‘I took it as a challenge’: How AnaMarie Bruni overcame doubters on her way to Instagram fame, pro softball

Face dripping blood, eyes filled with tears, former Perkiomen Valley High School standout AnaMarie Bruni could have just called it a day.

Line drives to the face can have that effect.

It was 2017, years before she signed with the Texas Smoke for the inaugural season of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch softball league this summer.

Bruni (pronounced Bru-nee), now 25, was an eager college freshman back then trying out for Team USA when she misread a rocket ripped off a bat during an infield session.

“I turned around to the girl behind me and asked if my nose was sideways,” Bruni said with a laugh this week at a softball field in her hometown of Schwenksville.

She didn’t make the team, but she finished every drill, blood-soaked cotton swabs stuffed in her nose, tears still stinging her eyes. It eventually took two surgeries to repair her nose.

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The incident — or her response to it — was emblematic of a young woman who overcame doubters in high school and college, then became one of the best players in University of South Florida history, made herself a social media star, and is now a nurse who is poised to live her professional softball dream.

“Was it embarrassing in the moment? Yes,” she said. “But I think everyone goes through times like that. You’re going to fail, but it’s about how you learn from that and get better.”

Overcoming athletic adversity has been a theme in Bruni’s life.

Growing up, she described herself as a “freak athlete” who often was out of control.

She was a natural right-handed hitter in middle school, but speed made bunting from the left side, which is closer to first base, a useful option.

Eventually, a coach persuaded her to bat exclusively as a left-handed slap hitter in high school.

After years of perfecting the craft, Bruni became a first-team all-state selection at shortstop as a junior and senior. But many, she said, still doubted her dream of playing Division I softball.

“I took it as a challenge,” she said. “I get a fire under me when somebody thinks I can’t do something. For me it was just more fuel.”

Doubters continued when she arrived at South Florida, which she chose over an offer from St. Joseph’s.

But the team’s deep infield coupled with her throwing errors dinged her freshman confidence.

Some also thought her hitting style — simultaneously running toward first while slapping or bunting — was a gimmick that would relegate her to pinch-runner status.

Opportunity knocked, however, when a vacancy opened in the outfield. Bruni volunteered for the job and never looked back.

She finished third on the team in batting average as a freshman and became a dependable center fielder.

The next season, though, an NCAA rule change aimed at slappers nearly derailed everything.

Previously, the foot of a slap hitter was allowed to leave the batter’s box, provided it still touched the box’s chalk. The new rule deemed a batter out if any part of the foot left the box.

The rule’s intention was to limit what some believed was an unfair advantage slappers had to step in front of the plate and shrink the strike zone.

Bruni struggled with the change.

In her 89 at-bats that season, she remembers, she was called out at least 14 times for breaching the batter’s box.

During that offseason, though, she taped a regulation batter’s box next to her bed and practiced the steps 20 times each night before she slept.

“I was determined to come back my junior year and kill it,” she said, “because I felt like I was too good of an athlete not to execute it.”

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The extra work and determination showed on the field.

As a junior, Bruni led the team in batting average (.385), slugging percentage (.503), runs (41), hits (72), stolen bases (33), and triples (3).

She even blossomed as a fielder, landing on ESPN’s “Top Plays” after a spectacular catch near the wall in center field (a second catch was also featured by ESPN in 2021). She finished her career No. 7 on the school’s all-time batting average list (.350) and finished No. 2 all-time in steals (99). She was also twice named first-team all-conference.

Bruni’s success in the face of athletic disappointment makes more sense when you realize she comes from resilient stock.

Her father, Jim, was a standout running back at Methacton High School and was later recruited to play tailback at Penn.

He then was thrust into championship action as an unproven sophomore when injuries sidelined the Quakers’ top two rushers during the season finale against Dartmouth.

Jim had rushed only 15 times for 65 yards all year. He finished with 12 rushes for 87 yards in the second half, helping Penn to its fourth consecutive Ivy League crown.

His wife, Kelley, was also a softball standout at Textile, now Jefferson University.

“Ana’s had a lot of scenarios in her life where she’s been knocked down,” Jim said in a phone interview. “I think we’re most proud that she’s always gotten back up. More importantly, she figured out how she got knocked down and came back stronger so it wouldn’t happen again.”

There was an emptiness, a void in her life after Bruni’s college career ended, even though coaching helped a little.

She was a sophomore at South Florida when a middle school player first asked for tips via social media.

Bruni eventually posted instructional videos on Instagram to a modest number of followers, mostly girls and fathers looking for tips.

She eventually reached 2,000 followers in October. She was in nursing school, so content creation wasn’t a priority. But she saw its potential.

Bruni became a one-woman dynamo, conceptualizing, editing, and producing her own content without any formal training in business or communications.

She even contacted a few brands about possible partnerships.

“You have to hustle a little bit,” she said with a laugh.

Some shooed her away. Others never responded.

As she increased production, however, brands would soon contact her.

After a few videos went viral, Bruni eclipsed 100,000 followers by Thanksgiving. Now, she has several sponsorships and partnerships. One company even named a training bat after her.

Her social media presence also kept her connected to friends and teammates in the softball community.

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Alyssa Rivera, a former standout outfielder at Auburn, was at the Team USA tryout in 2017 when Bruni broke her nose. They became fast friends and still laugh about it today.

Rivera, who has played for the Puerto Rico national team since 2019, was contacted by reps from the Texas Smoke, a new Women’s Professional Fastpitch team joining the USSSA Pride (Viera, Fla.), Smash It Sports Vipers (Oxford, Ala.), and the Oklahoma City Spark.

Rivera said the opportunity presented by the WPF is the only pro option except for Athletes Unlimited, which was founded in 2020 and employs a unique formula for determining champions. The top four players each week, as determined by a points system, are captains who draft new teams for each slate of competition.

The Smoke, owned by former major leaguer Brandon Phillips, asked Rivera about other potential players, so she mentioned Bruni.

“She’s resilient, hardworking, and her work ethic speaks for itself if you follow her on social media,” Rivera said in a phone interview. “She’s a good human and comes from a good family. To call her a teammate now is a true blessing.”

Bruni, who leaves next week for training, said the organization has made players feel valued.

For example, her car is being shipped to Austin, Texas, where the Smoke play. The team also expects to fly for each road trip during its 36-game regular season.

The marketing department, she added, has also maximized sponsorship opportunities for each player.

Opening day is June 15. The league championship game is scheduled for Aug. 17.

For Bruni, that means missing childhood favorite John Mayer’s June concert in Philly. The little girl inside her, she suggested, would understand.

“It’s empowering to be a female athlete,” she said. “We have overcome a lot of barriers. I look back at my baby pictures of me with a bat. If she saw what I’m doing now, it makes me emotional. ... For women athletes, to be respected is huge. We work hard, and we want that to be recognized. So for me, this means carrying this on and giving opportunities to the next little athlete that’s coming up.”