Sports

Flashbacks From The Hall of Fame Inductions…..

Published

5 months ago

July 28, 2025

Flashbacks From The Hall of Fame Inductions…..

Too wet, too hot, and too humid to do anything else, I took time to watch Sunday’s Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown. Saw a lot of people that I once knew, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Between rainstorms and suffocating humidity Sunday, I sat on the couch with a sleeping bulldog and took in the Hall of Fame ceremonies from Cooperstown.

For Ichiro Suzuki, Dick Allen, Dave Parker, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner, baseball did it with grace and respect for both the people, and the game.

And representing the game, some 50 past Hall of Fame inductees showed up, including Sandy Koufax, Billy Williams, and Juan Marichal, heroes from my youth and baseball fantasies in my then home community of Getaway, Ohio.

Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and Ohio State baseball for Press Pros Magazine.com.

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Yes, there is a place called Getaway, alongside Symmes Creek, on state route 378, with two churches, two cemeteries, some old familiar names, and a lot of memories. It’s where I caught the school bus to go to the first and second grade at Chesapeake East Elementary…and it’s where I received my first pack of baseball cards. I still have them.

But that had nothing to do with Cooperstown, and Sunday, except for the part it played in launching a 60-year path of loving baseball as an under-talented, but over-achieving player in high school and college.

And failing to overcome my deficiencies as a player, I had eight memorable years in the minor leagues as an umpire (A, AA, and AAA), coming within one level of making it to the major leagues. Short of making it that far, I smile now when I think of how many people, and how many places, I experienced along the way.

Sunday brought back some of those memories. When they introduced Dave Winfield as a returning hall of famer, it made me think of the April day in 1972 when he hit what my pitching coach Dick Finn called a “not ready for the Big Ten” fastball off me onto the roof of the North Athletic Facility…dead center field…probably 450 feet!

Former Phillies slugger Richie Allen was inducted for being one of the most dangerous power hitters of the 60s and 70s era. He was famous for swinging the biggest bat in the major leagues and for saying this about the introduction of AstroTurf: “If a horse can’t eat it…I ain’t playing on it.” In 1965 I saw Allen hit a home run OVER the scoreboard at Crosley Field and onto I-75 south.

Tony LaRussa got dumped in Des Moines in 1980 for claiming as a lawyer he knew the rule book better than Triple A umpires.

Former Cubs reliever Lee Smith was introduced…and I worked home plate in Smith’s first professional appearance for the Chicago Cubs. Smith was a huge man, threw murderously hard – as hard as anyone I ever saw in professional baseball – and while he was warming up for the first inning he threw a fastball so hard that his catcher missed it altogether and it struck me directly in the mask, tearing it off my head and staggering me backwards. I hadn’t even called an official ball or strike yet, and it was an inauspicious beginning. My neck hurt for weeks.

Harold Baines was introduced, and frankly when I worked games for the White Sox AA and AAA teams in the late 70s I questioned whether he would even make it to the major leagues. Now he’s a hall of famer, though a lot of baseball writers I’ve met question it.

When I was in AA and AAA I had Alan Trammel, the Tigers’ great shortstop. I remember him from playing in the Southern League in 1977, the awful heat and humidity, and his work ethic to come to the park early every day and take extra ground balls in that Montgomery, Alabama, heat. It’s little wonder he’s in Cooperstown.

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I saw Jim Leyland introduced, the former manager for the Tigers, Pirates, and Marlins, and I remember him from the Florida State League in 1976. Leyland was a chain smoker, always had one fired up in the dugout, and he drove a cherry red Cadillac Eldorado convertible up and down the main drag in Lakeland after games. And he was never alone.

Tony LaRussa was introduced as the hall of fame manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. I knew LaRussa from AAA in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1978. I threw him out of a game one time for arguing a rule interpretation, producing a rule book from his hip pocket during the heat of the moment. What got him pitched was when he said he had a law degree and understood the rules better than a Triple A umpire.

And let me add Johnny Bench, and the one time I worked behind him in a morning workout in 1977 during spring training.

