Last week, the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) announced its District 7 softball players and coaches of the year.

District 7, which includes Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy, Alachua and Marion counties, selected six players and four coaches from the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area.

Addison Allaire of Trenton was named the FACA District 7 Rural Player of the Year.

“Addi is one of the most exceptional student-athletes I have had the privilege to coach and is truly the foundation of our softball program,” said Trenton coach Kevin Benson, who was named the FACA District 7 Rural Coach of the Year. “Her combination of talent, discipline and competitive drive consistently sets her apart from her peers, and her impact extends far beyond her individual performance.

Allaire, a University of Florida commit, has had a sensational junior season. Heading into last night’s Rural-District 7 championship game against Williston, she was 13-3 with a 0.85 earned run average (ERA).

In 107.2 innings pitched, she had only allowed 13 earned runs with 17 walks and a whopping 235 strikeouts.

“As a pitcher, Addison commands the game with confidence, precision and composure well beyond her years,” Benson said. “She consistently challenges hitters and thrives in high-pressure situations, giving our team a competitive edge every time she steps in the circle. In the most critical moments, she is the player we trust without hesitation—her composure, confidence, and competitive mindset allow her to rise to any occasion.”

Offensively, she is batting .482 and leads the team in on base percentage (.647), home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.964). She was second with 22 runs batted in and seven doubles.

“At the plate, Addison is equally dominant,” Benson said. “She is a powerful hitter with outstanding discipline and control of her bat, able to adjust in any count and deliver when it matters most. Her presence in the lineup changes how opponents approach our entire team and creates opportunities for everyone around her.”

Under Benson, the Tigers, who improved to 21-3 with a 12-2 win in Thursday’s district championship game, are the No. 1 team in the Rural classification and No. 13 overall in Florida regardless of classification in the FHSAA rankings.

“I am humbled and honored to be recognized as the FACA District 7 Rural classification Coach of the Year,” Benson said. “I am thankful for the coaches and school representatives of the FACA District 7 that nominated and voted for me. I am also grateful for their acknowledgement of the program’s success because without my program buying into a vision and plan, along with demonstrating our work and preparation on the field, I don’t achieve this recognition.”

Benson is hoping to lead the Tigers to their third straight state title after winning a second straight state title last May.

“Our journey is not complete, and all our goals are still out in front of us to go achieve,” he said. “With this group of athletes and the coaches with me, I am confident we will continue to prepare the right way daily and be ready to compete.”

Alaina Watson of Countryside Christian was named the 1A Player of the Year.

Watson, who is only an eighth-grader, batted .596 for the Minutemen, who finished the season at 7-10 with a 12-0 loss to St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) in the 1A-District 4 semifinals.

She led the team with 28 RBI, nine doubles, 31 RS, and two home runs and finished second with 28 hits and 12 stolen bases.

Sarah Burns of Newberry was named the Class 2A Player of the Year.

Burns, who transferred from Santa Fe High and started her junior season with Newberry, has a team-best 2.15 ERA.

“At the time, she was still recovering from an arm surgery, she didn’t think she ever needed to throw fastballs, and she thought of herself as a PO,” said Newberry coach Michele Roundtree. “Now, as we enter the postseason, Sarah can pair an outside fastball with a mean backdoor curve, and she often bats even when she isn’t pitching – hitting her first home run ever against Union County (Lake Butler).”

As a senior, she has been their ace, collecting 111 strikeouts to date with six wins.

“Her work ethic and focus in the bullpen is quite admirable,” Roundtree said. “Outside of practice and in the off-season, Sarah put in the time to improve her game-making so many of the gains our team truly needed from her. As such, it has made her a natural leader, always nagging her teammates, in motherly fashion, to push harder or redo the drill better. And when her teammates don’t listen, she shows them. Last week in practice, she subbed in right field and made a diving play.”

Burns, who had 13 strikeouts and a 2-run home run last night to lead the Panthers (14-8) to the 2A-District 5 title, will continue her softball career at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Roundtree was named the Class 2A Coach of the Year.

“I’ll be honest, we have had a lot of ups and downs,” she said. “One of our best games was a loss in extra innings against Williston, where we kept collectively fighting until the final out. Some of our worst games were wins like in a marathon victory over Bradford (Starke), and there have been many games where we were our own worst enemy (Buchholz both times) and most recently Interlachen at home.”

