STANFORD, Calif. – As is Nigerian custom, Emmanuel and Adesola Alade had eight days to name their newborn daughter. After much thought, they chose something unique: Babatamilore.
The name, which reads like poetry and is as melodic as a song, means "a gift from God," in the Yoruba language.
Tami Alade indeed is a gift given her unlikely path to Stanford and her role with the No. 1-ranked Cardinal volleyball team, which plays host to Washington State on Friday in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Alade moved to Canada at two, settling near Edmonton, where her father was accepted into law school.
"Life as an immigrant is hard," Alade said. "It was tough for a while. There were points where my parents just wanted to give up and go home. But they knew, for us, this was for the best. So they stayed."
Alade loved soccer, but by age 16, realized that volleyball "made me feel part of a team, more than any other sport I ever played," she said. "Every player that touches the ball contributes in some way to scoring a point. This bonds a team in a really unique way."
At one club tournament, college coaches were invited to observe players who had signed up for a skills session. Alade did not sign up because she had no intention of playing collegiately, but a coach of another team encouraged her to do so, insisted, and even negotiated with officials to allow her in at the last minute. Alade finally agreed.
The next morning, the session coordinator contacted her with an unusual question: If you could pick any college in Canada or the U.S., where would you go? Alade knew enough about academic and volleyball reputations to say "Stanford," but didn't take the question too seriously. When she received a call the next day from Stanford assistant Denise Corlett, she was stunned.
"I'm a pretty religious person," Alade said, "and I would have to say this is my 'miracle' story, because this is as unorthodox as it gets. It relied on so many pieces falling in just the right places."
Once at Stanford, Alade, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, struggled, suffering from tendinitis in her knee. Then-coach John Dunning limited her jumps in training and pulled her out of drills when he thought she had done enough. For two seasons, Alade saw her herself as a practice player.
"I never believed in myself enough to think I could actually fight to get a starting position," she said.
In the spring of 2017, Kevin Hambly arrived as coach. Because of graduation and injuries, the team was desperately short on middle blockers and Hambly wanted to know what Alade was capable of. He saw that she was raw, but with great athletic ability. They sat down and Hambly asked if she was willing to work harder.
"One of my favorite qualities about Kevin is that he is so direct, and he got straight to the point," Alade said. "He felt I had lost some of my competitive edge, drive, and focus needed to push me to the next level of volleyball. While hard to hear at the time, I agree completely with what he had to say.
"It was some of the best advice I've ever received, and I am so thankful for the honesty. Without it, I don't think I would have been able to improve in the ways I have."
More durable and fit from intensive training with strength coach Tyler Friedrich, Alade has arrived. She leads the nation in blocks per set at 1.79 and her hitting percentage of .404 leads the Pac-12.
"I'm really proud of her," Hambly said. "I don't know if there's a lot of kids that I've coached that I'm more proud of their development as a player."
A senior human biology major, Alade's impact also is felt beyond the court. She aspires to become a pediatrician in underserved communities.
"I'm drawn to the injustice and lack of access to health services because of social deterrents," Alade said. "People in underserved communities will face worse health outcomes simply because of where they live and the color of their skin. That's what I'm most passionate about addressing."
Alade never has forgotten how much her parents left behind to create better opportunities for their children.
"It's part of the reason I work so hard and why I always want to push myself," Alade said. "Because I know they sacrificed so much -- this is something they did for me. It makes me want to make them proud."
'Tami,' yes, but always Babatamilore.