Introducing the 2021 Wichita Eagle high school softball All-Metro team
The Wichita area featured some of the best high school softball players in Kansas this season and that star power is highlighted on The Wichita Eagle’s 2021 All-Metro softball team.
The All-Metro squad consists of 13 of the top softball players (three pitchers, five infielders, three outfielders and two utility players) and a top coach from Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties, based on individual performance, team success and area coaches’ feedback.
Cheney junior pitcher Korri Lies was named the All-Metro Player of the Year after finishing the season with a perfect 15-0 record and pitching every inning of Cheney’s run to the Class 3A state championship for the program’s first title in its history. Below are the complete All-Metro selections:
Kadence Brewster, Bishop Carroll junior outfielder
When Carroll needed a shutdown presence in the circle, Brewster rose to the occasion on the biggest stages. She earned the win in the Class 5A state championship game and helped cap off a perfect 23-0 season, as Carroll hoisted a state title for the first time since 2015. Brewster finished with a 14-0 record pitching with 100 strikeouts and a 0.96 ERA, while she hit .471 with six home runs and 37 RBIs playing in the outfield for Carroll. She earned first team all-state in Class 5A and first team all-City League.
“Kadence did such a good job setting the tone for us and she really came up big for us in that championship game,” Carroll coach Steve Harshberger said. “She just had the ability to come in and shut a team down. Both of the Brewster’s, they’re just ball players. It was so fun to have them both on the team.”
Kiley Brewster, Bishop Carroll junior infielder
No one was more clutch at the plate during Carroll’s state championship run than Brewster, the twin sister of Kadence, who finished the season with a .614 batting average and 1.100 slugging percentage with five home runs and 37 RBIs. She was a solid defensive presence for a 23-0 Carroll team playing third base and being one of the biggest bats in the lineup. She earned first team all-state in Class 5A and first team all-City League.
“Kiley was very steady for us at third base and I’m not sure she had a single error on the season,” Carroll coach Steve Harshberger said. “You never had to worry about her out in the field and she always knew where to go with the ball. And then her bat was very valuable for us. It wasn’t like she was producing when games were 16-0. She was getting the big hits usually during the important parts of a game.”
Gabby Eck, Bishop Carroll senior infielder
Eck was the senior leader who delivered a stellar season offensively and defensively for a 23-0 Carroll team that won the Class 5A state championship. The Rockhurst signee set the tone at the top of the lineup for Carroll, while being a top-notch defensive player at shortstop. Eck finished the season with a .536 batting average with 13 doubles, 21 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. She earned first team all-state in Class 5A and first team all-City League.
“Gabby was our quiet leader, the senior leader who didn’t have a big ego at all,” Carroll coach Steve Harshberger said. “She was just very steady and very quiet and went about her business and you knew you could always count on her to come through. And then on top of that, Gabby is just such a good person. She was our lead-off hitter and she could do it all. She could pop a home run, then come right back and get a base hit or lay down a drag bunt. She was a special hitter.”
Kyla Eck, Andale-Garden Plain senior infielder
A four-year standout at Andale-Garden Plain, Eck goes down as one of the best clutch hitters in program history. She helped lead the team to the Class 4A state championship game and a 22-3 record by hitting safely in all 25 games. Eck, a Division I signee at Pacific, finished with a .527 batting average, 46 RBIs, 45 runs and 26 stolen bases. She was voted MVP in the AV-CTL Div. IV and also earned first team all-state honors in Class 4A.
“It’s pretty rare when you get someone who is at the top of your lineup who leads your team in runs scored and runs drive in,” Andale-Garden Plain coach Chuck Schroeder said. “The higher the level of pitching, the better she was at the plate. She consistently got the big hits when we needed them in tough situations. She’s a kid who worked tirelessly on her game and that’s evident by her going to play D1 softball.”
Tess Eubank, Andover senior pitcher
It was a record-breaking senior season for Eubank, who finished as the new owner of five school records for her pitching dominance. She was on the mound in 21 of Andover’s 22 games, as she finished with a 14-4 record, 200 strikeouts in 114-plus innings and 1.28 ERA. The Seminole State signee helped the monumental turnaround at Andover, which finished with four wins in 2019 and finished 17-5 in 2021. She was voted Co-Pitcher of the Year in the AV-CTL Div. II and second team all-state in Class 5A.
“She pitched the majority of our innings this season and her strike ratio was extremely high for us,” Andover coach Amisha Daniels. “She forced a lot of swings and misses. She’s really difficult to hit and the type of balls that were hit off of her we were able to easily field. Overall, she made a huge difference for us.”
