Gibson County’s Neal commits to UT Martin

By Lori Cathey

Gibson County High School sophomore softball player Macey Neal has verbally committed to play for the University of Tennessee at Martin.

UT Martin is a NCAA Division 1 school that plays in the Ohio Valley Conference. Verbal commitment is when a player promises to attend a college while the coach promises to provide some sort of scholarship.

Neal is entering her second year playing for Gibson County where she has already set several new school records for hits (49), runs scored (33) and stolen bases (23) in a season.

She finished her freshman year hitting .500 with 33 runs, 49 hits, eight doubles, a triple, homerun and 20 RBI. She also had a .633 slugging percentage and .884 fielding percentage with 43 put-outs and 79 assists.

She currently plays travel ball for the 16u Lady Jaxx under Coach Barry Jimmerson and recently played three years for the Blue Angels with Coach Rose Kaliisak and two seasons with Velocity for Coach Lownsdale.

Last season she was named to the Tennessee Softball Coaches Association All State Team and 14 A All-District Team. Additionally, Neal plays for the Lady Pioneerbasketball team and runs for the cross country team.