Former Scott County standout Kennedy Sullivan is transferring from Western Kentucky to UK. (Twitter Photo)
The transfer portal certainly has been good for the Kentucky men;’s basketball team as well as the football team. But Kentucky softball coach Rachel Lawson also pulled in a big addition for her team last week when Kennedy Sullivan joined the Cats. After three seasons at Western Kentucky, the former Scott County standout announced on Twitter that she was transferring to Kentucky. She will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Sullivan was sensational in high school. Scott County won state titles in 2016 and 2018 when she was the team’s ace on the mound. Her earned run average was below 1.00 her final three seasons and she dominated most teams she faced. She was also a solid hitter in high school.
She was a second-team all-Conference USA pick last season when she went 9-0 with a 2.40 earned run average with 13 starts in 19 appearances. She gave up just 44 hits and limited opponents to a .180 batting average.
Sullivan also hit .358 last season and had a team-high 14 home runs and drove in 49 runs. She had a two-out, walk-off double to drive in the winning run in a 2-1 victory over Kentucky last season.
Sullivan was not recruited that hard by UK out of high school despite her success and impressive numbers. However, she jumped at the chance to join the UK program when the Cats showed interest this time.
She indicated her primary focus will be pitching and that’s perfect since UK lost its two top pitchers — Autumn Humes and Grace Baalman — to graduation.
Miranda Stoddard made 19 appearances last year but was also UK’s starting third baseman. Outfielder Tatum Spangler made six starts on the mound. Sloan Gayan and Stephanie Schoonover also return with limited experience on the mound.
Kentucky will also add freshman Alexia Lacatena, a two-time all-state pitcher in New Jersey and a member of the Italian National Team that will be competing in the Olympics in Tokyo. She is part of a top 10 recruiting class but the only freshman pitcher joining the team.
Sullivan will be the team’s most experienced and oldest pitcher and that’s why adding her is so important.