Maci George, Valley Center sophomore infielder
Valley Center had an inspiring run to the Class 5A state tournament with a young core headlined in part by George, a sophomore third baseman. George finished with a .538 batting average and the best power numbers on the team, which included eight home runs, 19 extra-base hits, 36 RBI’s and 44 runs. She was voted second team all-state in Class 5A and first team all-league in AV-CTL Div. II.
“She was just on base all the time it seemed like,” Valley Center coach Corey Jones said. “She actually didn’t hit her first home run until our eighth game of the year and that was her first home run ever in any level. And then that home run just set off a time bomb with her and she ended up with eight home runs the rest of the season. She just had a knack for driving in runs and delivering extra-base hits. She was phenomenal for us and took off the pressure on our pitchers and the rest of our lineup by always getting on.”
Kendal LeGrand, Goddard senior utility
Goddard rode the arm of LeGrand all the way to the Class 5A state tournament semifinals, as the senior time and time again came up clutch for the Lions. The Butler Community College signee not only was one of the state’s most dominant pitchers (14-7 record, 197 strikeouts, 1.60 ERA), but LeGrand also came through at the plate with a .320 batting average and six home runs. LeGrand, who earned co-Pitcher of the Year honors in the AV-CTL Div. II and first team all-state honors in Class 5A, struck out 18 hitters in a 10-inning complete-game performance to send Goddard to the state tournament.
“Kendal brought the speed and such a presence in the circle for us,” Goddard coach Rita Smith said. “She wasn’t afraid to go inside on batters and she really excelled with her change-up this season. I think that’s what made the difference was her off-speed stuff. When the ball was in her hands, we knew if she was on then we could compete against anybody.”
Korri Lies, Cheney junior pitcher
No pitcher took on more of a work load and had better results than Lies, who finished the season with a perfect 15-0 record and pitched all three state games en route to leading Cheney to the Class 3A championship. Lies struck out 145 hitters with a 1.32 ERA and even hit .446 at the plate with six home runs and 34 RBI’s for a Cheney team that finished with a 25-1 record and its first state title in program history. Lies was voted first team all-state in Class 3A and first team all-league in the Central Plains League.
“Korri just had such a passion for the game and she loved softball so much. This really is her thing,” Cheney coach Matt Johnson said. “When she’s locked in, she can carry our team in so many different ways. At the state tournament, I stopped calling pitches because I completely trusted her. I knew she could do it and sure enough, she went out there and got it done. I think the pitch that really developed for her this year was her changeup. She could throw in all zones and if you watch the College World Series, all of those pitchers can throw that pitch. That’s what set her apart this year.”
Allyson Montgomery, Eisenhower senior pitcher
Another workhorse pitcher who earned co-Pitcher of the Year honors in the AV-CTL Div. II, Montgomery helped power Eisenhower to a third-place finish at the Class 5A state tournament. The senior in the circle finished with a 14-2 record and 176 strikeouts to go along with a 2.00 ERA and two no-hitters this season. The Butler Community College signee was also voted a second team all-state pick in Class 5A.
“Allyson put in a lot of time to work on a variety of pitches and she was so good at going to different spots and locating her pitches and that’s what made her so effective,” Eisenhower coach Amber Brunswig said. “She had a really good curveball and a screwball that helped a lot as well. That gave us a ton of confidence in her and I think coming into this year she had a goal in mind of wanting to accomplish a lot and she went out there and achieved a lot of those goals. She was so good at keeping hitters off-balanced.”
Kylee Scheer, Cheney senior outfielder
One of the state’s best athletes over the course of her four-year career at Cheney, Scheer saved arguably her best season for last. She finished with a .600 batting average and scored 45 runs with 30 RBIs and 38 stolen bases, all the while playing perfect defense in the outfield. Right after being the star player for Cheney’s undefeated state championship basketball team, Scheer transitioned to being a star for the softball team that finished with a 25-1 record and won the program’s first title by capturing the Class 3A championship. Scheer was voted a first team all-state pick in Class 3A and a first team all-league selection in the Central Plains League.
“Kylee has been the rock for us for the last four years now,” Cheney coach Matt Johnson said. “She’s been doing this for a long time now in all of her sports at Cheney. She’s just one of those special athletes who can carry a team. She started out a little slow after basketball season, but over the last three or four weeks of the season she was just unbelievable for us. Her bat caught fire and she scored a lot of runs and got a lot of hits for us. Being the lead-off hitter, that was super important for us scoring runs and she just made a huge difference in that title run.”