The Reds were trying to decide on whether to sign or release pitcher Gary Nolan, coming off an arm injury. And at old Al Lopez Field in Tampa there was a screen 20 feet behind home plate with Sparky, Larry Shepard, and Bob Howsam watching from behind it.

Bench was not too happy about catching a Triple-A game at 10 am, and when he walked out to the plate he looked at me and said, “How’d you get this gig?”

I answered, “How did you get this this gig?”

Nolan was terrible, but the Reds kept him anyway, only to release him in May.

Hal McCoy with a Dodger great that hasn’t made it to Cooperstown (yet), Claude Osteen.

I was fun to watch, and fun to reminisce over old names and memories. There’s 357 members of the hall of fame, and proudly, our own Hal McCoy is one of them. Hal was enshrined in 2002 for his meritorious contribution to the art of baseball writing, and he annually votes on player membership to the hall of fame.

I have friends and past teammates who actually played professional baseball – Heath Murray and Craig Stammen – but I dare say that few had more fun and better memories having made it that far than I did without making it. Except for days with guys like Lee Smith, I suppose.

And Hal would tell you that it’s a long way from growing up in Akron (which he did) to making it to Cooperstown. But not as far as it is from Getaway, down on Symmes Creek, on route 378.

You could look that up, as hall of famer Casey Stengel once said. Casey was usually right.

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Sports

The best college sports moments for Greater Akron

Published

47 minutes ago

December 31, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 31, 2025, 6:03 a.m. ET

Greater Akron stepped onto the national college scene with authority in a big way in 2025.

From national titles to being drafted at the professional level, area athletes shined.

Here’s our top 10 college moments involving local athletes:

1. Akron Zips men’s soccer returns to NCAA Tournament glory

Behind Big East Offensive Player of the Year Stefan Dobrijevic and conference goalkeeper of the year Mitch Budler, the University of Akron men’s soccer team reached the elite eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

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Volleyball: Qualifying for state tournament fulfilled goal for Nevis – Park Rapids Enterprise

Published

1 hour ago

December 31, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NEVIS – Karly Cobb couldn’t have asked for a better way to begin her reign as the new head coach of the Nevis volleyball team.

Not only did the Tigers go undefeated to capture the Northland Conference title, but they capped off the season by winning the Section 5A championship to qualify for the state Class A tournament. Nevis lost both matches at state to finish the season with a 24-9 record.

“My first season as head coach was incredible. I had the most supportive assistants, the most motivated team, and an incredible backing from the school and community. I am grateful to be a part of this community and am loving every minute of coaching for the Nevis Tigers,” said Cobb. “The team had their success this season due to their willingness to work hard and work together toward their common goal: getting to the state tournament.”

The Tigers won the Northland Conference title with a 7-0 record by defeating Clearbrook-Gonvick (25-20, 25-12, 25-17), Laporte (25-10, 29-27, 23-25, 25-13), Pine River-Backus (25-18, 25-15, 25-18), Cass Lake-Bena (25-12, 25-9, 25-15), Blackduck (25-17, 25-18 25-22), Northome-Kelliher (25-22, 25-17, 25-20) and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (22-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-8).

PR-B finished second in the conference with a 6-1 record as Blackduck (5-2), N-K (4-3), Laporte (3-4), W-H-A (2-5), C-G (1-6) and CL-B (0-7) rounded out the standings.

Nevis opened the season with wins over Park Rapids (25-23, 25-23, 25-27, 22-25, 15-10), Fosston (25-15, 18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-9) and Lake of the Woods (25-20, 25-12, 25-18). The Tigers went 4-1 at the Ada-Borup-West Invitational and 1-3 at the Duluth East Invitational. At Ada, Nevis defeated Thief River Falls (25-22, 25-12), Red Lake County Central (25-19, 25-21), Fosston (23-25, 25-11, 15-9) and A-B-W (25-19, 25-20) while losing to Kittson County Central (25-7, 25-23). In the Duluth tournament, the Tigers defeated Duluth Denfeld (25-17, 25-13) while losing to Cloquet (25-22, 22-25, 15-11), Superior (25-23, 25-17) and Brainerd (27-25, 15-25, 15-5).

