Sam Houston infielder Madelyn England committed to play softball at UL-Monroe Tuesday.
England, a rising senior, earned second team All District 3-5A honors while helping the Broncos reach the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
England said she focuses on the mental side of the game.
“I think my mentality is the strongest part of my game,” she said. “People put a lot of expectations on athletes based on the physical part but I think the mental side is much more important.”
England said she picked UL-Monroe because of growth opportunities on and off the field.
“I loved the campus and the coaching staff was phenomenal,” she said. “I feel like that is the place I need to be because it will help me become a better person by the time I leave.”
Helping teammates will be a focus for England in her last year at Sam Houston.
“I want to help them learn as much as possible, have the best experience possible and make the most of the opportunity,” she said.
England will join another former Bronco, utility player Andie Edwards, in Monroe. Edwards, a sophomore, hit .248 with 14 RBI for the Warhawks last year.
SUMMER STARS: Local athletes continue to shine on the summer travel ball circuit.
Barbe’s Gavin Guidry hit an inside-the-park home run at the Perfect Game National Showcase at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Guidry hit a blast off the left field wall and scored easily after the ball bounced away from the fielder and down the left field wall.
Sam Houston infielder Griffin Hebert, playing for Knights Knation Victus Black, was named to the second team of the Class of 2024 New Balance Future Stars Series. Hebert was named best base stealer at the tournament.
Barbe infielder Owen Galt was named the best defensive player.
Barbe players J.C. Vanek, Donovan Lasalle, Landon Victorian and Presley Courville were invited to play in the Area Code Underclass Games in Los Angeles Aug. 12-14.
Galt and St. Louis’s Jake LaRocca were selected to play on Team Louisiana at the Prep Baseball Report Future Games in Georgia.
ALL AMERICAN: Rosepine catcher Ethan Frey was named a second team Small School All American by Maxpreps. Frey hit .446 with 9 HR, 32 runs and 45 RBI to lead the Eagles to the Class 2A state title.
HALL OF FAMER: Former Washington-Marion boys basketball coach Albert Hartwell was inducted into the Grambling State University Hall of Fame last week.
Hartwell, who died in January, played for the Tigers under legendary head coach Fred Hobdy before beginning a high school coaching career that included state championships in boys and girls basketball at Carroll High School and the 2017 boys Class 4A title with Washington-Marion.