Softball Player of the Year: Laneaux posts huge senior season

Dec. 7—For much of the early part of the season, it seemed like there was nobody who could get Pope outfielder Jadyn Laneaux out.

Every game, it seemed as if the senior would go 3-for-4 or 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.

At some point, one would expect a player this hot to cool off. She never did.

Laneaux finished the season hitting .624. She had 68 hits, of which half were for extra bases, and added 13 home runs and 45 RBIs. Laneaux had a slugging percentage of 1.229, hit .600 with runners in scoring position, walked 28 times, struck out only 11 times and added 34 stolen bases.

Laneaux also helped lead Pope to the Class AAAAAA state championship.

For her efforts, Laneaux is the Cobb County Softball Player of the Year for the second straight season, as voted on by the county coaches.

"She is amazing," Pope pitcher Kendall Frost said of the LSU signee. "We were never worried when she came to bat because we knew good things were going to happen."

Laneaux came off a 2021 season in which she had broken many of Pope's single-season marks. She had 61 hits, 61 runs, five triples and hit nine homers.

It was the power game where Laneaux said she felt she needed to work on in the offseason, and that is where she said she improved the most this year.

"Power-wise is where I grew the most," Laneaux said. "I was finding my power and perfecting my swing. Last year, I hit home runs that barely got over the fence. This year, those became no-doubters, and the ones I didn't quite catch were just clearing the fence or becoming doubles and triples in the gaps."

It helped Laneaux earn the Class AAAAAA Player of the Year award and an opportunity to play in the Georgia Dugout Club All-State Games at Truist Park.

Laneaux is one of the lucky few who can say their last high school game was a win in the state championship. The title provides book-ends for her career, as she was part of Pope's 2019 title squad when she was a freshman.

"It was special, Laneaux said. "Coming off freshman year, I thought it was once in a lifetime. It was a special moment."

Pope coach Ellie Viland said it will be difficult to find another player like Laneaux. Viland is just glad she had the chance to coach Laneaux while she could.

"She's a great player and a great teammate," Viland said, "and she was unbelievable in Columbus."