Offseason Player Spotlight: Niya Smith

She may have only played one season of high school softball so far, but Alcovy’s Niya Smith has already taken up a leadership role for the Lady Tigers.

Ahead of what is her sophomore season, Smith is eager for as big of a role in the dugout as she has on the diamond.

“I encourage people, I keep them up [and] I talk them up,” Smith said.

As a freshman, Smith delivered.

Smith played in 25 games for the Lady Tigers in 2024-25 and finished with a .303 average, which was the fifth best on the team. The upcoming sophomore also tallied 20 hits, 23 runs and a team-high 13 stolen bases.

In her first season, Smith spent the majority of her innings in the middle infield and the outfield, the same spots she expects to be in next season.

By season’s end last year, Smith was named as the 2024-25 All-Cov News Softball Breakout Player of the Year as well as a spot on the Region 8-AAAAA Honorable Mentions list.

With a new team, new coach and new renovated complex on the way for this upcoming season, Smith did not shy away from how the team can get better this offseason.

“I feel like since they have tried out and we have done more drills and worked on different things they have made progress on their positions,” Smith said. “We also need to work on communicating with each other instead of maybe missing a ball and pouting. We just need to keep the energy up and everything and we will be fine.”

Smith noted how as a leader, one of her goals for this next season is to keep her own energy up as she plans to set a strong example for the team’s newest core.

As Smith and the rest of a youthful Lady Tigers team continue to prepare under interim head coach Marcus Smith, the sophomore shared something that people may not know about this year’s Alcovy softball program.

“That we have a lot of talent,” Smith said. “People think that since we lost a lot of seniors that it was going to set us back, but we are going to be good this year.”