Photo by Keyli Chisesi (Go Big Blue Country)
The Kentucky softball program and head coach Rachel Lawson announced the addition of eight players on Wednesday afternoon. All eight players signed their National Letter’s of intent during the November signing period.
The eight players are Renee Abernathy, Jaci Babbs, Maclai Branson, Kennedy Cowden, Hannah Davis, Kayla Kowalik, Tatum Spangler, and Olivia Ward.
Coach Lawson had the following to say about the eight new Wildcats that are joining the program.
“We are excited to announce this year’s 2018 class to the BBN. As we continue to build our nationally recognized softball program through recruiting, we once again focused on the program’s core values of leadership, physical excellence including dual-sport athleticism and academic achievement. Each player brings her own dynamic skill set, adding speed and power to an already balanced line-up and will help set us up for success for years to come.”
UK gave the following information about each recruit:
Renee Abernathy (Springfield, Illinois)
- Coming off her junior year with Sacred Heart Griffin High School, where she hit .541 on the season with 11 doubles and 11 home runs, knocked in 60 and had 28 stolen bases
- Was first team All-State her junior and senior years, Central State 8 2016 Softball Player of the Year, and Academic All-Conference
- Also lettered for three years in volleyball, where she was first-team All-Metro
- Has played catcher, outfield, and first base
- Bats: left, Throws: left
Jaci Babbs (Sturgis, Kentucky)
- Part of Union County High School’s four-consecutive District championship teams
- In her HS career, is hitting .518 with an OBP of over .500 and 142 stolen bases. Last season alone, she hit .477 with 29 stolen bases and an OBP of over .500.
- Has been first-team All-State, second team All-State, All-Region, All-District and a four-time Golden Glove Award winner
- Is the all-time career leader at Union Co. HS for batting average, stolen bases (career and single season) and hitting streak (24)
- Plays outfield, shortstop and second base
- Bats: left, Throws: right
Maclai Branson (Union, Kentucky)
- First-team All-State in 2017 with Ryle High School, as well as earning a spot on the Kentucky Junior All-Star Team
- Seven-year letter winner in softball where she has racked up three first-team All-State honors (2015, 16, 17)
- Helped Ryle to a third-place finish at the 2014 Regionals, and 2015 Regional runner’s up
- Also played four years of basketball, wherein 2015 she scored the most points and had the best free throw percentage on the team
- Plays shortstop, third base, second base and centerfield
- Bats: right, Throws: right
Kennedy Cowden (Powell, Tennessee)
- Helped lead Powell High School to the District and Regional championship for Tennessee high school softball in 2017.
- Powell was also the state runner’s up in 2017, where Cowden hit .468 on the season with a .578 OBP and slugged .972
- Was named the Best Newcomer in her freshman season, and was All-District during the tournament of her junior year
- Has SEC sports in her blood, as her great-grandfather played basketball at Florida and then transferred to Tennessee to run track.
- Plays outfield
- Bats: left, Throws: left
Hannah Davis (Georgetown, Kentucky)
- Helped lead Scott County to the 2014 and 2016 KHSAA State Championships
- Hit .433 a season ago in high school, which followed two tremendous seasons of .525 and .500 at the plate in her freshman and sophomore years
- Was named to the 2016 KHSAA State All-Tournament Team
- Has been named All-Region three times, All-District three times, and the team’s Offensive MVP three times
- Plays shortstop, second base, third base and outfield
- Bats: left, Throws: right
Kayla Kowalik (New Braunfels, Texas)
- Dual-sport athlete, having shined in both softball and volleyball – where she has been named All-State in both sports. She also lettered in track and field and was a state finalist in the 4x400m relay back in 2015.
- Last season, she hit .524 with a .618 OBP, 28 RBI and 34 stolen bases for St. John Paul II Catholic HS where she helped lead them to a District championship
- Has been a part of 2015, 16 and 17 District champion team in softball, State champions in 2015 and 2016, State runners-up in 2017 and volleyball State finalists in 2016
- Was first team All-District in 2015, 16 and 17; First Team All-State in 2015, 16 and 17 – as well as State All-Tournament Team for three years.
- Plays catcher, outfield and first base
- Bats: left, Throws: right
Tatum Spangler (Henderson, Nevada)
- Helped Coronado High School to a Southeast Division championship in her freshman season and a third-place finish in the State Championships her junior year.
- This past season, she hit .513 with a .606 OBP, 49 runs scored, 56 RBI’s to lead the team, six home runs and five stolen bases. She also pitches, where she had a 1.29 ERA in 119 innings with 184 strikeouts and a no-hitter.
- Has been named a team captain the past two seasons, and was named first-team All-State each of her first three years. She was the season MVP of her high school last year and was the Nevada Preps Pitcher of the Year for the Sunrise Region in 2017.
- Also lettered in volleyball her senior year and freshman years, where she was the offensive MVP her freshman season.
- Plays first base, outfield, and pitches
- Bats: left, Throws: left
Olivia Ward (Winfield, Missouri)
- Played four years of varsity softball for Winfield High School, where in her career she was a .454 hitter with a .516 OBP, 20 home runs, 20 triples, 25 doubles and 77 RBI.
- Has been first team All-Conference for four-straight years, three-time member of the All-District Team, Gold Glove Award winner, team captain and second team All-State.
- Also played basketball, where she was first team All-Conference and first team All-County
- Sister is a member of the Lipscomb softball team (Peyton) and her uncle (Brian Wehde) played baseball for Culver Stockton while in college.
- Plays shortstop, third base, and outfield
- Bats: right, Throws: right
