Kayla Kowalik set to lead No. 20 Kentucky softball

For the 13th straight season under head coach Rachel Lawson, Kentucky Softball will begin the season in the Top 25.

The Wildcats check in at No. 20 in D1Softball’s Preseason Top 25. As of now, UK is set to take on nine ranked opponents throughout the 2022 season, including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Alabama and No. 8 Arkansas.

Leading the charge for the Wildcats is none other than star senior catcher Kayla Kowalik.

Kowalik enters her fourth season in Lexington ranked as the No. 3 player in softball, according to Extra Innings Softball, as well as being tabbed to the USA Softball Player of the Year watch list.

A historic 2021 campaign

The 2021 season was a memorable one for the New Braunfels, TX native. Hitting .495 on the year, Kowalik would win the NCAA batting title while leading the nation in hits with 100. She became the first Wildcat in program history to hit the century mark in hits for a season.

Breaking records would become a habit for the catcher, as she would add multiple notches to her belt over the course of last season.

Including a 26-game hitting streak, crossing home plate 79 times and reaching base safely in 39-straight games, Kowalik firmly etched her name into the UK Softball history books in 2021.

Behind the dish, she would boast a near-perfect .993 fielding percentage while throwing out four base-stealers. She would catch every SEC game for the Wildcats last season.

On the base paths, Kowalik has shown her five-tool capabilities, as she led Kentucky with 23 stolen bases in 2021, the most for a Wildcat in a season since Molly Belcher stole 29 bags in 2009.

Awards and Accolades

Thanks to her stellar year at and behind the plate, Kowalik was named an NFCA First-Team All-American as well as being tabbed to the All-SEC Second-Team.

She would later be named a recipient of the 2021 Johnny Bench Award, honoring the top NCAA D1 male and female catchers in baseball and softball. On Feb. 2, 2022, Kowalik was named to the United States Softball National Team for the 2022 Canada Cup.

Kowalik’s efforts last season helped lead Kentucky to its eighth appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals, finishing with a 43-16 record, good enough for fifth in the SEC.

Higher goals for the 2022 season

As Kowalik looks to build off one of the top single-season performances in school history, the Wildcats will look to reach the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2014.

Standing in the way of UK is a tough and rugged SEC schedule with multiple tournaments featuring fellow ranked opponents.

The season is set to begin on Feb. 10, as the Wildcats will take part in the 2022 Northern Lights Southern Lights event in Leesburg, Florida. Kentucky will square off against five teams over the span of four days.

UK will open against Wisconsin on the 10th, wrapping up the event on the 13th, taking on No. 13 Virginia Tech. First pitch between the Wildcats and Badgers is set for 6 p.m. EST at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex.