By: Michael Pitts
2023 Kennesaw State Signing Day Central
KENNESAW, Ga. – Seven new Owls have joined the Nest as part of the 2023 Kennesaw State softball signing class, head coach Tripp MacKay announced Wednesday.
The 2023 class features three infielders, two pitchers and one utility player in MacKay's fifth signing day class at Kennesaw State.
Reese Evans | INF | Devers, Texas | Liberty High School
Evans helped Liberty High School to back-to-back 4A Texas state softball championships in 2021 and 2022 en route to 2022 District Utility Player of the Year honors. The infielder was named to the 2022 Texas Girl's Coaches Association All-State and Texas Sports Writer's Association All-State teams. She also competed on Liberty High School's volleyball team and was a two-time team captain.
Emma Friedel | P | Fayetteville, Ga. | Whitewater High School
Whitewater High School's 2022 HOSA President Emma Friedel joins Kennesaw State after an impressive 35-2 record earlier this season. The Wildcats were undefeated in the 2022 regular season and did not lose a game with Friedel in the circle, helping the team to GHSA AAAA state runner-up honors. She posted an ERA of .483 this year and notched her 300th career strikeout in October. She also had 29 strikeouts in 21 innings in the state tournament with 12 coming in the championship game.
Ava Guzowski | INF | Knoxville, Tenn. | Farragut High School
A decorated athlete at Farragut High School, Guzowski joins Kennesaw State as a two-time Tennessee state champion and Tennessee District 4 AAAA All-District team selection. During her junior season, she was the Tennessee District 4 AAAA All-District Tournament MVP honoree and was a nominee for the 2022 Knoxville High School Sports Awards Player of the Year award. She batted .438 her junior season with 10 home runs and 52 RBI.
Abby Hammett | INF | Krugerville, Texas | Aubrey High School
Infielder Abby Hammett signed with Kennesaw State after being ranked No. 74 in the Extra Inning Softball 2023 Class in 2021. The native Texan won District 9-4A Softball All-District Infielder Academic honors in 2020-21 and again as an outfielder in 2021-22. A two-sporter, Hammett was named to the 2020-21 Denton Record Chronicle All-Area Girls Basketball second team. She plans to major in integrated health science at Kennesaw State.
Hannah Harvey | INF | Allen, Texas | Lovejoy High School
Lovejoy High School (Texas) product Hannah Harvey signs with the Owls after a successful high school career. In 2022, she earned academic all-district and 10-5A second team all-district honors. During the 2021 season, she snagged the 10-5A Defensive Player of the Year award and was named her team's offensive player of the year. The Dallas Morning News named her to the all-area second team.
Leah Jannakos | P | Haddock, Ga. | Georgia Military College Prep
After accruing over 300 strikeouts in high school, Leah Jannakos has signed with the Black and Gold. She recorded an impressive 2022-23 year and earned region player of the year. For her final three high school seasons, she was named to the all-county team and earned all-region honors during each of her four years. Union Recorder named her the 2021-22 County Player of the Year.
Alexandra Russo | UTIL | Canton, Ga. | Creekview High School
A three-time region AAAAAA champion, Russo joins Kennesaw State as a utility player. During her senior season, she led the team in stolen bases (16) and had the second-best batting average (.373). She posted a 95% fielding percentage all four years at Creekview. Russo also earned scholar-athlete honors and was an honor student. She participated in three sports in high school (softball, slow-pitch and flag football).
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