Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It’s her time to shine. Zoe Graham, the pint-sized Troup Tiger softball player, had to bide her time for her big moment, but now her time to shine has come. The junior has elevated her game to become one of the most reliable players on Troup’s softball team. 

It is not just her reliability as a player that makes her such an asset to the team, but her ability to lead as well.

“It doesn’t feel real. You know?” Graham said of her being one of the veterans on the team now. “I kind of have these moments where I think I remember back to the older girls like Hadilee (Arnold), Madeira (Sirmons), Patience (Watkins), Haley (Kitchens), and the ways that they would lift us up and be leaders. And I realize it’s my time to do that.”

The diamond has been Graham’s home for practically all her life, and her father, Jason, fostered her love for the sport. Softball is where a young Graham found her identity.

“My dad is in love with the sport. Even before I played on a team, he cut a milk carton in half, and that was how he had me practicing catching balls in the backyard,” Graham said. “You know those feelings when you get a good hit, make a good play and get cheered on by people, that’s what makes it worth it.”

After so much time on the diamond, Graham eventually felt burned out in the sport. She gave up the sport her freshman year to play volleyball, a sport she picked up in middle school. 

As soon as Troup’s softball season started during her freshman year, Graham immediately felt a sense of regret. 

“When you play something for that long, you kind of get into a slump; you just want to break out of it,” Graham said. “But that year I was gone made me realize how much I missed it. The second the season started, I was like, dang, I should be out on the field.”

Graham returned to the fold in her sophomore year and earned a starting spot on the team. She had big shoes to fill, slotting in at shortstop and replacing Ramsey Clark.

“I feel like everybody had high expectations for me. I had big shoes to fill,” Graham said. “When you take a break from something for a whole year, it’s kind of hard to get back into it at first.”

Graham had a successful first season with the Tigers in 2023. She formed a solid defensive partnership in the middle infield with Hadilee Arnold while offering a quality bat in the lineup. 

However, there was room for improvement and Graham got right to work once her sophomore season ended. She had one major goal: improve on defense.

“I struggled on defense last year, but every single day this summer, I came to work out at our practices, and no matter how tired I was or not feeling it, I grinded and made sure that I gave them 100% effort, and now when I step out on the field for a game, I have so much more confidence than I did last year,” Graham said.

The work she did in the offseason did not go unnoticed by her coaches.

“Zoe really stepped up and shocked me with how she has been playing at third base. Usually, that is where Camdyn will play but she’s on a limited throwing program for another week and a half to two weeks,” Troup head coach Ryan Simpson said before the season started. “Her speed and movement and her ability to react quickly to bunts has been huge. She will split time between short and third base.”

Graham’s offense has improved as well. She is hitting .278 with an on-base percentage of .409 through seven games, both career highs for Graham. She is a singles machine with just one extra-base hit on the season. But that hit could be a major factor in the final region standings. 

With two outs, the bases loaded and a run down, Graham stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning against Whitewater. She delivered a two-run double that has defined the Tigers’ season so far.

“Oh, gosh, it felt so good. I felt like a leader. It’s hard to put into words,” she said. I was honestly more doubtful than I was confident. But once I locked in and realized that’s what I play it for, that’s what I do, I felt more confident. And the way that I went through that after having a bad game was a good example and a good way to be a role model for the younger girls on the team.”

So much has changed since Graham rejoined the team in 2023. Seniors graduated, others transferred out and it only left one senior on the 2024 team — Camdyn Bassett —- which has meant that Graham and her fellow juniors have had to step up and be leaders for the team. 

“They are the girls that I spend all school year with, have classes with and our little group on the team has become my closest friends, and it’s awesome,” she said.

In more ways than one, juniors are the heartbeat of this year’s team. The class of softball players has really bonded as they take on the mantle of leaders for the team. Graham is right alongside those girls, cheering them on and serving as a real leader in the dugout for the young and older girls alike.

“Ready to play. I’m hungry for a win. I want to lift the other girls up, get them just as hype as I am,” she said.