To close out the regular season, the Tigers posted wins over Sebeka (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18), Browerville-Eagle Valley (25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 20-25, 15-9), Verndale (28-26, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23) and Menahga (24-26, 25-14, 25-17, 20-25, 15-6) before going 1-3 at the Pumpkin Classic in Moorhead. Nevis opened that tournament with losses to Moorhead (25-12, 25-8), Fargo North (28-26, 25-19) and Duluth East (25-22, 25-20) before closing with a win over Osseo (25-21, 25-22).

DanikaAnderson010326.S.PRE.JPG — Senior Danika Anderson was named the Northland Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Anderson broke the school record with 52 digs in a match.

For the Section 5A tournament, the Tigers received the No. 1 seed in the West and used wins over No. 9 B-EV (25-14, 25-17, 25-19), No. 4 Bertha-Hewitt (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21) and No. 3 Verndale (25-20, 23-25, 16-25, 25-16, 15-7) to reach the championship match. Nevis earned a trip to the state tournament with a 26-24, 20-25, 25-21, 29-27 win over Swanville, the No. 1 seed in the East, in the section title match.

In their fifth state tournament appearance, the No. 7-seeded Tigers lost to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) and Fillmore Central (25-22, 25-13, 25-6). R-T-R, the No. 2 seed, lost to No. 1 Mayer Lutheran in the title match while Fillmore Central, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 5 Cleveland for fifth place. Nevis also qualified for state in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

“I feel that the girls had a good state tournament appearance,” said Cobb. “They played very competitively with RTR, finishing only a few points behind them every set and RTR ended up getting second in the tournament. Of course the girls had to work through nerves since it was their first time playing at (state) for every girl on the team. We then played Fillmore Central, and although that game did not go as we hoped it would, our girls stuck together and still gave it their all.”

Leading the Tigers this season were seniors of Ava Forbes, Clair Isaacson, Brenna Lindow, Danika Anderson and Amber Pyburn. Freshman Mackenzie Lindow and junior Cassandra Bolster rounded out the starting lineup with junior Emma Wike; sophomores Mya Durgin, Evelyn Dierkhising and Kyleigh-Ann Smart; and freshmen Arianna Hamblin and Sage Chase playing key roles as reserves.

BrennaLindow010326.S.PRE.JPG — Brenna Lindow capped off her senior season by being named the Northland Conference’s Outstanding Setter. Lindow concluded her career with more than 1,000 set assists.

Forbes, Isaacson, Brenna Lindow, and Anderson received all-conference honors with Forbes being named the conference MVP, Brenna Lindow being named the conference’s Outstanding Setter and Anderson earning the conference’s Defensive Player award. Pyburn and Mackenzie Lindow were all-conference honorable mention players.

In 26 of the 33 matches (statistics weren’t available for the Thief River Falls, Ada-Borup-West, Duluth Denfeld, Brainerd, Kelliher-Northome, Moorhead and Bertha-Hewitt matches), Forbes led the Tigers with 458 kills, 62 blocks and 44 ace serves while adding 231 digs. Isaacson was second with 315 digs, tied for second with 38 ace serves and had 113 kills and 22 blocks. Brenna Lindow led the way with 782 set assists while contributing 31 blocks, 27 kills and 22 ace serves. Anderson was the team leader with 402 digs while serving 15 aces. Pyburn chipped in 185 kills, 83 digs, 46 blocks and 19 ace serves. Mackenzie Lindow had 190 digs, 112 kills, 38 ace serves and 21 blocks. Bolster had 50 digs and 13 kills. Dierkhising had 24 kills and 17 digs, Durgin had 35 digs and 13 kills, Hamblin had 37 digs, and Chase had 15 digs.

ClairIsaacson010326.S.PRE.JPG — Senior Clair Isaacson received Northland Conference honors this season.

Anderson also broke a school record with 52 digs in a match against Verndale in the postseason. Ava Forbes surpassed 1,000 kills and Brenna Lindow surpassed 1,000 set assists.