Newberry, which won its first district title since 1999 last year, hosted its first district championship game in program history last night.

“Considering what my team is capable of and knowing that we’ve fallen short recently, I don’t know if I am fully deserving of the coach of the year title,” Roundtree said. “However, I am grateful for the honor. Throughout the season, my amazing coaching staff has helped us return to our core values, which is to compete with a good attitude and great effort.”

The 3A POY (Rylee Swilley) and COY (Gene Findley) are from Santa Fe High School in Alachua.

Swilley, who entered the season as the nation’s No. 1 freshman pitcher, according to Line Drive Media, and the No. 2 overall freshman in the country, was batting .441 with nine home runs and 34 RBI entering last night’s district championship game.

“She works very hard on every part of the game,” Findley said. “She is a player you like to watch excel for the extra work she does every day.”

In the circle, the freshman is 9-2 with a 0.64 ERA. In 88 innings pitched, she has allowed just eight earned runs with 17 walks and 113 strikeouts.

“She brings a lot to the team,” Findley said. “She pitches, plays defense and hits very well. All of her hard work shows she’s a great team player. She is a true leader on the field.”

The Raiders improved to 22-3 with a 9-4 win against Palatka in Thursday night’s 3A-District 5 championship game.

Santa Fe is the No. 1 seed in 3A-Region 2, the No. 11 overall team in the Sunshine State, and a strong contender to get to the final four.

“It’s been fun to watch this team work together on and off the field,” Findley said. “As they keep supporting each other, they will get stronger and tougher to deal with.”

The FACA District 7 Class 5A Player of the Year is Leanna Bourdage of Gainesville High School.

Bourdage, a Texas A&M University commit, was 11-3 with a 0.58 ERA heading into Thursday night’s Class 5A-District 5 championship game against Deltona, a 7-6 come from behind win.

In 96.1 innings pitched, the junior had only allowed eight earned runs with 40 walks and 189 strikeouts.

“Leanna has been a large part of our success this season,” said GHS coach Chris Chronister, whose team played for its third straight district title on Thursday night. “Coming back from her off-season surgery, there has been a process of getting back into the swing of things and getting back to the top of her game. She is a very hard worker and has an extremely competitive mindset, so I knew she would continue to get better as the season progressed.”

At the plate, Bourdage was leading the ‘Canes (13-6) in hitting (.368), OBP (.453), home runs (2), runs scored (19), doubles (6) and slugging percentage (.585).

“I feel like she has really been hitting her stride here late in the season, so that should give us a chance to make another run at states,” Chronister said.

Rounding out the list of area selections was 6A POY Grace Lariz-McDaniel of Buchholz High School.

The freshman had a team-best .500 average, a .608 OBP, 51 RS, nine doubles, and a .986 fielding percentage.

“Grace Lariz-McDaniel is a very talented kid,” said Buchholz coach Will Hooper, the FACA District 7 Class 6A Coach of the Year. “We have several kids that bring so much value to this team, but I think what separates Grace is her ability to play multiple positions at a high level. She is a true utility player.”

Hooper led the team to a 17-9 record and the No. 2 seed in Class 6A-District 3.

“It has been a great season for us, definitely the best I’ve had as a coach at Buchholz,” he said. “Much credit goes to the talent and chemistry among the players we have. They have really gelled together and accepted the challenge to just go out and compete every game. As a coach, I don’t deserve all the credit because my assistant coaches JC Rosario and Kris McDaniel have done a great job in helping this team prepare throughout the season.” 

FACA District 7 Player of the Year
Rural: Addison Allaire (Trenton)
1A: Alaina Watson (Countryside Christian)
2A: Sarah Burns (Newberry)
3A: Rylee Swilley (Santa Fe)
4A: Tamira Dorin (Ocala Vanguard)
5A: Leanna Bourdage (Gainesville)
6A: Grace Lariz-McDaniel (Buchholz)
7A: Rachael McCumber (Ocala West Port)

FACA District 7 Coach of the Year
Rural: Kevin Benson (Trenton)
1A: No Nomination
2A: Michele Roundtree (Newberry)
3A: Gene Findley (Santa Fe)
4A: Carrie Vance (Ocala Vanguard)
5A: Gary Greer (Belleview)
6A: Will Hooper (Buchholz)
7A: William Brewington (Ocala West Port)