The Kentucky Softball team released its 2019 team captains on Saturday afternoon at the team’s annual alumni tailgate – naming the six players who have been program-elected leaders for the season. Seniors Jenny Schaper and Katie Reed were once again elected team captains, and will be joined by first-time captains Kelsee Henson, Sarah Rainwater, Autumn Humes and Abbey Cheek for 2019.
The voting process took place last week, with each player, coach and support staff member each getting to vote for whoever they feel should be captains before head coach Rachel Lawson makes the ultimate cut-off line and determines who will be her team leaders.
“It’s a good sign that the entire senior class has stepped up and it’s been noticed by the underclassmen, as reflected in the vote,” Lawson said. “If we want to go deep into the postseason, we have to go together and I’m excited that the team has voted for these six players to be captains for 2019.”
All five seniors – Cheek, Henson, Rainwater, Reed and Schaper were voted as captains with junior Humes joining the bunch.
Captains at a Glance
Abbey Cheek: Senior … Inman, S.C. … 3B/UTL … 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team … SEC Player of the Week (3/20/18) … 41 career home runs, second all-time at Kentucky.
Kelsee Henson: Senior … Paducah, Ky. … OF … Led the team in batting average this fall … Hit a three-run HR in her first weekend as a college player against New Mexico … UK’s top pinch runner in 2018.
Autumn Humes: Junior … Bald Knob, Ark. … P/UTL … Threw a no-hitter in her first-career start against North Dakota State … Three top-10 wins in the circle in 2018 (LSU, TAMU, Georgia) … Was the NCAA DII National Freshman of the Year with Harding University (Ark.) before transferring to UK.
Sarah Rainwater: Senior … Nicholasville, Ky. … OF … UK’s best defensive outfielder … Tore her ACL on March 30 of 2018 and missed the remainder of the season … First-career triple in 2018 vs. Ohio in the John Cropp Classic
Katie Reed: Senior … St. Louis, Mo. … SS … SEC All-First Team and NFCA All-American in 2017 … 2018 All-SEC Second Team … 2018 SEC All-Defensive Team (SS) … 4.0 GPA
Jenny Schaper: Senior … St. Louis, Mo. … C … Has been UK’s primary starting catcher since her freshman season … Hit a walk-off grand slam in the NCAA Lexington Regional opening round – it was her first-career grand slam as a Wildcat … Hit the game-winning HR over No. 5 UCLA in Westwood in the beginning of her sophomore season.
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Chris Shoals
