By T. Scott Boatright
The Simsboro High School softball team earned a No. 7 seed in the Class B playoffs — the highest since seeding started being based on power ratings.
Fittingly, after winning 20 games for only the third time in program history, six Lady Tigers have earned 2025 first-team All District honors, including three first team selections.
Senior Carlei Wheeler has been a force for the Lady Tigers since she was in the first grade, and the LSU-Eunice signee capped off her high school athletic career in strong fashion, taking All-District 1B accolades after batting .483 with two home runs, six triples and 12 doubles.
It was her fourth first team all-district selection on the high school level.
But as strong as she was at the plate, Wheeler rolled to a collegiate athletic scholarship because of her pitching.
Battling injury, Wheeler still managed 122 strikeouts in 70 innings of work in the circle for the Lady Tigers.
Joining Wheeler as first-team selections were senior Jacoya Lewis and sophomore Kennady King.
Lewis, who often served as Wheeler’s catcher, went .462 at the plate with 37 runs batted in, six home runs — the most by a Lady Tiger in 2025 — along with eight doubles and three triples.
The hard-hitting Kennady batted .413 on the season with four round trippers and 34 RBIs while striking out 30 batters during her appearances in the circle.
Even more exciting than Simsboro’s veteran performances, including King, who proved her diamond mettle last season, is the fact the Lady Tigers placed two eighth graders and a freshman earned All-1B honorable mention.
“That’s a big deal,” Simsboro coach Peyton Bond said. “Next year I won’t have any seniors. I have two sophomores that will be juniors, two freshmen that will be sophomores and then everybody else will be freshmen. So we’re young and will be looking for even more next year.”
