Just one Northern Kentuckian – Covington Catholic junior shortstop Jackson Reardon, who hit .463 – was named to the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State baseball team.
One big miss for the state’s baseball coaches was with the other local – sophomore Ryle outfielder AJ Curry, the state’s second-leading hitter with a .571 batting average and with three hits in last week’s two state tournament games including a 400-foot home run, by far the longest shot in the first two rounds in Lexington – who was named Second Team as the one Northern Kentuckian there.
Three local players named to the Third Team are Cooper senior Mark Nowak, who hit .411 with a .2.26 ERA, Ryle senior Sam Eppley (7-2 as a pitcher, .280 as a hitter) and Campbell County sophomore Tyler Schumacher, who hit .424 with a 5-2 pitching record.
Named Mr. Baseball is a player Ryle is familiar with, McCracken County senior Miller Green, a Western Kentucky University signee whose triple was the lone extra base hit in McCracken’s 4-1 quarterfinals win over Ryle. Green is hitting .447 with a 3-1 pitching record.
KHSBCA ALL-STATE TEAM
First team – Ross Aldridge (McCracken County), Miller Green (McCracken County), Eli Baker (Lyon County), Jackson Thompson (Hopkinsville), Brady Atwell (Owensboro Catholic), Peyton Cary (Muhlenberg County), Ethan Reynolds (South Warren), Kace Eastridge (Campbellsville), Hayden Jones (Taylor County), Brayden Bruner (Pleasure Ridge Park), Jake Schweitzer (Trinity), Dane Morrow (Trinity), Kaine Samuels (Ballard), Taylor Penn (Woodford County), Jackson Reardon (Covington Catholic), Gary Gibson (Sayre), Leighton Harris (Frederick Douglass), Merrick Graham (Garrard County), Brandin Crawford (Clay County), Dylan Thompson (Pikeville), Blake Hall (East Carter)
Second team – Caleb Ehling (McCracken County), Mayes Gosser (Russell County), Trace Stringer (Russell County), Lucas Thompson (Central Hardin), Zak Spurrier (Central Hardin), Noah Spalding (Marion County), Luke Renfrow (Bullitt East), Kyle Campbell (Trinity), Coen Ball (Oldham County), A.J. Curry (Ryle), Hank Krift (Bracken County), Landon Scilley (Mason County), Brady Davis (George Rogers Clark), Owen Jenkins (Lexington Catholic), Cameron Owens (Boyle County), Aubrey Kearns (West Jessamine), Kade Elam (Corbin), Eli Fletcher (Lawrence County), Tate Scott (East Carter), Hayden Mains (Rowan County), J.K. McKnight (Boyd County), Alex Martin (Boyd County)
Third team – Brett Haas (St. Mary), Hunter Wilson (Edmonson County), Ethan Madison (Bowling Green), Drew Isenberg (Bowling Green), Hunter Vaughn (Taylor County), Deuce Harris (Pleasure Ridge Park), Mark Nowak (Cooper), Sam Eppley (Ryle), Tyler Schumacher (Campbell County), Carson Van Haaren (Tates Creek), Reece Harbison (Frederick Douglass), Brody Rogers (Lexington Catholic), Kole Grundy (Somerset), Griffin Loy (Somerset), Landon Davis (West Jessamine), Hunter Wilson (Whitley County), Carter Kelley (North Laurel), Jayden Huff (Knott County Central), Andrew Tomolonis (East Carter), Brayden Webb (Raceland), Peyton Jackson (Boyd County), Jayce Smith (Bath County)
Honorable mention – Reed Sherrard (Elizabethtown), Gray Davis (Trinity), Casey Bright (Knox Central), Ryan Brown (Boyd County)
WILDCATS, JUGGERNAUTS GET EARLY TEST IN 2024 HOOPS
With five of their top seven players back including first-team all-state player and national recruit Tay Kinney, a junior combo guard, along with 6-foot-7 junior James Turner and 6-8 sophomore Griffin Starks, Rod Snapp’s Newport’s Wildcats will get a holiday test in Louisville at the King of Bluegrass Tournament Dec. 18-22 at Fairdale High School along with four other Kentucky regional champs from this past season.
They are: Butler County (Third Region), Adair County (Fifth Region), Louisville Trinity (Seventh Region) and Ashland Blazer (16th). They will be joined by nine other Kentucky teams in the 16-team tourney including Lloyd Memorial with 6-8 South Carolina commit EJ Walker. The remainder of the Kentucky teams are Bryan Station, Fairdale, Frederick Douglass, Male, North Oldham, St. Xavier, South Laurel and Woodford County. Two out-of-state teams are Bryant, Ark., and Hialeah, Fla., Mater Lakes Academy.
TMU’S NEAL ADDS ASSISTANT COACH TO HIS NEW STAFF
From the Sun Conference where new Thomas More Coach Bryan Neal was coaching before his spring hiring, the Saints have added assistant Jillian Miller, who spent her last three years as an assistant at Florida’s Ave Maria University.
“Jillian is a well-rounded, talented coach,” Neal said in a released statement. “After spending the last three seasons at an outstanding program like Ave Maria, she knows what it takes to be successful. She has a genuineness that will help her develop strong relationships with our players and high-level recruits.”
Miller was a finalist for NAIA national Assistant Coach of the Year in 2021 and named to the 2024 WBCA 30-under-30 list. The native of Willoughby, Ohio, played two seasons at Cleveland’s John Carroll University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science. She is certified as a personal trainer and nutrition coach through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @dweber3440.