The Tigers will have five starting spots to fill, but Cobb is counting on her team to put another competitive group on the floor next season.

“I want to give the seniors a ton of credit for leading our team. Amber, Danika, Clair, Ava and Brenna gave their heart, grit and determination this season. They led with grace and their faith. They showed the other girls in the program what it means to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They had the motto ‘no doubt in my mind’ and they proved that to everyone. There was no doubt that they were here this season to accomplish their goals and they did just that. It is always hard saying goodbye to seniors, but this year is extra hard because these five have all been a part of the program since they were third graders, and I have coached all of them since 8th/9th grade on the JV team. I hope they know what a mark they have made on the Nevis program and I know they will always look back and cherish the memories,” said Cobb. “We will have two returning starters next year in Mackenzie Lindow and Cassandra Bolster. We will also have a few players that came off the bench this year and helped us out in Evelyn Dierkhising, Mya Durgin, Sage Chase and Ari Hamblin. Of course, after graduating five seniors we know we have some building to do. The younger classmen are fired up and want to get back down to St. Paul. They have now experienced the state tournament and want to make it their goal again. Our girls plan to put in the work this offseason and be ready to start off the 2026-27 season strong.”

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Sports

Meet the 2025 Birmingham News All-Region volleyball team

Published

1 hour ago

December 31, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Five Birmingham Region high school volleyball teams won to the AHSAA Elite Eight State Championship Tournament this season.

Class 7A Thompson earned a spot in the title match before falling to McGill-Toolen while Hewitt-Trussville lost to Thompson in semifinal action.

Other teams reaching the final four were Class 6A Spain Park and Class 5A Briarwood while Class 6A Homewood tell in first round play.

The Birmingham News All-Region team is comprised of players from Jefferson and Shelby counties, and compiled by the AL.com high school sports staff with input from coaches.

AL.com named Player of the Year, Attacker MVP, Defensive MVP, Setter MVP and Coach of the Year. Award winners are listed separately, but considered first-team selections.

BIRMINGHAM NEWS ALL-REGION VOLLEYBALL TEAM

(Players listed alphabetically)

Sydnie Broom, Hoover

6-1, Sr., Middle

244 kills, region-best 109 blocks, 74 digs, 27 aces

College: Undecided

Christiana Callens, Hewitt-Trussville

5-6, So., Libero

544 digs, 158 assists, 54 aces

College: Undecided

Kamryn Coleman, Homewood

5-8, Jr., Setter/Right Side

791 assists, 119 kills, 24 blocks, 242 digs, 103 aces, region-best 2.4 aces per match

College: Undecided

Lucy Comer, Mountain Brook

5-10, So., Outside Hitter

313 kills, 17 blocks, 291 digs, 45 aces

College: Undecided

Johnna Cox, Hewitt-Trussville

6-0, So., Outside Hitter

466 kills, 31 blocks, 272 digs, 47 aces

College: Undecided

Clara Crawford, Briarwood

5-9, Sr., Middle

223 kills, 67 blocks, 214 digs, 72 aces

College: Undecided

Bristol Hannah, Pelham

5-5, So., Setter

784 assists, 38 kills, 14 blocks, 227 digs, 40 aces

College: Undecided

Marion Haskell, John Carroll

6-1, Sr., Right Side

416 kills, 67 blocks, 88 digs, 25 assists, 42 aces

College: Bucknell

Maddy Henderson, Thompson

6-0, Jr., Setter/Right Side

616 assists, 414 kills, 61 blocks, 323 digs, 85 aces

College: Undecided

Zoe Jones, Montevallo

6-0, Sr., Outside Hitter

Region second-best 498 kills, region-best 14.23 kills per match, 230 digs, 77 aces

College: Wallace-Hanceville

Sullivan Lell, Mountain Brook

5-4, Jr., Libero

477 digs, 84 assists, 50 aces

College: Southern Mississippi

Ja’Niyah Mosley, Spain Park

5-9, Sr., Middle

278 kills, 75 blocks

College: Undecided

Kayleigh Nguyen, Hewitt-Trussville

5-10, Jr., Setter

983 assists, tied region second-best 23.4 assists per match, 192 kills, 66 blocks, 389 digs, 63 aces

