FloSoftball 2015-16 National Player & Coach of the Year
FloSoftball 2015-16 National Player & Coach of the Year
After concluding our look of the 2015-16 FloSoftball 1st and 2nd Team All-Americans, we present our selections for the National High School Player and Coach
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After concluding our look of the 2015-16 FloSoftball 1st and 2nd Team All-Americans, we present our selections for the National High School Player and Coach of the Year.
Each had title-winning seasons and reached individual milestones that make their success on the field noteworthy and worthy of national recognition…
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FLOSOFTBALL 2015-16 NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Winning a second straight Alabama state championship was sweet for senior Ashley Swindle, no doubt, but one thing made it much better: she got to do it with her best friends.
Ashley earned every possible honor in high school softball this season—from All-American to All-State to Gatorade State Player of the Year—after leading Curry High of Jasper, Alabama to the 4A state title in a dominating season in the circle and at the plate.
The senior headed to Auburn this fall went 45-2 with a 0.59 ERA for the Yellow Jackets and had 385 strikeouts in 262 2/3rd innings of work while batting .557 with 13 home runs and an amazing 86 RBI.
The right-handed pitcher, who mixed a change-up, dropball and curve effectively enough to record 1,014 strikeouts in her storied prep career, says she knew early on that this year—her last at Curry High, would be a good one because she had life-long friends beside her on the field.
“I knew this would be a special season for us because five of us have been with each other ever since we was four years old and it was our senior year together.”
Those teammates are outfielder Hope McAllister, infielder Kaylee Horton, catcher Emily Aaron and infielder Taylor Rowe and Ashley says when she looks back on her high school career it’s the people she’ll remember most about the great success on the fields.
“The first memory that comes to mind when I think of Curry softball is having our team bonding,” she explains. “Most teams after practice split ways and just go home, but our team was always with each other.”
Pictured: the Curry quintet of seniors who have known each other since they were four years old are (l-r) Hope McAllister, Kaylee Horton, Emily Aaron, Taylor Rowe and Ashley Swindle.
What the group of seniors did, including newly arrived infielder Justus Perry, also headed to Auburn this fall after moving in from Minnesota before the season, was impressive: in four years the class compiled a 181-23 record and reached state each season, finishing with a pair of 3rd place finishes along with the two state titles.
Since the sophomore season, the Yellow Jackets have been ranked No. 1 in the state for two straight years and this season beat every state champion in Alabama except one.
This year’s success was a bit in doubt before the year started only because of the graduation of first baseman Haleigh Lane, a big bat from last year’s champs who moved on to play at South Alabama.
Even with Justus Perry successfully filling the departure of Lane, Swindle knew she would have to improve her hitting to help her team go back-to-back.
“I was more proud of my hitting than my pitching this year,” she admits, because I expect myself to pitch good, but losing a key hitter I knew I had to step it up offensively.”
That she did and with it comes FloSoftball National Player of the Year honors.
So what does that mean to the small-town pitcher who won 154 games as a starter in high school, averaging almost 39 victories per season?
“To be National Player of the Year is a dream come true!” she gushes before adding, “I wouldn't be here today, though, without God and my parents. It's an honor to be called that and I just hope to set an example for the little girls that think just because you come from a small place doesn't mean you can't do great things.”
***
Mel Kolbusz, Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Illinois)
It came down to the last strike for Coach Mel Kolbusz and his Huskies of Oak Park-River Forest in Oak Park, Illinois as the they trailed Normal West High 2-1 in the top of the seventh in the Class 4A final in Peoria on June 11.
That was when shortstop Maeve Nelson, a sophomore committed to Northwestern, lined a triple over the right-fielder’s head to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
The state championship game was a nail-biter, drifting into the 10th inning before freshman infielder Fiona Giradot doubled with two outs to plate a pair of runs and give OPRF a 4-2 lead they would make stand to give the school its first state title since 2005.
““I told my little freshman, Fiona, ‘Well, you’re not a freshman anymore,’ when I put the medal around her neck,” Coach Kolbusz told the Journal Star after the contest.
The victory was the 27th consecutive win for the team and gave the Huskies a 37-2 record and a No. 13 ranking in the final FloSports FAB 50 High School Rankings.
The championship run also earned Kolbusz FloSoftball High School Coach of the Year honors.
Not only was it his second state title, after coming close in 2015 with a third place finish, but it also was his 675th win in a stellar career of 30 years coaching at the high school level, 23 of them at Oak Park-River Forest High.
"I was praying in the dugout a little bit, but the kids came through," Kolbusz told Oakpark.com writer Matt Le Cren. "It's been about two weeks now that we've told them, 'We've taught you everything that you need to know.'”
