By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
TRUSSVILLE – Kenleigh Cahalan has known nothing but success during her softball career at Hewitt Trussville High School and she is graduating early and enrolling at Bama to get a head start on bringing that success to the Alabama Crimson Tide softball team.
Following the 2022 season, Cahalan was selected Miss Softball as a Junior as well as the 7A Player of the year. She hit for an average of .549 with 13 home runs, 66 RBI, 71 runs, 22 doubles, 5 triples and 52 walks, which led all of Alabama high school softball. She also led 7A with a .678 on base percentage and 1.713 OPS, striking out only 7 times in 144 at-bats. She was also ranked as the top player in the nation for the 2023 season by Perfect Game Softball.
With Cahalan on the team, Hewitt appeared in 3 consecutive state championship games, winning the blue map in 2019 and 2021. The only thing that kept them from winning it in 2020 was COVID (there was no softball that year). In 2022, the Huskies came up short against Thompson.
Other accolades for Cahalan were MaxPreps state player of the year and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year finalist and two-time PGF and MxPreps All-American.
She also played for the Birmingham Thunderbolts during the summer, helping her PGF 18U team to a National Championship.
Kenleigh’s high school coach Taylor Burt said this about the star athlete, “Kenleigh is an extraordinary athlete and person. She’s one of the most disciplined and hard-working players I have ever had the opportunity to coach, which has afforded her the opportunity of enrolling early at The University of Alabama to play for Coach Murphy.”
Coach Burt continued, “She leaves Hewitt as the most decorated softball player to come through our program. We are proud of her and couldn’t be happier for the opportunity that she has been given. We will definitely miss her around her, no doubt about that, but we know she will thrive and excel this spring competing with the best of the best in college softball.”
Cahalan joins incoming Freshmen Abby Duchscherer, Marlie Giles, Larissa Preuitt and Kristen White on the Crimson Tide Softball team along with 13 returning starters from last year’s team. Alabama opens their season by hosting the Leadoff Classic at Rhoads Stadium on February 10-11.