Laurence Manning's Ashley Rae Hodge named Hines Furniture Athlete of the Year

Every senior athlete dreams of a fairy tale ending to their athletic career, but very few are able to walk away from the game they love lifting a championship trophy or with a remarkable highlight.

Laurence Manning graduate Ashley Rae Hodge was one of the lucky few. She hit a milestone moment in the winter, scoring 1,000 carer points, before walking off the softball field for the final time as a SCISA 4A state champion for the third year in a row. This week, she added an epilogue to her already storybook ending, as she was named the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Year.

"I was shocked," Hodge said of the recognition. "I know I'm not the greatest athlete; there are a ton of great athletes in our community, so it was a total shocker. It wasn't something that I needed. It's a great accomplishment, but it's not something that defines me as a person, and I'm so honored to receive it."

While Hodge remains humble, she certainly had a high school career worth celebrating and finished it with a perfect ending. She was originally named the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week during basketball season after using three consecutive 20-point performances to lift an injury-riddled Lady Swampcat team to a pair of victories. During that season, she reached 1,000 career points, a milestone that her teammate, best friend and fellow Hines Furniture Athlete of the Year finalist Lyza Prickelmyer would soon join her in achieving.

After reaching that impressive milestone, she returned to the diamond, manning shortstop for one of the area's top softball programs. After winning the previous two SCISA 4A state titles, Hodge put together a spectacular senior season. She hit .429 with 13 extra base hits, leading LMA with 32 RBIs while scoring 26 runs. Her leadership was critical as the Lady Swampcats claimed their third consecutive state title with a two-game sweep of Pinewood Prep.

But in a year of unbelievable highlights, the smaller moments will be the memories that Hodge carries with her for the rest of her life.

"Obviously, winning state three years in a row, and Lyza and I both reaching 1,000 points are the biggest memories, but I'm also going to remember all of the fun times I had with my teammates and all of my coaches that I've had over the years who have poured time into us and wanted us to be the best that we can, and all of the practices we've had to get to where we could win three state championships in a row, all of the practices that led to Lyza and I both getting to 1,000 points," Hodge said. "All of the memories with my teammates that weren't always seen, weren't always posted - the times we would have our sleepovers or we would go out for a team dinner. Those are all really special moments, along with winning a state championship and reaching 1,000 points in basketball."

Her recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Year comes after outlasting an excellent bracket of 32 winners from the weekly contest. After weeks of voting by readers of The Sumter Item, Hodge was the last one standing thanks to a passionate support system.

"I've had a lot of support over the years, whether it was my own family or my friends from the LMA family, I've always had great support," Hodge said. "I have family from everywhere - Tennessee, Florida and here - a great support system everywhere around me, and it's been such a blessing."

The Laurence Manning community has been vocal in their support of their teams throughout the year. The softball team was powered by excellent athletes and superb fans who cheered for them every step of the way. That was made evident when looking at the final four of the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Year. Hodge was joined by Prickelmyer and fellow LMA basketball and softball player Kendall Tanner in the final four, as Manning's CJ Robinson rounded out the group of finalists. The Swampcats had their backs all year long, including the summer after graduation.

"LMA has the greatest support system, and I know it was not easy (to choose between) three LMA athletes," Hodge said. "Kendall and Lyza are both awesome athletes; and even the athletes that were in it but didn't make it to the final four, they're all incredible athletes - from LMA and every school. I was honored to be in the same contest as all of them."

Hodge was part of an experienced squad that welcomed a few newcomers this spring. The core that won the 2026 state title all grew up playing together and spent their entire high school careers as load-bearing stars as they won three consecutive championships. The LMA senior class featured constant standouts like Prickelmyer, Marlee Black, Lily Wellborn and Maggie Welch, who have spent their entire high school careers playing for state titles. That group, along with a coaching staff led by Buddy Truett, made this final run even more special for Hodge.

"With our softball career, it couldn't have been a better way to finish it off," Hodge said. "It all started when we were playing rec ball and we had Coach Jessica Stiles and Coach Wendy Barfield and Coach Jerry Stiles. We grew up together playing rec ball and went into travel ball and everything like that. I think us starting at such a young age together and then growing up playing together, we played really well together, we knew each other well. We were great friends, and that plays into how you play because we all liked each other, we all loved hanging out with each other.

"It was really special ending it with the same team that you started with."

LMA won their state title back on May 12. In the intervening months, the magnitude of the accomplishment continues to settle in for Hodge. Winning a state championship is an impressive feat, but doing it three years in a row is extremely rare, especially in high school sports where players eventually graduate and teams have to learn how to evolve with those roster changes.

"At first, when we won the third one, we were excited in the moment. Now that I'm sitting back - and even with reaching 1,000 points in basketball, it's the same thing - now that I've had time to look back and think about it, it's unbelievable to me that it's over; I'm not going to play a sport again with my best friends that I've been playing with since I was really young," Hodge said. "I've thought about what a blessing it's been to play with them for all these years and finishing it how we did, because a three-peat is unheard of, especially with the same group of people that you've been playing with since you started playing softball. With basketball, it's unheard of to have two 1,000-point scorers on the same team who have played together since the ninth grade. I think it's all such a big blessing."