College: Undecided

Mae Noerager, Homewood

6-1, Sr., Right Side

222 kills, 49 blocks, 47 digs

College: Trinity (Texas)

Aliyah Pooler, Hoover

5-10, Sr., Outside Hitter

271 kills, 25 blocks, 268 digs, 37 aces

College: Alabama State

Alexis Rudolph, Chelsea

6-1, Jr., Outside Hitter

Region-best 511 kills, region second-best 12.17 kills per match, 41 blocks, 298 digs, 25 assists, 61 aces

College: Undecided

Aubrie Smith, Pelham

5-9, Sr., Outside Hitter

357 kills, 24 blocks, 241 digs, 49 aces

College: Undecided

Noelle Suellentrop, Briarwood

5-11, So., Setter

Region second-best 1,076 assists, tied region second-best 23.4 assists per match, 66 kills, 33 blocks, 252 digs, 68 aces

College: Undecided

Abby Tingle, Hoover

6-1, Jr., Outside Hitter

310 kills, 63 blocks, 70 digs

College: South Alabama

Bea Wiggins, Spain Park

5-11, Sr., Outside Hitter

487 kills, 44 blocks, 353 digs, 55 aces

College: Sewanee

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Juanita Boddie Volleyball — Briarwood’s Julie Roberts readies for action at the Juanita Boddie Tournament at the Finley Center in Hoover, Ala., Aug. 22-23, 2025. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)Dennis Victory

Julie Roberts, Briarwood

5-10, Jr., Outside Hitter/Right Side

436 kills, 38 blocks, 258 digs, 61 assists, 97 aces

College: Undecided

ATTACKER MVP

Vestavia Hills' Millie Burgess — Vestavia Hills’ Millie Burgess attacks during Class 7A play in the AHSAA North Super Regional volleyball tournament at the Finley Center in Hoover, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Vasha Hunt | preps@al.com)Vasha Hunt

Millie Burgess, Vestavia Hills

6-1, Sr., Outside Hitter

424 kills, 42 blocks, 294 digs, 43 aces

College: Jacksonville State

DEFENSIVE MVP

AHSAA Volleyball 7A Championship — Thompson’s Kenzly Foote readies for play against McGill-Toolen during the AHSAA Class 7A volleyball state championship at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)Dennis Victory

Kenzly Foote, Thompson

5-7, Sr., Defensive Specialist

Region second-best 673 digs, region second-best 14.96 digs per match, 151 assists, region-best 104 aces, region second-best 2.31 aces per match

College: Undecided

SETTER MVP

AHSAA Volleyball — Spain Park’s Cailyn Kyes serves against Hartselle during Class 6A play in the AHSAA state volleyball tournament at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Vasha Hunt | preps@al.com)Vasha Hunt

Cailyn Kyes, Spain Park

5-7, Sr., Setter

Region-best 1,144 assists, region-best 24.34 assists per match, 94 kills, 36 blocks, 344 digs, 66 aces

College: Trevecca

COACH OF THE YEAR

Judy Green, Thompson

HONORABLE MENTION

Outside Hitter/Right Side: Leighton Hendley, Briarwood, So.; Helen Morrison, Briarwood, Fr.; Mady Kirkpatrick , John Carroll, Sr.; Hunter Jordan, Montevallo, Sr.; Claire Ogden, Vestavia Hills, Sr.; Layne Moller, Chelsea, So.; Reese Wolfe, Hewitt-Trussville, Sr.; Sarah Johnson, Homewood, Sr.; Adele Moffatt, Mountain Brook, Jr.; Lakhair Yellock, Parker, Sr.; Peyton Harrington, Spain Park, So.

Middle: Brielle Merriweather, Thompson, Jr.; Marley Cowan, Vestavia Hills, Sr.