Bailey Way, Andover junior infielder
Not even a shoulder injury could keep Way off the basepaths this season. She finished the season with a .647 batting average with 11 triples, four home runs, 34 runs and 17 stolen bases. Way broke five school records en route to helping Andover to a massive turnaround to finish with 17 wins. She was voted the MVP in the AV-CTL Div. II and earned first team all-state honors in Class 5A.
“Bailey excels in leadership and character and work ethic and all of that showed up this year,” Andover coach Amisha Daniels said. “She dislocated her shoulder and was still able to come back and produce great numbers and just did so many awesome things for us. We had a higher batting average if Bailey got on base. She was a true lead-off hitter for us and the girls did a great job feeding off of her.”
Riley Wertz, Maize senior designated player
Not only was Wertz was one of the top pitchers in the area, she also brought a dangerous bat to the plate for a Maize team that reached a regional championship game. The Hutchinson Community College signee broke a 25-year-old school record with 232 strikeouts this season in just 135 innings, while compiling a 15-6 record in the circle and a 2.02 ERA. At the plate, Wertz hit 3.62 and finished with three home runs and 21 RBIs.
“Riley was a huge asset to our team this year because she pitched almost all of our innings and was just so important on the field with her leadership,” Maize coach Jenny Meirowsky said. “She just brought this excitement to our team. She had the ability to get the whole team excited. And she did a great job batting this season and was usually our 4-hole hitter with a lot of power. And then in the circle, she just has great speed and can move the ball around really well. She has a great curveball and she was really effective at keeping the hitters on their toes.”
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Briona Woods, Clearwater senior outfielder
Clearwater had one of the best outfields in the state with Woods and teammate Chloe Middleton both being selected as first team all-state picks in Class 4A. Woods wrapped up a stellar four-year career for the Indians with a superb senior season, hitting .519 at the plate with a 1.051 slugging percentage to go along with standout defense in the outfield. The Butler Community College signee was also picked as a first team all-league outfielder in the AV-CTL Div. IV for a Clearwater team that lost in a regional championship game.
“Briona just has a tremendous work ethic and plays the game hard and plays the game the right way,” Clearwater coach Tyler Hampton said. “She’s been a huge part of our success here the last four years at Clearwater. Briona is an extremely explosive hitter and a very good overall outfielder with a huge arm.”
Matt Johnson, Cheney coach
Winning at the state tournament had always evaded the Cheney softball team — until this year. The Cardinals broke through in a big way, finishing with a 25-1 record and winning the program’s first state championship with a dominant performance at the Class 3A state tournament led by junior pitcher Korri Lies. For a core group that also helped Cheney go to the state tournament in volleyball and win the Class 3A title in basketball, adding another title in the spring was a fitting ending with Johnson leading the way for the program.
“It just all clicked for us,” Cheney coach Matt Johnson said. “You can only dream of a season like this and it was just unreal to watch it play out. I’m so proud of these girls.”
All-Metro second team
Delaney Blakesley, Bluestem junior outfielder
Kendall Forbes, Bishop Carroll junior infielder
Aspen Goetz, Rose Hill senior catcher
Morgan Haupt, Derby junior pitcher
Lucy Hooper, Valley Center sophomore infielder
Amber Howe, Derby senior infielder
Sophie Martins, Campus senior infielder
Alexis Mastin, Eisenhower junior catcher
Chloe Middleton, Clearwater senior outfielder
Alyssa Mude, Andale-Garden Plain junior pitcher
Ava Mullins, Northwest sophomore catcher
Kate Paulson, Andover Central senior outfielder
Morgan Pennycuff, Augusta senior pitcher
Anna Stephen, Bishop Carroll senior pitcher
Caiya Stucky, Northwest junior pitcher
Toria Thaw, Newton senior infielder
Steve Harshberger, Bishop Carroll coach
All-Metro third team
Chloe Bartlett, Maize junior catcher
Emma Bezdek, Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior infielder
Brailee Bogle, Northwest sophomore outfielder
Payton Divine, Halstead junior infielder
Kylie Forney, Andover junior infielder
Kylie Horsch, Andale-Garden Plain senior outfielder
Elizabeth Hunt, Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior outfielder
Tegan Livesay, Newton sophomore pitcher
Kaylee Manning, El Dorado senior infielder
Lauren McNaught, Eisenhower sophomore outfielder
Madison Nightengale, Andale-Garden Plain sophomore infielder
Raegan Pirtle, Bluestem infielder
Piper Seidl, Newton sophomore outfielder
Gabrielle Stauffer, Campus freshman catcher
Audrey Steinert, Derby junior outfielder
Reagan Streaker, Circle senior pitcher
Brooklyn Wewe, Cheney senior infielder
Chuck Schrader, Andale-Garden Plain coach
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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