©2009 NPT PHOTO SUBMITTED

Cocke County junior Kelli Wyrick show off her MVP t-shirt
she received at the elite Queen of the Diamonds Showcase
South tournament. Wyrick was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

NEWPORT-Last Sunday, we featured Kelli Wyrick and Nicole Ball (Sisters in Softball) and their exploits on the softball diamond for Cocke County High School and with the elite Knoxville Thunder 93 traveling team. In the second part of this story, the focus is on Wyrick, and just how serious she is about the game of softball.

While only a junior, Wyrick has definitely taken her game to another level, but it has come with much sacrifice and hard work.

Over the summer, Wyrick has slimmed down, and dedicated herself to a strenuous workout regimen in the gym, all while playing for the Knoxville Thunder 93 traveling team.

Now, back in the classroom for her junior year at Cocke County High School, Wyrick continues her workouts, and continues to play for the Knoxville Thunder, all while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average in her studies.

College coaches are already taking notice, and Wyrick is all about giving them a good look. She decided to apply for an elite invitation to the prestigious Queen of Diamonds Showcase South.

This elite tournament began in 2006 to allow collegiate-bound High School athletes an opportunity to showcase their talents to college coaches. Athletes attending this Showcase come from all over the United States and Canada. With the commitment of athletes to sign up to play in the Showcase, each athlete is provided information on how to get themselves reviewed by Universities of their liking.

The Universities attending come from all over the Southern States, the East Coast, and Mid-West. The divisions represented by these Universities were NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, NJCAA and NCCAA.

It is the second largest fastpitch showcase in the United States with its' sister, Queen of Diamonds Showcase North, the largest.

The trick was to get in. The Showcase accepts between 2,500 to 3,000 applications from the top female softball players from across the United States and Canada, but only 264 are chosen. One of those chosen was Wyrick.

The 264 players are then divided into 24 teams, each team lead by some of the top coaches from across the country. The Showcase was played September 4-6 in Rock Hill, South Carolina on the campus of Winthrop University.

Needless to say, Wyrick took full advantage of the opportunity, and literally turned her bat and glove loose. At the end of her three games in the tournament, she was named Most Valuable Player in two of the games, and was one of only 14 players out of the 264 playing to be named to the All-Tournament Team.

Hold on folks, this story has two more chapters yet to be played out.

As a result of her outstanding play in The Queen of Diamonds Showcase South, Wyrick received an elite invitation to the Queen of Diamonds Showcase North, which will be played indoors in Akron, Ohio in January of next year. Wyrick didn't have to apply this time, and already is in the largest and oldest showcase in North America.

But, perhaps the biggest news of all came recently when Wyrick was notified that she had been chosen to play for the 2011 Junior National Team at the so-called 'Cup.'

The Cup began in 1996 and was originally called the French Cup. The Cup was originally in Lyon, France but moved in 2002 to Schiedam, the Netherlands.

The tournament is governed by the Dutch Fastpitfch Softball Federation, which is a member of the ESF (European Softball Federation) and subsequent member of the ISF (International Softball Federation). The ISF is the governing body for Fastpitch with members such as the ASA, PWSA and European and Far Eastern associations.

This 1996 tournament was originally comprised of a team from the United States and several teams from France. In 1997 the tournament expanded a bit to two teams from the U.S. and teams from France.

The goal of a tournament of this caliber was to show the French Junior teams what it was like to play ball at a high level and to teach these teams the essence of ball and how it is played so well at such a young age.

In 1998, big changes began in the development of the tournament. More teams had 'enlisted' to attend. The U.S. team had changed to an International selection of athletes from both Canada and the U.S. in a mixed program now known as the North American Select team. During the 1998 campaign, not only was the North American Select Team present, but there were several European teams also invited to this, now, more prestigious tournament.

1999 was a continuation of the growth and prestige of this tournament. Germany, Switzerland, Holland as well as the French all had their National teams represented.

In 2000 the North American Select Team fielded four teams to compete in the tournament.

The Cup, which the tournament is now known as, in 2000 continued to prosper with National teams again from Germany, Switzerland, Holland and the French Hosts National team but also from Great Britain. Several new teams from across Europe in addition to the four North American Select Teams (NAST) and a group of two Ohio based teams and supporters filled out the tournament slots.

Cup 2002 was a huge success, not only in changing the location from Lyon, France to Schiedam, the Netherlands, but the talent level provided by this new venue increased 10 fold.

Now, Wyrick will be able to showcase her skills on an international level. The word is out. Following a successful appearance in the Queen of Diamonds Showcase South Tournament last month, the book on Wyrick was this: clutch power hitter with homerun power and great hands.

Wyrick, along with Lady Red teammate Nicole Ball, have one more tournament to play with Knoxville Thunder 93 to wrap up the Fall season October 31-November 1, the Tennessee Fall Exposure, in Murfreesboro.

The daughter of Brenda and Michael Miller, and Johnny Wyrick, however, is still focused on the classroom and her workouts, despite travel team, national and soon-to-be international exposure.

The college coaches are already approaching. But they'll have to wait, because Wyrick is dedicated to the Cocke County High School Lady Red for two more seasons yet. And we can't wait for Spring!