PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Emily Dear, St. Pius X

For St. Pius X, it all started with UTSA-signee Emily Dear. The UTSA-signee has done it all for the Panthers in 2021 from the circle to at the plate.

Dear was the ace of the staff, posting a 15-5 record with nine complete games, five no-hitters, four perfect games with 144 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings. She has also hit .634 at the dish with 11 home runs, seven triples, six doubles and drove in 42 runs.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Avery Hodge, Fort Bend Christian Academy

For the first time, the Class of 2021, FBCA can call themselves District Champions.

This past spring, FBCA posted an undefeated mark in district play and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.

The Eagles were paced by Oklahoma-commit Avery Hodge, who was the unanimous District MVP. Hodge hit .778 with 25 RBIs and 25 runs scored in district. She also posted a 0.73 ERA in 19 innings.

She was a first-team, all-state and all-district pick.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Rachel Riley, Second Baptist School

The Second Baptist School won the TAPPS state title in softball and leading the way was Penn-signee Rachel Riley. She posted a 15-5 record with 151 strikeouts and just 25 walks, and a 2.21 ERA in 110 innings. At the plate, she hit .530 for the season with 23 RBIs. Riley threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts on senior night back in March in a 10-0 win over St. Joseph School.