Kentucky has SEC Softball Player of the Year for first time in program history
Kentucky has the Southeastern Conference’s player of the year for softball for the first time in the program’s 22-year history.
Third baseman Abbey Cheek earned that honor Tuesday along with being named First Team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Defensive Team.
Cheek leads the SEC with a .454 batting average to go with 19 home runs and 49 RBI.
Catcher Jenny Schaper was also named First Team All-SEC and to the all-defensive squad while shortstop Katie Reed was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Second Team All-SEC and was on the all-defensive team, too.
Schaper is batting. 317 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI, and Reed leads the team in doubles with 14 and bats .365 with six home runs and 42 RBI.
The SEC All-Freshman Team included outfielder Kayla Kowalik, who has a .360 batting average, a team-high five triples, plus 24 RBI.
The SEC’s Freshman of the Year is a Kentuckian: former East Carter star Montana Fouts pitches for Alabama. She also earned First Team All-SEC honors and was on the All-Freshman Team.
Fouts is 14-3 with five saves, 142 strikeouts and a 1.00 ERA.
Other top SEC awards went to Alabama’s Sarah Cornell (Pitcher of the Year) and Patrick Murphy (Coach of the Year).
Kentucky (32-21 overall, 14-10 SEC) will begin SEC Tournament play at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) Thursday in College Station, Texas, in the quarterfinals. The fourth-seeded Wildcats will face either fifth-seeded Mississippi, 12th-seeded Mississippi State or 13th-seeded Texas A&M in the 13-team, single-elimination tournament.
All-SEC softball
AWARDS
Player of the Year: Abbey Cheek, Kentucky
Pitcher of the Year: Sarah Cornell, Alabama
Freshman of the Year: Montana Fouts, Alabama
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Katie Reed, Kentucky
Coach of the Year: Patrick Murphy, Alabama
TEAMS
First Team
P: Sarah Cornell, Alabama
P: Montana Fouts, Alabama
P: Ashley Rogers, Tennessee
IF: Bailey Hemphill, Alabama
IF: Amanda Lorenz, Florida
IF: Alyssa DiCarlo, Georgia
IF: Abbey Cheek, Kentucky
IF: Shemiah Sanchez, LSU
OF: Hannah McEwen, Arkansas
OF: Kylan Becker, Ole Miss
OF: Kat Moore, Mississippi State
OF: Brooke Wilmes, Missouri
C: Jenny Schaper, Kentucky
C: Mia Davidson, Mississippi State
DP/U: Kendyl Lindaman, Florida
DP/U: Fa Leilua, Mississippi State
Second Team
P: Autumn Storms, Arkansas
P: Kelly Barnhill, Florida
P: Molly Jacobsen, Ole Miss
IF: Maddie Morgan, Alabama
IF: Katie Reed, Kentucky
IF: Amanda Sanchez, LSU
IF: Jana Johns, South Carolina
IF: Aubrey Leach, Tennessee
OF: Elissa Brown, Alabama
OF: Ciara Bryan, Georgia
OF: Aliyah Andrews, LSU
OF: Jenna Holcomb, Tennessee
C: Kendall Veach, Auburn
DP/U: Shelbi Sunseri, LSU
All-Freshman Team
P: Montana Fouts, Alabama
P: Elizabeth Hightower, Florida
P: Shelby Wickersham, LSU
IF: Skylar Wallace, Alabama
IF: Lacey Fincher, Georgia
IF: Jazmyn Rollin, Missouri
IF: Madison Owens, South Carolina
IF: Baylee Klinger, Texas A&M
OF: Kayla Kowalik, Kentucky
OF: Savannah Stewart, LSU
OF: Tate Whitley, Ole Miss
OF: Anna Kate Segars, Mississippi State
C: Kaili Phillips, Tennessee
DP/U: Kaitlin Parsons, Tennessee
All-Defensive Team
P: Sarah Cornell, Alabama
C: Jenny Schaper, Kentucky
1B: Amanda Lorenz, Florida
2B: Casey McCrackin, Auburn
SS: Katie Reed, Kentucky
3B: Abbey Cheek, Kentucky
LF: Jenna Holcomb, Tennessee
CF: Elissa Brown, Alabama
CF: Aliyah Andrews, LSU
RF: Kaylee Horton, Ole Miss
Next game
Kentucky vs. TBA
What: SEC Tournament quarterfinals
Where: College Station, Texas
When: 7:30 p.m. (EDT Thursday)
Potential opponent: No. 5 seed Ole Miss, No. 12 seed Mississippi State or No. 13 seed Texas A&M
TV: SEC Network
This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 12:59 PM.