UK softball gets big boost with addition of three-time Kentucky state champ
The University of Kentucky softball team significantly bolstered its pitching staff on Wednesday.
Kennedy Sullivan, a senior-to-be who played the last three seasons at Western Kentucky University, announced via Twitter that she will be playing for UK next season. Sullivan will be immediately eligible, and due to the COVID-19 waiver could play up to two years for the Wildcats; she told the Herald-Leader she plans on playing both years.
“I feel like I’m gonna be pushed a lot more at this level, so I’m excited to see where I can go with this type of coaching and resources and all the types of programs that come in the SEC, the stuff you don’t always see,” Sullivan said. “I always felt like I could play at this level, it just didn’t seem to work out that way the first time around getting recruited. But I’m confident I can play with these girls.”
Sullivan was a three-time state champion at Scott County High School, and was the starting pitcher for its 2016 and 2018 championship clubs, and allowed less than one run per game in each of her final three prep seasons (she finished with a 0.24 ERA as a senior). Sullivan was not named Miss Softball, but only because she happened to graduate the same year as another dominant pitcher, Montana Fouts (now Alabama’s ace).
Sullivan, who was named to the All-Conference USA Second Team last season, finished with a 2.40 ERA and a 9-0 record in 19 appearances (13 starts) for WKU in 2021. She gave up the fewest hits (44), had the second-fewest earned runs (24) and the lowest opponents’ batting average (.180) of any Hilltopper last season.
She’s no slouch at the plate, either: Sullivan was Western’s second-leading hitter last season (.358) and led the team with 14 home runs and 49 RBI. UK got a memorable taste of her home-plate skills a few months ago; in March she drove in the winning run with a two-out, walk-off double in a 2-1 extra-inning win over the Wildcats, then ranked No. 7 in the country.
Several major programs got in contact with Sullivan after she entered the NCAA transfer portal. UK, which didn’t recruit her heavily while she was in high school, was her “dream school” growing up, so once the Wildcats got involved it was more or less a done deal.
As things stand, Sullivan would be the most seasoned pitcher on the Wildcats’ roster in 2022. Autumn Humes, Kentucky’s primary starter from last season, was a fifth-year senior who took advantage of the COVID-19 waiver; senior Grace Baalman, the only other UK player who made double-digit starts in 2021, is not using the waiver.
Sullivan said that her pitching has taken something of a backseat in college, and believes that coming to Lexington will allow her to improve — and prove — herself in the circle. Head coach Rachel Lawson is on board with giving her a chance to make that happen.
“She’s like, ‘I want you to come in and pitch if you’re going to work hard at it and that’s something you want,’” Sullivan said. “We’ve discussed that, and it’s something I definitely want to work at getting to where I think I should be. If I’m getting the results I want, I should have a good opportunity if I earn it.”
Underclassmen Sloan Gayan, Stephanie Schoonover, Tatum Spangler and Miranda Stoddard combined for 11 starts and 38 appearances in 2021. Stoddard led that group in appearances (19) while Spangler led with six starts.
Senior Lauren Johnson, a former standout for Daviess County High School, is returning for another season under the COVID-19 waiver. Catcher Kayla Kowalik, who led the nation in hitting last season, will also be a senior next season.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 5:37 PM.
