Leading the Lady Aggies

Wayne Antley hadn’t even coached his first game as head coach of the Choudrant High softball program when he got a nugget of information from his brother Tony.

Tony, a six-time state champion with the Choudrant baseball program, knew talent when he saw it. You don’t make it to Sulphur four of the last five years of a career like Tony did without good players leading the way. And he could see Wayne was about to inherit a roster with plenty to be excited about, especially a young catcher by the name of Zoey Smith.

“My brother told me when I got the job, ‘You’ve got a strong catcher.’ And he was right,” Antley said. “And she’s gotten stronger each year. She’s gotten better each year.”

Better — better than most of her competition — has become Smith’s default setting, proving to be not just one Choudrant’s best players but one of the top talents in Class B.

Since she was an eighth grader in 2021, Smith has been a Class B All-State selection by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association — hitting over .460 each year, including over .540 the last three seasons.

This season, as a junior, Smith has been a big part of getting the Lady Aggies to the No. 3 seed in the Division V Non-select playoffs — the highest seed for the program since 2018 — by leading the team in hits (43), RBIs (54), home runs (11), and doubles (11).

Hitting .524 this season, Smith said she isn’t concerned with being viewed as one of the top softball players in the parish.

Instead, she focuses on calming herself when it comes to play and trust in her abilities.

“I feel like my hitting has gotten more consistent from the outside to the inside pitch to the high balls and low balls,”Smith said. “I think being able to talk to my team on defense more has helped get the job done.

“Personally, I don’t think about that stuff. I just relax and I worry about playing how I know I can play. Everything then goes how it goes,” she continued.

Antley appreciates Smith’s presence at the plate and behind the dish as the Lady Aggies’ three-hole hitter and starting catcher. For the third-year head coach, Antley said Smith spent her offseason refining her skills as an all-around hitter, not just a boom-or-bust bat that would hit home runs but not much else.

Having a leader that constantly works to get better is what’s helped Choudrant have success.

The result? Smith leads the team in doubles by five and has twice the number of RBIs than the second-most on the team.

“She told me, ‘I’m not worried about hitting home runs. I’m trying to hit more doubles this year.’ And I said, ‘Great. That works for us,’” Antley said. “She’s really tough to strike out and we’ve got her in three spot now so she hits in the first inning. She’s been our best hitter this year for sure. When she squares  it up, it’s hit hard somewhere."

Smith’s impact goes beyond her plate power. The junior has committed only three errors this season and thrown out five  runners trying to steal bases

Antley sees it as another strength that gives the Lady Aggies the capability to play with anyone come playoff time.

“She’s such a great catcher when it comes to receiving the ball and framing. It helps our pitchers. It makes our pitchers better. And she’s really strong. She has a strong arm.

“She’s our on-field leader,” Antley continued. “She knows what to do like most of ours do. It’s like baserunning at third. I can’t tell you when it gets by the catcher to go. I don’t have time because by the time I tell you it’s too late. She’s one of those that knows how to run bases and knows where to be and what to do.”

While the Lady Aggies wait to play their second-round playoff matchup against No. 14 Fairview, Smith believes Choudrant (18-5) can make another run to the state tournament if everyone plays up to their potential.

Smith, an LSU-Eunice verbal commit, said the 2024 Lady Aggies have the pieces. Now, it’s about delivering.

“It feels great,” Smith said of Choudrant’s playoff seed. “As a team, we’re pretty confident and I think if we play as a team, we can get even further than what we did last year."