High school coaches name 2023 Kentucky Miss Softball, all-state honorees
Ballard’s Brooke Gray added 2023 Miss Softball to her bevy of honors Saturday as the Kentucky Softball Coaches Association announced its all-state team and other awards.
Gray, a senior Louisville signee, also pitched the Bruins to a 12-4 victory over Henderson County in Kentucky high school softball’s state championship game on Saturday at the University of Kentucky’s John Cropp Stadium.
That earned Gray the state tournament’s most valuable player honors, too, and capped a season in which she went 29-0 with 307 strikeouts and a state-best 0.81 earned run average. For Ballard, it was the team’s second straight state championship in a 36-1 season after going 39-0 in 2022 with Gray in the circle for 79 percent of those games.
Joining Gray on the KSCA Class 3A all-state first team was Ballard’s Emory Donaldson, a Kentucky signee. The Bruins’ Mikayla Milby and Imari Golden were second-team selections.
For the second year in a row, Lexington Catholic’s Abby Hammond was named Class 2A’s player of the year. She was joined on the Class 2A first team by fellow Knight Ava Emmert.
The KSCA follows the school classification system used by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association for track and field for its all-state honors.
Other Central Kentucky first-teamers were East Jessamine’s Kayleigh White, Boyle County’s Summer Ray, Harrison County’s Isabella Persinger and Great Crossing’s Delani Sullivan, another UK signee.
The following is a list of honors by class in their order by votes received. Players from the 11th Region are in bold.
Class A All-State
Player of the year: Brooke Hamilton, Owensboro Catholic.
Coaching staff of the year: Owensboro Catholic.
First team: Brooke Hamilton, Owensboro Catholic; Bailey Hamilton, Owensboro Catholic; Kaitlyn Cissell, Bethlehem; Lily Roberts, Hancock County; A’Miyah Collier, Russellville; Ella Johnson, Bracken County; Addison Tignor, Owensboro Catholic; Emma Ginn, Trimble County; Catlin Pennington, Breathitt County; Mattie Streble, Holy Cross; Kirsten Vice, Bath County.
Second team: Sarah Smith, Wolfe County; Rylee French, Bethlehem; Chloy Creech, Wolfe County; Taylor Hodson, Bath County; Davanna Grubb, Raceland; Kali Vance, Raceland; Ashlee Rogers, Bath County; Rae-Leigh Purvis, Bath County; Madison Penrod, Russellville; Samantha Bottom, Danville.
Honorable mention: Paige Miller, Bethlehem; Mallory Combs, Hazard; Ruthie Jones, Owensboro Catholic; Jaylah Kees, Russellville; Ella Staples, Hancock County; Lauren Minor, Holy Cross; Skylar Copley, Elliott County; Jayden Jackson, Christian Fellowship; Bryna Wellman, Raceland; Piersan Shrader, Holy Cross.
Class 2A All-State
Player of the year: Abby Hammond, Lexington Catholic.
Coaching staff of the year: Rowan County.
First team: Abby Hammond, Lexington Catholic; Haven Ford, Rowan County; Emily Cole, Lewis County; Kayleigh White, East Jessamine; Summer Ray, Boyle County; Ava Emmert, Lexington Catholic; Dani Crum, Lawrence County; Isabella Persinger, Harrison County; Hadley Borders, Allen County-Scottsville; Kayley Bruener, Pendleton County.
Second team: Trinity Lambert, Rowan County; Jaycie Goad, Boyd County; Kennedy Baioni, Highlands; Avery Gleason, Butler County; Maddie Horn, East Jessamine; Lucy Nash, Lexington Catholic; Lauryn Eastham, Rowan County; Madison Hymer, Warren East; Kaylie Lawrence, Greenup County; Taytum Spiers, Elizabethtown; Anistyn Thomas, Paducah Tilghman; Parker Willoughby, Butler County.
Honorable mention: Madison Clark, Butler County; Kensley Feltner, Lawrence County; Kenzie Gulley, Mason County; AJ Hollowell, Caldwell County; Chloe Papineau, Webster County; Courtney Sandy, Boyle County; Addi Watson, Western Hills; Jaden Williams, Magoffin County; Baylee Spickard, Franklin County; Ella Bussell, Rockcastle County; Skyler Lawrence, Greenup County; Ava Manning, Christian Academy-Louisville; Avery Simpson, Elizabethtown; Rylee Warner, Franklin County.
Class 3A All-State
Player of the year: Brooke Gray, Ballard.
Coaching staff of the year: Ballard.
First team: Brooke Gray, Ballard; Reaghan Oney, Montgomery County; Delani Sullivan, Great Crossing; Ally Hutchins, McCracken County; Taylor Troutman, Henderson County; Jessie Daniels, Daviess County; Raylee Roby, Daviess County; McLaine Hudson, South Warren; Emory Donaldson, Ballard; Kayden Murray, Greenwood.
Second team: Mikayla Milby, Ballard; Brenna Sherman, Madisonville; Imari Golden, Ballard; Mayson Delong, Johnson Central; Randi Delong, Johnson Central; Camryn Lookadoo, Great Crossing; Annie White, McCracken County; Ada Little, Scott County; Katie Murphy, Barren County; Layla Ogden, South Warren; Emerson McKinnis, Logan County; Lauren Satterly, Assumption.
Honorable mention: Tinley Easton, Tates Creek; Ryleigh Martin, Montgomery County; Sara Zinc, Montgomery County; Chloe Witcher, Barren County; Emily Sizemore, North Laurel; Kristyn Murphy, Woodford County; Lydia Kirby, Greenwood; Kylie Dalton, Southwestern; Trinity Bridges, Lafayette; Jozie Lashley, Oldham County.
‘We wanted to go out with a bang.’ Ballard softball claims its second straight state title.
‘I love our fight.’ Henderson County joins Ballard in softball state championship game.
High school softball coaches announce all-star rosters, region honors
‘We just had each other’s back.’ Freshman ace leads Rowan County to state softball semis.
‘This team should be very proud.’ LexCath’s baseball season ends in state tournament.
‘We didn’t want it to be a close game.’ Big inning sends Henderson Co. past Great Crossing.
