High School

Vote: Who is the 2025 South Carolina high school Softball Preseason Slugger of the Year?

South Carolina's top high school softball sluggers are preparing to power their teams again this spring

Mike Duprez

After helping lead Gray Collegiate to a state championship as a freshman, hitting 19 home runs, Aspen Boulware returns as one of the top softball sluggers in the state of South Carolina.
After helping lead Gray Collegiate to a state championship as a freshman, hitting 19 home runs, Aspen Boulware returns as one of the top softball sluggers in the state of South Carolina. / Aspen Boulware Instagra

The 2025 season is fast approaching and it’s time to take a poll on who is the best slugger in the state. We have compiled a list of 10 nominees. All of them had superb seasons in 2024 and are ready to run it back.

So here are our 10 nominees. Voting concludes Feb. 21 at 11:59 p.m. Feel free to contact us with suggestions for more nominees.

Aspen Boulware, sophomore, Gray Collegiate Academy

Boulware had an incredible freshman season, leading the state with 19 home runs and helping propel the War Eagles to the Class AA state championship. Her batting average was .651 and she had 40 RBIs. Boulware is the daughter of former NFL player Michael Boulware.

Maddox Long, senior, Gray Collegiate Academy

Having two power hitters on the same team is even better. Long belted 12 home runs with 44 RBIs and a .561 batting average.

Brandy Smith, senior, Conway

Smith smashed 11 home runs, had 38 RBIs and batted .435 for the season.

Kensley Vickers, sophomore, Powdersville

Vickers, who began playing varsity softball in the eighth grade, is coming off a freshman season in which she smashed 11 home runs, had 27 RBIs and batted .444.

Sanaii Rivers, junior, Wade Hampton

Rivers had 9 home runs, 34 RBIs and had a .389 batting average for the Generals as a sophomore.

Marguerite Ridgeway, senior, Westwood

The 5-foot-10 catcher smashed 7 home runs, had 17 RBIs and a ,348 batting average.

Savanna Padgett, freshman, Pelion

Padgett has been playing varsity softball since the seventh grade. As an eighth grader last year, she became one of her team’s top players with 7 home runs, 26 RBIs and a .419 batting average.

Prestan Schurlknight, junior, Orangeburg Prep

Schurlknight belted 7 home runs, had 29 RBIs and batted a robust .569 for the Indians as a sophomore. 

Sayde Parris, junior, Boiling Springs

A catcher, Parris had 7 home runs, 31 RBIs and an eye-popping .622 batting average during her sophomore season. She had 10 home runs as a freshman.

Avery Ingram, senior, Airport

Ingram had 6 home runs, 32 RBIs and a .442 batting average last season.

Published
Mike Duprez
MIKE DUPREZ

Mike Duprez became a freelance sports journalist for Scorebooklive.com several months after retiring from the newspaper business. A native of Oakland, California, Duprez moved around as a child due to his father’s service in the United States Marine Corps. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. Duprez, who lives in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, had 30 years of experience in newspapers as well as other endeavors before retiring at the end of 2021. He covers stories in both North Carolina and South Carolina for Scorebooklive.com.

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