JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Kaylee Kilgore of South Pittsburg High School, and Ella Grace Harvey of Whitwell High School were named into this year’s 2025 All-State Softball Team for the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA).
Also recognized in the Tennessee Softball Coaches Association’s (TSCA) All-State team for her stats during the Spring season, Kilgore has been named pitcher for this year’s All-State Softball team under Class 1A of the statewide program. Jason Evans, softball coach for South Pittsburg High School explained how students under a given team are recognized through the statistics and scores a player achieves during a given season. During this year’s spring season, Kilgore has been ranked number one in Class A for the amount of batters she struck out, receiving 267 in total while also having 141 innings pitched and 549 batters in total faced. Kilgore is the third student in the high school’s history and first in 18 years to achieve All-State recognition for its softball program, with the last two players achieving a similar feat being Monique Leroy and April Wehunt from the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
“For us to get a player to achieve All-State status, especially as good and as competitive as it is right now, it’s a really big deal for us,” said Evans.
Ella Grace Harvey of Whitwell High was also accepted into this year’s softball team under TSWA. She is a four-year starter into the school’s own softball program. Harvey was named to the All-State team as an infielder for the Class 1A of TSWA’s program, with her looking to further advance her career into the sport whilst attending Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.
Both Harvey and Kilgore were also recognized by the Chattanooga Times Free Press’ 2025 Best of Preps program for their achievements in the sport during this year’s season.
Harvey, Kilgore, as well as Havyn Rogers and Reese Saylor of Marion County High School’s Varsity Softball team recently played together for the state against Team Georgia during this year’s 27th Annual Tennessee-Georgia All-Star Game in Chattanooga, where Team Georgia won both hosted games against Tennessee. While Tennessee didn’t achieve victory over this year’s game, all involved to support all four softball players from Marion County, family and faculty alike, are all left very proud of the accomplishments earned throughout this year’s softball seasons and games. All involved also continue to look forward into what the future holds for the four of them within the sport, as the four of them strive to further their skills and knowledge of softball.
Photos by Jason Evans
