Henderson County is the preseason pick of the coaches to repeat as Second Region champions, and the Lady Colonels also boast two players on the preseason top 10 list.
The Lady Colonels graduated just three seniors from last year’s 33-6 team that advanced to the state championship game.
Senior Taylor Troutman was voted the preseason player of the year by the coaches. Troutman, who has signed to play in college at Mississippi State, hit .478 last year with 12 home runs and 54 RBI. Of her 55 hits, 25 went for extra bases, and Troutman was 10 for 10 in stolen bases.
Also ranked in the top 10 is junior Anna Kemp, who was 23-6 in the circle for the Lady Colonels last year and posted a 1.88 ERA with 246 strikeouts in 167 innings pitched.
Kemp, who has committed to Missouri, also smacked five home runs at the plate.
Christian County (19-13) is the No. 2 team according to the coaches, with last year’s squad graduating two seniors.
Junior Avery Adcock was voted the No. 2 player in the region behind Troutman. Adcock, like Kemp, has committed to Mizzou. She crushed the ball last year to the tune of .548, 15 home runs, and 42 RBI. 32 of her 57 hits were for extra bases, and she added 33 stolen bases.
Livingston Central lost three seniors from last year’s 17-8 team that fell victim to a tough district and a first-round postseason loss to Crittenden County.
The Lady Cardinals have two players in the preseason top 10. Hadley Hargrove hit .493 last year with 36 hits and 25 RBI. She was also 11-3 in the circle with a 2.70 ERA.
Victoria Joiner batted .390 with a pair of home runs and 25 RBI.
Madisonville is the preseason No. 4 team despite losing six seniors from last year’s 27-7 team that lost to Henderson County in the region semifinals.
Junior pitcher Mackenzie Stoltz was named to the preseason top 10 after a 19-4 effort in the circle last year with 165 strikeouts in 129 innings pitched. She also hit .454 with seven home runs and 35 RBI.
Caldwell County, who advanced to last year’s region championship game and finished 18-13, is No. 5 in the preseason region poll.
The Lady Tigers have one player in the preseason top 10. Junior Harper Holeman hit .407 for the Lady Tigers last year with eight home runs and 37 RBI.
Webster County (15-10) graduated one senior and returns preseason top 10 player Chloe Papineau, who hit .571 as a sophomore with eight home runs and 35 RBI. She had 26 extra-base hits.
Crittenden County is the No. 7 team in the preseason poll after a 2023 campaign that saw the Lady Rockets win the district title and advance to the region semifinals with a 14-16 record. Crittenden graduated four seniors and returns preseason top 10 player Anna Boone, who was 7-10 in the circle with a 3.29 ERA and 97 strikeouts. She also led the Lady Rockets with a .476 average and two home runs.
Trigg County is the preseason No. 8 team after a 12-16 record and the loss of two seniors from last year.
Rylee Hendricks was voted in the preseason top 10 after hitting .500 with 21 RBI and a school-record 46 hits last year. Hendricks has signed to play at Frontier College.
Union County, who returns everyone from last year’s 15-19 team, was picked No. 9 and Lyon County, who also didn’t have a senior last year, was picked No. 10. The Lady Lyons were 9-19 a year ago.
Players who received votes from multiple coaches but didn’t reach the top 10 were Sydney Thomas (Union County), Alyse Rollings (Henderson County), Hallie McCracken (Henderson County), Brylee Butts (Caldwell County), Maggie Grogan (Henderson County), and Courtney Collins (Lyon County).
