Meet Hickory Ridge softball’s Kristyn Embler, readers’ choice spring athlete of year
Kristyn Embler is not afraid of changes.
A standout middle infielder on a 2023 Hickory Ridge softball team that reached the state championship series, Embler was ready to make a change when coach Justin Davies needed it.
“We needed a pitcher after Anna left,” Embler said, referring to Anna Dew, a pitching standout on that 2023 team and now at Elon University. “So I stepped in.”
Embler compiled a 9-2 record in her recently-completed senior season, with a 1.59 earned run average, on a team that compiled a 21-5 mark.
Not bad for a second baseman-shortstop.
Davies said Embler also is a very popular teammate and a leader.
And “leading” is what Embler did in the readers’ choice voting for the Charlotte Observer’s Spring Sports Athlete of the Year.
She received 2 1/2 times the votes of the nearest competitors in winning the award.
“I guess my family and friends got behind me,” Embler said with a laugh. “It’s actually really exciting to have that support.”
Moving from infield to the mound isn’t the only major change in Embler’s athletic career. Growing up, she split time between softball and gymnastics and was a state-ranked gymnast, specializing in the bars.
“There was actually a time when I thought I’d go to college and compete in gymnastics,” she said. “But before my sophomore year, I decided that I’d prefer softball.”
She ended up being a three-time all-conference and all-region player, and she is likely to get her third straight all-state award when that team is named later this month.
Embler is a true scholar-athlete.
She graduated with a 4.714 weighted grade-point average, 11 completed advanced placement classes, and a No. 2 ranking in a senior class of 409 at Hickory Ridge. She was a National Honor Society member, among numerous other academic awards.
On the softball diamond, she finished the season with a .511 batting average and 1.080 slugging percentage. She had 14 home runs, 36 RBI, nine stolen bases, and scored 36 runs.
She will attend Furman University on a full athletic scholarship.
“Kristyn was really what made this team go,” Davies said. “She is a natural leader who leads by example. She is the first one there and the last one to leave.”
“She’s always asking for more reps and swings throughout the entire year,” Davies added.
Kristyn is the youngest of Gary and Kelli Ember’s three daughters.
She credited her family to building a support system that allowed her to flourish.
“My parents and family really helped me develop,” she said. “They encouraged me and have always been there when I need support. And my friends have been super-supportive too.”
Top vote-getters
Here were the leaders in the readers’ choice voting for The Charlotte Observer’s spring sports athletes of the year. To be nominated, a player had to rank among the top 10 statewide in major MaxPreps statistical category (at the time the stats were pulled by The Observer) or had been an individual state champion.
Baseball: Xander Sutton, Gaston Christian: A junior catcher, pitcher and infielder, Sutton hit .446 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs this season. He had .978 fielidng percentage and 167 putouts.
Boys’ golf: Will Hartman, Charlotte Catholic: Hartman won his second NCHSAA 4A state title last month, and shot a 7-under-par 65 on Day 2 to win the title by two shots.
Boys’ lacrosse: Jack Baade, Charlotte Catholic: A senior attacker, Baade had 24 goals and 64 assists this season.
Girls’ lacrosse: Olivia Brooks, Cuthbertson: A 5-foot-5 senior, Brooks had 37 goals and 63 assists this season.
Girls’ soccer: Linzie Rosenberger, Bradford Prep: A freshman goalie, Rosenberger was a part of a team that had eight shutouts this season.
Girls’ track: Jayda Lewis, Corvian Community: Lewis won the 100-meter hurdles at the NCHSAA 1A state championships in Greensboro last month.
Softball: Kristyn Embler, Hickory Ridge
Boys’ tennis: James Dover and Rex Dover, South Point: The two brothers beat East Lincoln’s Carson Brown and Lawson Miller to win the NCHSAA 3A state championship at the Burlington Tennis Center.
Boys’ track: Matthew Burch, Metrolina Christian: Burch won the NCISAA Division I state title in the shot put with a throw of 53 feet, 4 inches, well ahead of second place (50-9).
NOTE: The Observer will begin releasing its spring sports All-Observer teams on Wednesday, followed by its annual year-end awards for the top boys’ and girls’ athletes, coaches and teams of the entire 2024-25 school year.
