Kymorie Myers just might be the best softball player in North Callaway’s history.

Myers is a three-time all-state player, a four-time all-conference, a four-time all-district player, a four-team all-region player and the owner of a laundry list of school records. The senior made her decision to sign with NCAA Division I Southern Illinois University in Carbondale during a ceremony on Dec. 5 in the North Callaway High School gym.

Myers said she plans to study cyber security or digital forensics and minor in criminal justice before possibly joining the Air Force. She is considering her options but felt Southern Illinois was the only option for her.

“I feel you know when it’s your place,” Myer said. “They’re very loving. It’s a small community, and that’s what I’m used to so it’s nice that the campus is all together. The coaches saw me play, and they believe in me. It’s nice to have that family feeling.”

Myers was part of North Callaway’s family, and head coach Mariah McKee and her teammates provided her with a comfortable place to play. Myers provided the Ladybirds a dangerous bat in the middle of the lineup that was part of back-to-back 20-win seasons and an Eastern Missouri Conference championship this past season. 

McKee spent minutes during the Dec. 6 ceremony reading off all the school records Myers owns. For career records, Myers has 141 runs, 164 hits, 160 RBIs, 51 doubles, 19 triples and 20 home runs. As for single season, she has marks of 47 runs, 56 hits, 46 RBIs, 16 doubles and seven home runs. 

“I’m so proud of her, and I know she has worked so hard to get to this point,” McKee said. “She deserves everything. All the accolades she has gotten, she deserves all of it.”

When McKee is asked to put Myers’ value into words, she said it’s so difficult because of the sheer amount Myers has done for the program.

“Just being a four-time first teamer all-conference, district, region and three-time all-state, you don’t hear that. You really don’t,” McKee said. “It goes to show the impact she has made.”

Myers, who plays basketball in the winter, said her father encouraged her to play softball and she ended up liking the sport more than basketball when she was younger.

Despite coming through in big moments more than the average player, Myers said she has had many low points in softball. She said it is the nature of the game and “sticking with it” is what players need to do to be great. Myers credits her family and coaches for being with her through all the highs and lows. 

“Your mental health in softball and baseball is really hard based on your batting average and fielding percentage,” Myers said. “You’re going to strike out and you’re going to fail a lot more than you succeed.”

Myers said she has spent a lot of time in batting cages and with hitting coaches to pinpoint her swing. Without mental health, though, she said the swing won’t be as strong and she said it helps to focus on accomplishing things for the team rather than yourself. 

“All of my coaches throughout the years, down from when I started to competitive to where I am today, every single coach has impacted me in a certain way,” Myers said.