spectacular leaping attempt, coming up just short of the ball.
But the effort was enough.
“It was like ESPN,” said Papa, who thought Mateen completed the catch. “That was what really made me turn the corner on her.”
Following the camp, Papa contacted Coach Rick McHone of the Carolina Cardinals — a youth softball organization she describes as a “farm system” for her squad — hoping to expose Mateen to higher-level competition.
“At first, Rick said, ‘Well, I really don’t (have a spot), I have enough outfielders,’” Papa said. “And I said, ‘Really, you’re not gonna be disappointed.’”
By the end of the summer, Papa remembers receiving a call from none other than the previously reluctant McHone.
“He said to me, ‘Do you have any more Aquilla Mateens?’”
‘Go the extra mile’
For Mateen, it’s never been about her.
Heavily influenced by their own upbringings, her parents instilled the importance of giving back from a young age.
“From age four when she could carry a bag, she was with us delivering food,” Mateen-Mason said. “It’s just been a family tradition.”
In high school, Mateen was a part of groups such as the Peer Educating Peer Squad and Students Against Destructive Decisions. In college, she is involved in Something We Athletes Got and serves as a Carolina CREED Mentor with the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy.
“If you don’t know her, you might think that everything she does or says is extraordinary,” Mateen-Mason said. “But people who know her and see her every day (know) she does this all the time.
“That’s just Aquilla to us. That’s what she does.”
Mateen’s leadership qualities manifest themselves on the field, where her teammates have elected her to serve as captain.
“When she’s not here, you definitely miss her presence,” Ferraro said. “She was sick for practice maybe two weeks ago, and multiple girls were saying, ‘I miss Kiwi, I want Kiwi to be back out here.’”
Though Mateen’s individual impact is profound both on and off the diamond, she would never admit as much.
Mateen-Mason remembers finding a medal as she unpacked her daughter’s bag last year. It was an award Mateen had won six months earlier — unbeknownst to her mother.
“She puts the team over her personal accolades,” Mateen-Mason said. “It doesn’t matter how many triples she has if her teammates don’t have any.”
Her willingness to sacrifice for others is symbolically displayed in her eagerness to bunt, always focusing on the advancement of others.
But in Mateen’s case, both with volunteering and bunting, it’s not a sacrifice at all.
“She’s going to go the extra mile for people she cares about,” Ferraro said. “She cares so hard about everything she puts her time into, whether it’s softball or her friends. She would do anything for me.”
Aliyah Grinage — who describes her older cousin as her best friend, sister and role model — sees the same dedication in Mateen her teammates do.
“She would do anything for somebody,” Grinage said. “She’s just a caring person, she’d do anything to help you out.”
“She’s perfect. I don’t know how to explain it.”
‘Just a special kid’
Mateen is truly inexplicable.
Whether she’s crashing into the outfield wall to rob a home run or gunning down a runner on a seemingly sure double, she often leaves spectators in astonishment.
“There’s so many balls that most of us would stand there and go, ‘Wow, she just got to that?’” said Papa of her centerfielder’s defense. “Some balls that you see hit, you’re like, ‘Oh boy, that’s a gapper.’ And then all of the sudden, here comes Kiwi.”
Mateen thrives on confusing her opponents, sensing weaknesses and generating unforced errors.
“She is a game-changer type player — like a Marcus Paige on the basketball team,” Ferraro said. “She’s making those plays that other girls just don’t make.”
It’s these kinds of plays that earned her All-ACC honors as a sophomore. But it’s her personality — a stark contrast of brash confidence and reserved silence — that proves most puzzling.
“It’s hard to describe somebody who can be super, super different,” said Ferraro, who was initially scared of Mateen. “She has this strong presence about her, and she’s pretty shy, so she doesn’t say much to you.”
Such a closed-off approach has people convinced of her standoffish demeanor.
“I’m not scary, I’m really nice,” pleads Mateen with a charming smile. “(But) it’s not me to actually try to make people like me.”
But those that push past the cold facade uncover a truly irreplaceable soul.
“She’s probably the best person ever,” Grinage said. “If anything, you want be her friend. That’s the friend that you should have around.”
With all that Mateen contributes on the field, in the community and for her loved ones, she remains impossible to define.
“It’s just hard to say just one thing about her,” Mateen-Mason said. “I don’t even know how to explain it.
“Some things you can’t put in words.”
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