Name Game: Family History Helps Guide Marigny Thomas

Marigny Thomas Marigny Thomas OF Atascocita | 2026 #76 Nation TX has four older siblings. She is the only one of them born in Texas. The Thomas family moved to the state from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 and flooded their home.

Despite not being a New Orleans native, Thomas has a piece of the city attached to her. She is named after the street her family lived on before leaving. Thomas has visited the location with her family and learned about their deep roots in the area. 

“My dad’s grandma pushed for Black history to be taught in New Orleans, which I think is really cool,” Thomas said. “On my mom’s side, there are a lot of artists, musicians and filmmakers. Some are also Mardi Gras Indians, and my cousin made a film about them.”

The locations came into play when Thomas was being recruited. The 2026 outfielder/utility player has committed to the University of Houston. During the process, she discovered that Houston assistant coach Nadia Taylor was born in New Orleans before moving to Texas. Taylor attended the same high school as Thomas (Atascocita) and used to live in the same neighborhood as her in Humble, Texas.

“I knew it was not a coincidence,” Thomas said. 

Thomas began playing softball after watching the sport on TV when she was four years old. She started in T-ball before joining the Texas Riptide for travel ball.

“They treat you like family the whole time, so I’ve always wanted to play with them,” Thomas said. “A lot of our players have grown up together and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Thomas is a multi-sport standout. Along with softball, she has also played volleyball, basketball and participated in track and field as a sprinter and jumper. Thomas helped her high school’s 4×200 relay team win gold and the 4×100 win silver at the district meet.

Track and softball are in the same high school season, meaning Thomas was pulling double-duty throughout the spring.

“That was a lot, because I had days where I was stressed about softball and I would have track,” she said. “I definitely had to squeeze in work like every single minute I’ve got. I would stay up late. I would be tired, but I definitely pulled through.”

Thomas is still deciding if she will return to the track in 2025.

“I just run because I’m fast,” she said. “But after this year, I’m not sure if I’m gonna run because I did get a stress fracture in my foot and I really want to focus on softball right now.”

Thomas made her official visit to Houston on Sept. 1, learning about the school’s academic and athletic offerings.

“After that, I knew that was the place I wanted to be,” she said. “It’s close to home–like 40 minutes away from my house–so my mom would cook me stuff and bring it to me, and I’ll be able to drive down to the house and see my family. It really checked all the boxes for me.”

Thomas plans to study pre-med and wants to become a dermatologist after college.

“My mom’s friend is an esthetician, and I’ve always been obsessed with skincare and the integumentary system and learning a bunch of stuff about the skin,” Thomas said. “I love making up skincare routines. Ever since I started getting acne, I’ve had a skincare routine. I know that’s something I won’t get bored of and would love for an everyday job.”

Thomas already gives her friends and teammates advice on how to keep their skin healthy.

“I always tell them this is the best cleanser you’ll need or that I use this moisturizer. It might not work for you, but you can try that,” she said. “I really enjoy trying to help people take care of their skin if I can.”

On the softball field, Thomas is known for her strong arm, speed and ability to get on base in multiple ways. She loves diving for balls in the outfield whenever possible.

She’s been trying to impart some of her wisdom on the younger generation while coaching a youth softball team called the Bat Brats with her friend Isabella Barziza.

“They’re cute. They’re like five and six years old,” she said. “They don’t know how to hit the ball yet. But our team is pretty good. I think we’ve won most of our games.”