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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Shelby County’s best hitters once again brought their best offense in 2025 as they sought the vacant crown of Hitter of the Year.

After two years of now-South Alabama star Presley Lively’s dominance atop the leaderboards, this year brought a wide-open race for Shelby County’s top offensive honor.

It was a tight battle down the stretch with powerful showcases from Thompson’s Kadyn Bush, Oak Mountain’s Marian Cummings, Pelham’s Jordan Young and Shelby County’s Danslen Connell.

However, one name rose above the rest as she helped anchor an incredibly dynamic Chelsea Hornet offense: Katie Hopson, the 2025 Shelby County Hitter of the Year.

Hopson finished first in just about every hitting category, leading the county in runs, hits, RBI, doubles and home runs. While those came off a county-high 152 at-bats, her averages still ranked among the best in the county.

Hopson led the county in slugging percentage with .954, combining that with an on-base percentage of .512 that was the sixth best in the county for a 1.466 OPS, the second-highest figure in the county.

Those came as a result of her powerful extra base hits, which totaled 41 over the course of the 2025 season. That included 16 home runs, making her the only county hitter to get into double digits, and 23 doubles, the most of any hitter in the county by 10.

Even on a lineup full of power from hitters like future Division I players Sydney Carroll and Caroline Brown, the senior Hopson was regularly the one who the Hornets could rely on for big-time hits and crucial runs.

She wasn’t only one of the top power hitters but also one of the most consistent players in the county. Hopson led the county with 70 hits on the season while walking 14 times and striking out just 12 times in her 152 plate appearances.

She made the most of those hits, crossing home for 53 runs and using her bat to secure 49 RBI for Chelsea, both of which were the most in Shelby County.

As a result of those 70 hits in 152 at-bats, Hopson finished the season with the fourth-best batting average of all county hitters with a .461 mark. That improved to second-best when factoring in batters with at least 100 plate appearances.

While the Hornets missed out on the postseason in 2025, their offense made life difficult for defenses across Class 6A and led to them receiving the No. 3 ranking entering the area tournament.

Through it all, Hopson was front-and-center, mashing home runs and scoring run after run to keep Chelsea competitive against some of the top teams in the classification like Helena and Spain Park.

Her impact on the field combined with her dominance of the statistical charts made her the best choice for Shelby County Hitter of the Year to finish out her high school career.