Palm Beach 5A-1A softball first team, second team, honorable mention, coach of the year
The county's top small-school softball players.
FIRST TEAM
Reilly Baltazar, IF, Glades Day sophomore: Baltazar hit .419 with 15 RBIs and 15 steals, providing a spark to the Gators’ lineup.
Shayna Barker, IF, Oxbridge Academy senior: Barker was a key player in a deep ThunderWolves lineup, batting .424 with a 1.236 OPS. She hit four home runs and had 30 RBIs.
Morgan Katz, IF, American Heritage-Delray junior: Katz was one of the top hitters in the Stallions’ lineup, hitting .468 with six extra-base hits and a 1.196 OPS. She had one home run and eight stolen bases.
Marlo Lacy, UTIL, King’s Academy junior: Lacy was second on the Lions with a .510 batting average, and she drove in 19 runs. She added five stolen bases.
Chiara Laus, C, King’s Academy senior: Laus led the Lions with 16 stolen bases, and she was third on the team with a .480 batting average. She ended the season with a 1.154 OPS.
Madison Luft, C, American Heritage-Delray freshman: Luft was American Heritage-Delray’s leading hitter, batting .468 with a 1.276 OPS. She hit six triples and stole six bases.
Gracyn Needle, IF, King’s Academy eighth-grader: Needle crushed the ball for the Lions, hitting .622 with three home runs (including two grand slams), 16 total extra-base hits and 54 RBIs. She had an OPS of 1.927 and stole 13 bases.
La’Taviona Parke, OF, Oxbridge Academy senior: Parke hit .403 and provided power with a 1.287 OPS. She had 15 extra-base hits, including three home runs.
Isabella Ruggiero, IF, Oxbridge Academy junior: Ruggiero led the ThunderWolves with a .448 batting average, and she added power, as well. She hit three home runs and had 15 extra-base hits with 31 RBIs. Ruggiero led Oxbridge with a 1.442 OPS.
Nicki Ruiz, C, Glades Day senior: Ruiz was Glades Day’s top hitter, batting .400 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. She also stole 19 bases.
Jenesis Spence, UTIL, Suncoast sophomore: Spence powered the Suncoast offense, batting .621 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs in just 33 plate appearances. She had a titanic 2.081 OPS.
Aubrey Wurst, P, American Heritage-Delray junior: A UNC commit, Wurst went 9-6 with a 1.44 ERA and threw a no-hitter. She struck out188 batters in 92 2/3 innings. At the plate, she hit .326 with seven extra-base hits.
Kaylee Wilt, IF, Somerset Academy Canyons junior: Wilt smashed the ball this season, hitting .348 with four home runs and 13 extra-base hits. She drove in 24 runs and had a 1.870 OPS. She also stole 14 bases.
SECOND TEAM
Sophia Colangelo, P, Cardinal Newman junior
Kaiya Glucksman, IF, Oxbridge Academy freshman
Madison Jennings, IF, Oxbridge Academy junior
Alexa Muller, C, Oxbridge Academy junior
Giada Napolitano, IF, American Heritage senior
Camila Pukys, IF, Boca Raton Christian eighth-grader
Jillian Shapiro, IF, American Heritage-Delray senior
Ryleigh Singer, P, Somerset Canyons freshman
Lily Stone, IF, King’s Academy eighth-grader
Maryn Thompson, IF, Glades Day junior
Taylor Kay Wilt, C, Somerset Canyons junior
Kiersten Zimmerman, UTIL, King’s Academy freshman
HONORABLE MENTION
Berean Christian: Hailey Georgic, Elizabeth Kowalski, Jordyn Powell; Boca Raton Christian: Hailey Duke, Julia Siegel; Cardinal Newman: Maeve Adams, Gracie Angleton, Reese Khanna; Glades Day: Kaley Deaton, Olivia Sanford, Kinley Seider; Oxbridge Academy: Kelly Dever, Taylor Priske; Suncoast: Jayden Gonzalez, Sara Jayne, Stella Rinehimer; Trinity Christian: Isabella Dorsette.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kevin Drake, Oxbridge Academy: Under Drake, the ThunderWolves won 20 games for the sixth season in a row (not including the shortened 2020 season. Oxbridge went 20-6 and won a district championship. The ThunderWolves reached the state semifinals, where they fell to Fort Myers Evangelical Christian.