Come August, 2025 Fort Calhoun High School graduate Kaylee Taylor will be a Nebraska Wesleyan track and field athlete.
On Monday, though, she owned a roster spot during the Nebraska Coaches Association All-Star Softball game at Bowlin Field in Lincoln. The Class C all-state honoree played for the Red team, which fell 7-6 to the Blue squad on the Cornhuskers' home diamond.
Wearing No. 4, Taylor raced all the way from second base to home plate for a run during the top of the second inning. The tally gave her squad a 3-1 lead, but the Blue team ultimately battled back for a 6-4 advantage.
That lead didn't stick either, though, as the Red squad tied the score at 6-all before its opposition scored the game-winning run on a sixth-inning hit to deep right field. The lead base runner slid across home plate safe on the play.
After the game, the Red's Mary Beth Hart of Lincoln Southwest and the Blue's Brylee Rupiper of Gretna were named the game's Most Valuable Teammate award recipients. The game was broadcast on Nebraska Public Media with FCHS graduate Grant Hansen serving as the play-by-play announcer.
Taylor, meanwhile, capped her final high school softball season with the Pioneers' first-ever state tournament appearance last fall. The outfielder hit at a .574 average during her 12th-grade year, scoring 56 runs with 62 hits and 33 stolen bases.
Taylor holds multiple Calhoun softball records, but also qualified for state in track and field four times. She excelled in the triple jump and 300-meter hurdle events and joins the Prairie Wolves this upcoming season.
