Kentucky softball Media Day standouts and season preview
The University of Kentucky softball program hosted its annual media day on Wednesday afternoon at Kroger Field to preview the upcoming 2023 season.
Kentucky head coach Rachel Lawson, who is about to enter her 16th season in charge, spoke to reporters along with three veteran players: graduate student Kayla Kowalik, senior Rylea Smith, and junior Meeko Harrison.
Lawson previews this season’s ‘Cats
Coach Lawson, the all-time winningest coach that the program has ever seen, was the first to take the podium.
First and foremost, she gave an opening statement and started by giving the media its flowers.
Lawson said, “I want to thank you guys for being here because if it wasn’t for you the BBN would not know about the softball team.”
From there she went on to say how the team has a mix of veterans and young stars that the fans will know by the end of the season.
The main concern for the team going into the season is almost always how strong the pitchers will be.
Breaking down the pitching
“I feel a lot better about our pitching this year than I did last year,” Lawson said.
She went on to emphasize how much better she feels about the pitching game this year by saying, “we have a lot of good options.”
“Right now I think the headliner is Schoonover,” Lawson added.
Stephanie Schoonover has been with the program now for two years and is going into her junior season.
According to UK Athletics, Schoonover pitched in 170 innings this past season and finished with a 1.30 ERA. The Alabama native tossed two no-hitters as a sophomore in 2022 (the first to do so for Kentucky since 2015) while also hitting .370 with an on-base percentage of .436 to go along with 15 home runs and 56 RBI.
Kayla Kowalik continues to shine
Before handing the questioning over to the players, Lawson was asked about returning star catcher, Kayla Kowalik.
“This year I feel like she’s hit a new gear,” Lawson said.
She went on to say, “it’s just like having another coach on the field,” when speaking of that new gear that Kowalik has reached.
Kowalik was named a First-Team All-American as a junior in 2021 before making the All-SEC First-Team as a senior last season. The Texas native broke all sorts of records in 2022 and will look to continue her Hall of Fame caliber career for another season.
The players take over Media Day
According to Extra Innings, Kowalik has been named the #1 catcher in the nation.
With all of the hype that surrounds her individually, she continues to focus on the team.
“I love working with the pitchers, figuring out what to do to help them,” Kowalik said.
Specifically, she spoke of how she likes to tell jokes when meeting them at the mound. She also mentioned how she’s excited to match up against some of her fellow USA teammates.
“One of my old best friends plays for Ole Miss so I’m looking forward to going over there and giving them a beat down hopefully,” Kowalik added.
Rylea Smith also comes into the season with some hype after being named to the SEC All-Newcomer Team in 2022.
Being one of the veteran players on the team, the senior outfielder had some things to say about meshing as a team.
“You can’t look to the past and think what a certain player would have done, you have to figure out what works best for the new players,” Smith said.
Smith is considered one of the strongest players on the team after reaching a new squat PR of 345 lbs.
Meeko Harrison also comes back this season as the expected first baseman. She played first last season for the ‘Cats, too.
Although she is only an upcoming junior, Harrison looks to take on a leadership role for this squad.
“I’ve been working on my craft day in and day out and I’m trying to take on a more leader role by talking to people and figuring out what I can do,” Harrison said.
Lawson and all of the players come into the season with a mindset of being a winner.
Looking to go further
The ‘Cats made it to the Blacksburg Regional in the NCAA Tournament last season but fell short to Virginia Tech, ending their season earlier than hoped.
With the promising newcomers that Lawson spoke of and the veteran players that the team has in Kowalik, Smith, and Harrison, Kentucky hopes to make a deeper run to Oklahoma City this season.
The ‘Cats first game is on Friday, Feb. 10th in Clearwater, Florida. Kentucky will face St. John’s in the 2023 NFCA Lead-Off Classic at 11:00 am EST.
If you are looking to catch a game at John Cropp Stadium you’ll have to wait until Wednesday, March 8th at 5:00 pm as UK will host Dayton.
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