Setter: Addison Jenkins, Hoover, Sr.; Jayla Green, Thompson, So.; Isabella Marino, John Carroll, Sr.; Wendy McGehee, Shelby County, Sr.; Darby Rhodes, Mountain Brook, So.

Defensive Specialist/Libero: Lillie Hill, Vestavia Hills, Jr.; Sophia Bagley, Chelsea, Sr.; Addison Wood, Homewood, Jr.; Camdyn Kyes, Spain Park, Fr.; Cheyenne Conner, Hoover, Sr.

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Sports

Ted Kopacz – Women’s Volleyball Coach

Published

4 hours ago

December 31, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Ted Kopacz was named the 11th head volleyball coach in Indiana State program history in December 2025. He joins the Sycamores by following stints at Colorado State, Nebraska Omaha, and Colorado, as well as with USA Volleyball.

Kopacz spent two seasons at Colorado State as the lead defensive coach, implementing an opportunistic style of play and mindset focused on improving team defense. The Rams went from last in the conference in opponent hitting efficiency in 2023, to first in both 2024 (.190) and 2025 (.187). Among his individual work included daily practice planning focusing on blocking, team defense, middle/setter offense and overall team development, mapping individual development plans for each athlete.

The Rams’ defensive success propelled Colorado State to both the 2024 Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championship, earning the program’s first NCAA Tournament Berth since 2019. He guided 2024 AVCA All-American Malaya Jones during the run, while Jones and Emery Herman both recorded AVCA All-Region honors.

He also served as the head coach of the 2024 Mountain West All-Star team that finished as the Silver Medalists at the Global Challenge Tournament held in Pula, Croatia.

Prior to the Rams, Kopacz spent the last two seasons as an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Nebraska Omaha. At Omaha, he mentored the setter position and assisted in the development of offensive game-plans. Kopacz helped Omaha to their first D1 NCAA tournament appearance and first Summit League Championship in 2023. His work with the program included mentoring AVCA All-American McKenna Ruch, while also helping guide Ruch and Shayla McCormick to AVCA All-Region honors.

Kopacz started his college coaching career at the University of Colorado in January of 2021 as a Volunteer Assistant Coach. With the Buffaloes, he assisted with the training of first contact and floor defense and helped design scouting reports and prepare the scout team.

The Libertyville, Illinois native played club volleyball at Indiana University where he was a captain and earned All-Big Ten and All-MIVA honors. Kopacz graduated from Indiana with a degree in Informatics and Computing with a specialty in Sports Marketing and Management.

After graduation from Indiana in 2016, he worked in Benefits Administration, most recently as a Senior Account Manager at bswift, while consulting for several different clubs and high school teams in the Chicagoland area.

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Volleyball Signs UCLA Transfer Kiki Horne, Bolsters 2026 Attacking Force – UCF Athletics

Published

5 hours ago

December 31, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Horne, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year after her junior season at Millbrook High School, leading the squad to a historic 29-1 record and the Class 4A State Championship. After his outstanding prep career, the future Knights’ collegiate journey started on the West Coast, competing for UCLA as a freshman in 2024.

She was one of two Bruins to compete in all 29 matches, garnering the starting nod in nine contests. Horne tallied 249 kills and a .169 hitting clip to complement 14 double-digit kill performances, including a tantalizing stretch of seven consecutive to bridge non-conference and Big Ten play.

In the Los Angeles showdown, Horne boasted a career-high 17 kills, one of many remarkable outings from the then-freshman.

During her sophomore slate, Horne continued to feature for the Bruins in critical moments, tallying a kill in the NCAA Tournament against one-seeded Kentucky. She finished the season with 10 kills on 32 attempts, seeing time in seven matches.

On the defensive end, Horne’s athletic ability and IQ propelled the future Knight to 0.40 blocks per set and 0.47 digs per set in two years.

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Mia Kinney, 2025 5-Star Preps Volleyball Player of the Year

Published

5 hours ago

December 31, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Catholic junior Mia Kinney doesn’t mind playing out of her club and college position for the Lady Irish volleyball team.

