Porter Ridge’s Emma Daniels is The Observer’s 2024-25 scholar-athlete of the year
During Emma Daniels’ junior year of high school, Kevin Allran laid out a list of questions.
Allran, Porter Ridge High School’s softball coach, centered the list around what would make his team think about togetherness. The questions were simple: If his team had to build something, what would it be? How could they become more united?
Daniels, Porter Ridge’s first baseman, came prepared for those questions and then some. Her answers challenged what it meant to be a team, digging deeper than Allran ever considered.
Inspired by Daniels, Allran worked to create better practice plans. He dedicated the entire offseason to it, and it was all because of the first baseman. Daniels became a constant, pushing Allran and the rest of the team to think about and try to become the team she imagined. Allran realized Daniels is a constant in everything she does.
“She’s just a model for consistency, for drive, for making sure that everybody else is taken care of, even at the detriment of herself sometimes,” Allran said.
For her accomplishments, Daniels was named The Charlotte Observer’s 2024-25 scholar-athlete of the year. While being the captain of Porter Ridge’s softball team her senior year, the first baseman was also ranked No. 1 in her class and served as the president of the Interact Club. During her junior year of high school, Daniels started her nonprofit, Wonder Words, which raises money to provide underprivileged elementary school students with the most current books.
Daniels remembers reading an article in middle school after COVID-19 restrictions eased. The article emphasized that literacy rates were falling in elementary schools since students were being displaced from the classroom. Daniels got the idea years later.
“I was like, ‘Well, if I collect books and give them to these students, then maybe that will help people who aren’t able to afford books for themselves,’” Daniels said. “Because being a reader myself, I do know that books are very expensive.”
And it took off from there.
Daniels reached out to family, friends and her church. Donations started rolling in. She began to make connections with local elementary schools. She created a website.
Although Daniels knows Wonder Words is making an impact on the community, she doesn’t get to see it in action. That’s why cards from Pleasant Plain Christian School mean the world to her. All the elementary school kids at Pleasant Plain made and signed a card for Daniels, thanking her for the books. They told her she was the best.
“It was just so sweet ‘cause normally I don’t get to see the kids who are actually reading the books,” Daniels said. “And so to get a note from them saying that they enjoyed it was just super meaningful and super worth it.”
She worked on this all while managing school, extracurriculars and softball. She continued to become a leader, observing the players before her and how they affected the team.
Daniels learned that there’s a difference between being a leader and being bossy. She understood that there’s a time to speak up and when not to. She knew she had the right to say something when it needed to be said. She also realized the importance of camaraderie and friendship.
“She was not a rah-rah leader,” Allran said. “She wasn’t anything like that. She was a servant leader, and her leadership went by she was always picking up things to help us get ready for practice, asking us questions, being a complete team player, which is exactly what she’s about. If I had a model to make of a team player, it would be Emma.”
Allran estimates that Daniels made three errors during her three years of starting at first base. She worked hard to build connections on and off the field.
The coach will never forget fourth block planning. Daniels served as the athletic director’s teaching assistant during that time. She and Allran hung out often during that period. It wasn’t softball time. Instead, the pair got to know more about each other.
Daniels talked about all the places she had been. Allran discussed his retirement and where he and his wife should go during it. The head coach had to ask Daniels about Wonder Words. She wasn’t the type of person to mention it first.
Allran will miss those times the most.
The first baseman graduated from Porter Ridge in June and is heading to UNC in the fall. She plans to major in psychology or neuroscience. She will still keep Wonder Words alive, although she’s figuring out how to do that two hours away from home.
She doesn’t know where this motivation comes from. She suspects it’s from her parents and faith.
“(There’s) just so many people in my family just pushing me to just do all the things and be the best person that I could be,” Daniels said.
But wherever it comes from, Allran knows Daniels has made Porter Ridge greater, and he’s thankful for it.
“She made our team better because of the person that she is.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
