Lady Gators’ Smith eager to join Blazers
Published 4:01 pm Wednesday, November 17, 2021
- Greenwood catcher Allyson Smith bats during the Lady Gators’ 5-1 win May 20 over host Allen County-Scottsville.
Allyson Smith knew early on that UAB was the place she wanted to play college softball.
But the Greenwood senior did have in the back of her mind the possibility of coming back to play in her hometown against Western Kentucky, but that chance lessened some last month when the Blazers announced plans to exit Conference USA to join the American Athletic Conference starting in the 2023-24 school year.
“It is a little disappointing, but I know that we’re going to play tough competition as it is so I’m not too worried about that,” said Smith, who held a signing ceremony Wednesday at Greenwood to celebrate her college choice.
Smith, who primarily plays catcher but also moves around the infield, said she first became interested in UAB while playing travel ball with a Tennessee club.
“I played travel ball with a few of the girls last year – actually for the past four years – so I already had connections down there and they all live there, so I decided it was best because I already had friends there and I love the atmosphere and the coaches and it just felt like home.”
Smith’s older sister, Katelyn, played softball at Austin Peay and just graduated in the spring after a successful career as a catcher and utility player for the Governors.
Allyson Smith hopes to emulate her older sister’s versatility when she joins the Blazers.
“They recruited me as catch-and-throw type of girl – for just catching, yeah,” Smith said of UAB. “But I plan on hitting and doing other things when I get there.”
As a junior last season, Smith helped Greenwood to a 21-13 overall record. She finished with a team-best .364 batting average and tallied a pair of home runs and 18 RBIs. This year, Smith wants to help her team battle once again in the tough District 14 for a spot in the Region 4 tournament.
“I feel like we’re young, but we have a lot of great talent and we work hard during the offseason,” Smith said. “We put in that work so we can play the tough competition. Our district is one of the toughest to get out of. I feel like this year we’re going to be really good.”