She is an offensive force as an outside hitter and is a six-rotation player for Catholic.

Yet Kinney will play defense in college, signing scholarship papers to play libero or defensive specialist at Vanderbilt.

And that’s her focus during Catholic’s offseason for volleyball, which is in-season for Kinney at K2 Volleyball.

“I’m just trying to get a little bit more polished in my libero position,” said Kinney, the 2025 5Star Preps Volleyball Player of the Year, “just because pretty much my entire volleyball career I’ve just been doing different things, and just playing whatever (position) my team needs me to.”

Her versatility and talent were a big reason Catholic (25-10) had another big season in 2025.

Kinney combined powerful hitting (332 kills) with her setting (68 assists), defense (239 digs), serving (72 aces), and excellent passing in leading the Lady Irish to the Division II-AA Final Four.

Catholic coach Brent Carter said he’s able to use Kinney’s versatility because his senior libero, Nora James, has similar talents like Kinney.

“We get creative and move our libero around because our libero (James) is also a very skilled player,” Carter said. “Sometimes, our libero is playing left-back defense and sometimes she’s playing middle-back defense, so it gives us a nuance to where we put Mia, and it gives us an attacking threat out of the back row.”

Kinney’s passing is uncanny, too, and it was on full display at the state tournament, where the Lady Irish endured an emotional rollercoaster.

Catholic staved off elimination with a 3-0 victory over Chattanooga Baylor on Oct. 21 in their second Final Four match of the day, then lost on Oct. 22 to Christ Presbyterian Academy of Nashville by a 3-0 set score.

In the loss to CPA, Kinney’s passing rating was 2.82 on the 3.0 scale used for volleyball passing statistics; Carter raved about her passing in the season ending match.

“To knock Baylor out in a sweep was like a big deal to our kids emotionally,” Carter said, “and we just could not get it together against CPA. We needed to be passing well like we normally pass, and we just weren’t, but Kinney still passed a .282 in that match. And a .282 is best in the world. It’s unbelievable.”

Kinney transferred to Catholic from Baylor before the 2024-25 school year, earning All-5Star Preps first-team honors as the Lady Irish reached the state sectionals (quarterfinals).

Her sister, Elli, and brother, Cooper, are graduates of Baylor.

Elli (2023 Baylor graduate) is a junior libero for Vanderbilt’s volleyball team and Cooper (2021 Baylor graduate) is an infielder with the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball organization.

Mia’s transfer to Catholic was a natural move because she was playing full-time with K2 Volleyball while attending Baylor in Chattanooga.

“It’s helped me out in so many different ways, and I’m really glad we made that decision,” she said of going to Catholic.

Kinney committed to Vanderbilt on June 15 of this year. While Elli was influential in Mia’s decision, she didn’t push Mia toward Vanderbilt.

“She loves it (Vanderbilt), and she just really helped me out through the whole recruiting process,” Mia said. “She didn’t pressure me in any way at all, but she was just there and really helpful for me. She really loves Vandy and I kind of got to see the inside scoop of that, so it was a pretty easy decision for me.”

Kinney said the 2025 season was a thrill for her and the Lady Irish, and she looks forward to another postseason run in 2026.

“I think there’s a bit of a reputation for volleyball at Catholic,” Kinney said.

Carter expects Kinney to take another critical role next season. He said Kinney is the most competitive player he’s coached in almost 10 years, when he coached Kamila Cieslik, a 2017 Catholic graduate who played five years at Rutgers.

“Nobody anywhere competes like (Kinney), and it’s mostly with herself,” Carter said. “She wants to be better every single time she touches the ball, and we haven’t had a kid like her since Kamila Cieslik, in 2016. Just a died-in-the-wool competitor, and here’s the thing nobody would question: She is the team leader.

“After every point, she is the one saying the right things, doing the right things. What she and I spent the most time on was how to handle those situations, and the management of each kid, how they needed to be managed out on the floor. So not only was it a players’ team instead of just a coaches’ team, and it was great.”

Article written by Dave Link/5Star Preps. To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc., visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2025 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.

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