Brylee Butts and her new basketball coach now have something unique in common. Both have signed offers from the University of Memphis.
Butts had her official signing ceremony Wednesday afternoon in the Caldwell County High School cafeteria to play NCAA Division I softball at Memphis.
Meanwhile, Malissa Thomas, who is beginning her second go around as Lady Tiger basketball head coach, played basketball at the University of Memphis after graduating from CCHS.
Thomas was in the large crowd of family, friends, teammates and coaches in attendance at Wednesday’s signing.
Butts, who said playing in college has been her dream since she first picked up a softball, was named Class A first-team all-state as a junior last spring after hitting an even .500 with the Caldwell County Lady Tigers. She had eight home runs, 26 extra-base hits, 33 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases.
Butts, who is a daughter of Caldwell softball head coach Seath Butts, said she also considered Western Michigan and Central Michigan before picking Memphis.
She anticipates being a utility player at Memphis, playing either infield or outfield.
Butts is not only an all-region softball player at Caldwell, but all-region in both volleyball and basketball as well.
At Memphis, Butts will play for Trena Prater, who is in her first year at the southwestern Tennessee school.
Prater was the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association Coach of the Year after leading Campbell University to a 79-39-1 record over the past two seasons.
Campbell was 37-21-1 overall and 22-5 during its inaugural season in the CAA in 2024, winning the regular-season conference championship. The 22 conference wins set a CAA record as the team led the league with a .330 batting average, 1.58 earned run average and .975 fielding percentage.
In 2023, Campbell went 42-18 and 15-5 in the Big South Conference, finishing in a tie at the top of the regular-season conference standings.
Prater was a standout player at LSU from 1999-2002, earning 2002 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors while being named a semifinalist for the 2002 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. A three-time All-SEC selection during her career, she was also named an Easton First-Team All-American and NFCA Second-Team All-American in 2002.
Butts’ field of study at Memphis will be nursing.
Butts and the Lady Tiger basketball squad will see their first preseason action this Saturday, facing four teams in 3 hours at Crittenden County. The regular season begins the first week of December.
Butts will then have her senior season with the Lady Tiger softball team in the spring.
Another Lady Tiger will be signing to play college softball on Friday at CCHS. Harper Holeman is headed to Frontier College in Fairfield, Illinois.
