Gray Collegiate Academy senior Aspen Boulware has been voted High School On SI's South Carolina Softball Player of the Year after collecting 38.46 percent of the fan vote.
Boulware put together a huge season for the nationally ranked War Eagles, helping Gray Collegiate Academy win the state championship and finish undefeated. The South Carolina commit hit .561 with 46 hits, 42 RBIs, 12 home runs and 71 runs. That performance also earned her Gatorade South Carolina Softball Player of the Year honors.
A.C. Flora sophomore Pressli Reynolds finished second in the poll with 23.08 percent of the vote.
Reynolds powered the Falcons to the Class 4A state championship series and hit .506 with 45 hits, 47 RBIs, 12 home runs, 14 doubles and 43 runs. Her season brought All-State, All-Region and Region Position Player of the Year recognition.
South Florence freshman Page White placed third with 15.38 percent of the vote after a standout debut season. White was named All-State and Region 5-4A All-Region, and she batted .449 with 44 hits, 46 RBIs, 13 home runs, 10 doubles, 49 runs and 33 stolen bases.
Three players tied for fourth, each earning 7.69 percent of the vote: South Florence’s Kynnedi Jenkins, West-Oak’s Cassie Stoltzfus and Loris’ Jessie Cartrette.
Jenkins, another key piece for the Bruins, was also named Region 5-4A All-State. The junior went 21-6 with a 1.63 ERA and 206 strikeouts in 141.1 innings pitched.
Stoltzfus delivered on both sides for the Warriors. The sophomore and recent Wofford commit hit .407 with 35 hits, 40 RBIs, 10 home runs, nine doubles and 14 runs at the plate, then went 16-4 with a 2.60 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 110.1 innings pitched in the circle.
Cartrette, a junior and Erskine commit, earned Region 5-3A All-State honors for the Lions. She hit .528 with 57 hits, 50 RBIs, 15 doubles, five home runs and 25 runs, and also went 11-2 with a 2.43 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 80.2 innings pitched.
Six nominees finished without a vote: Lee Academy’s Jameson Collins, West Florence’s Annie Eliason, North Central’s Mackenzie Milton, Ridge Spring-Monetta’s Adalynn Holsomback, St. James’ Raegan Tibbits and T.L. Hanna’s Addison Sharp.
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For South Carolina, that means a road game that once seemed straightforward now comes with a fresh layer of uncertainty. Arkansas has brought in a massive wave of transfers, including several from Silverfields previous stop at Memphis, and the turnover touches every phase of the team. Even familiar names around the SEC landscape are gone, including former Gamecock receiver OMega Blake, who led the Razorbacks in receiving last season. By the time the Gamecocks arrive in Fayetteville, the bigger question may not be who Arkansas was, but how quickly this new version comes together. [Read more 🡒]
Gamecocks Fans Will Want To Watch Hayden Johnson Closely This Fall
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For now, Johnson is working his way back from an arm injury at South Carolina, where he has already started with the training staff and is progressing on schedule. Once he is healthy, he is expected to push for a weekend starting spot, which gives the Gamecocks another arm with real upside to watch closely as fall ball unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Lamont Paris Faces His Biggest South Carolina Backcourt Test Yet
South Carolinas backcourt has been a lingering issue for two seasons, and it has shown up in the kind of uneven play that can make a team harder to trust over the course of a game. Lamont Paris is trying to steady that spot this fall with a mix of experience and upside, leaning on Kory Mincy and freshman Marcus Johnson as the latest answers in a rotation that has needed one.
Mincy arrives with the most college mileage in the group after stops at Presbyterian and George Mason, while Johnson brings the kind of decorated prep rsum that usually comes with real expectations attached. Paris has liked what he has seen from both in workouts, but the real question for South Carolina is whether this pairing can finally give the offense a more reliable handle when the season starts to ask harder questions. [Read more 🡒]