Photo of Ashley Swindle by David Victory/AI.com; photo of Coach Mel Kolbusz by J. Geil/Oakpark.com.
Each had title-winning seasons and reached individual milestones that make their success on the field noteworthy and worthy of national recognition…
***
FLOSOFTBALL 2015-16 NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Ashley Swindle, Curry High School (Jasper, Alabama)
Winning a second straight Alabama state championship was sweet for senior Ashley Swindle, no doubt, but one thing made it much better: she got to do it with her best friends.
Ashley earned every possible honor in high school softball this season—from All-American to All-State to Gatorade State Player of the Year—after leading Curry High of Jasper, Alabama to the 4A state title in a dominating season in the circle and at the plate.
The senior headed to Auburn this fall went 45-2 with a 0.59 ERA for the Yellow Jackets and had 385 strikeouts in 262 2/3rd innings of work while batting .557 with 13 home runs and an amazing 86 RBI.
The right-handed pitcher, who mixed a change-up, dropball and curve effectively enough to record 1,014 strikeouts in her storied prep career, says she knew early on that this year—her last at Curry High, would be a good one because she had life-long friends beside her on the field.
“I knew this would be a special season for us because five of us have been with each other ever since we was four years old and it was our senior year together.”
Those teammates are outfielder Hope McAllister, infielder Kaylee Horton, catcher Emily Aaron and infielder Taylor Rowe and Ashley says when she looks back on her high school career it’s the people she’ll remember most about the great success on the fields.
“The first memory that comes to mind when I think of Curry softball is having our team bonding,” she explains. “Most teams after practice split ways and just go home, but our team was always with each other.”Pictured: the Curry quintet of seniors who have known each other since they were four years old are (l-r) Hope McAllister, Kaylee Horton, Emily Aaron, Taylor Rowe and Ashley Swindle.
What the group of seniors did, including newly arrived infielder Justus Perry, also headed to Auburn this fall after moving in from Minnesota before the season, was impressive: in four years the class compiled a 181-23 record and reached state each season, finishing with a pair of 3rd place finishes along with the two state titles.
Since the sophomore season, the Yellow Jackets have been ranked No. 1 in the state for two straight years and this season beat every state champion in Alabama except one.
This year’s success was a bit in doubt before the year started only because of the graduation of first baseman Haleigh Lane, a big bat from last year’s champs who moved on to play at South Alabama.
Even with Justus Perry successfully filling the departure of Lane, Swindle knew she would have to improve her hitting to help her team go back-to-back.
“I was more proud of my hitting than my pitching this year,” she admits, because I expect myself to pitch good, but losing a key hitter I knew I had to step it up offensively.”
That she did and with it comes FloSoftball National Player of the Year honors.
So what does that mean to the small-town pitcher who won 154 games as a starter in high school, averaging almost 39 victories per season?
“To be National Player of the Year is a dream come true!” she gushes before adding, “I wouldn't be here today, though, without God and my parents. It's an honor to be called that and I just hope to set an example for the little girls that think just because you come from a small place doesn't mean you can't do great things.”
***
FLOSOFTBALL 2015-16 NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR:
Mel Kolbusz, Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Illinois)
It came down to the last strike for Coach Mel Kolbusz and his Huskies of Oak Park-River Forest in Oak Park, Illinois as the they trailed Normal West High 2-1 in the top of the seventh in the Class 4A final in Peoria on June 11.
That was when shortstop Maeve Nelson, a sophomore committed to Northwestern, lined a triple over the right-fielder’s head to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
The state championship game was a nail-biter, drifting into the 10th inning before freshman infielder Fiona Giradot doubled with two outs to plate a pair of runs and give OPRF a 4-2 lead they would make stand to give the school its first state title since 2005. ““I told my little freshman, Fiona, ‘Well, you’re not a freshman anymore,’ when I put the medal around her neck,” Coach Kolbusz told the Journal Star after the contest.
The victory was the 27th consecutive win for the team and gave the Huskies a 37-2 record and a No. 13 ranking in the final FloSports FAB 50 High School Rankings.
The championship run also earned Kolbusz FloSoftball High School Coach of the Year honors.
Not only was it his second state title, after coming close in 2015 with a third place finish, but it also was his 675th win in a stellar career of 30 years coaching at the high school level, 23 of them at Oak Park-River Forest High.
"I was praying in the dugout a little bit, but the kids came through," Kolbusz told Oakpark.com writer Matt Le Cren. "It's been about two weeks now that we've told them, 'We've taught you everything that you need to know.'”
Photo of Ashley Swindle by David Victory/AI.com; photo of Coach Mel Kolbusz by J. Geil/Oakpark.com.