Former Central catcher Naughton back on the field
Jun. 17—CHEYENNE — Entering the winter, Alexis Naughton was unsure on if she'd be able to play competitive softball ever again.
The 2021 Cheyenne Central graduate spent the summer recovering from a concussion she suffered during the high school season right before the inaugural Wyoming state tournament. She also battled through a broken right hand she suffered three weeks prior to the concussion. Both injuries came from foul balls while she was catching.
Naughton did what she could to get back, helped Central secure a state runner-up finish and played through the summer with the under-18 Cheyenne Extreme-Galicia team. She later spent some time with the U18 WYCO squad during the fall. There wasn't a chance she was going to miss the only prep season she would have the chance to play in.
"I definitely thought I wouldn't be able to play at state, and I thought my summer was over because of it," Naughton said. "But, the next day I was up and about. I was like 'I cant let this drag me down. I have to play, my team's counting on me.' I did a lot of stuff to try and get myself a little ready, and I did that, and was able to come out and be with my team."
Not feeling 100% led Naughton to take the winter and the spring off to recover mentally. It meant not committing to a college and risking not playing at the college level. But, that wasn't the case.
In December, McCook Community College in McCook, Nebraska, reached out to Naughton, where she has since committed to continue playing. McCook won the Region IX championship in May.
"I was very shocked because I took the year off and then (WYCO coach Chris) Polton texted and said 'Hey, I have a coach that wants you and he's willing to offer you a scholarship," Naughton said. "After I took the year off, I thought my chances were over of going to play. I regretted it so much.
"But, now that I think about it, if I hadn't taken the year off, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now."
Naughton shined behind the dish during her lone season with Central. At the state tournament, she threw out five of the eight runners that tried to steal a base on her. Her pop time — which measures the time it takes for a catcher to catch the ball and make a throw to second base during a stolen base attempt — ranges from 1.7 to 1.9 seconds, Polton said, which is a number consistent with Division I catchers.
"Being her one and only high school season, she worked really hard just to fight through and figure out ways just to be competitive and play," Polton said. "Easily two years ago, she was the best defensive catcher in the state. It came to a point where teams just stopped trying to run, and when you have that behind the plate, it's huge."
Turning 19 in November meant Naughton couldn't play with any more U18 teams, but she had one more opportunity to play with high school teammates when she played with the WYCO club last fall in Casper.
In one of those contests, Polton let Naughton call her own game from behind home plate when she was catching WYCO and Laramie High ace Janey Adair. The trust shows the knowledge Naughton brings to the diamond.
"When she's on the field, she's another coach," Polton said. "I just let her call her own game. You can look across the state, across the region, there's not too many coaches that are going to let a catcher call their own game."
Coaching is also one of the ways Naughton is getting back in tune with the game. She's helping serve as an assistant while getting in some training before she heads to McCook. She was able to play in four games last weekend with WYCO at the Rise Above college showcase in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she spent some time behind home plate and batted .250 with two RBI.
It's another part of the process as she continues to battle back.
"I'm working my way back, and I think I'm getting back to where I was," she said.
Robert Munoz is a writer for WyoSports. He can be reached at rmunoz@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter @rmunoz307.
