By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

The Cherokee County Coaches Association recently announced their scholarship winners for the 2023-24 school year. This year’s recipients are Cedar Bluff’s Kaden Pack and Spring Garden’s Libby Brown.

Pack, perhaps best known this past football season for his 13-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds remaining in the Tigers’ 7-6 football win at Spring Garden which ended a three-year skid against the Panthers, recently finished leading the Tiger baseball team to a Class 1A state playoff appearance – it’s first in three seasons.

Pack posted a .339 batting average and a .429 on-base percentage with three home runs, a triple, eight doubles, 24 RBIs and 22 runs scored. As a pitcher, Pack compiled a 4-4 record in 51 innings on the mound. He gave up 20 earned runs with 61 strikeouts with a 2.74 ERA for the Tigers (16-13).

Brown, who transferred to Spring Garden from Trion, Ga. three years ago, helped lead the Lady Panthers to Class 1A state championships in both volleyball and basketball.

Brown was an Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 1A First Team All-State guard selection in basketball for the state champion Lady Panthers (33-1). She averaged 13.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.4 steals per contest.

Both Pack and Brown are also excellent students in the classroom at their respective schools. Pack has a 3.6 grade point average while Brown has maintained a 4.0 GPA. They’ll both receive scholarships in the amount of $500.

Cedar Bluff first-year baseball coach Colby Coursey calls Pack “a perfect role model.”

“Kaden has shown tremendous leadership since I took over the program. He welcomed me with open arms and was ready to get to work and get the program back to the standard that Cedar Bluff baseball has been used to,” he said. “His hard work in the classroom and on the field cannot be measured. He is a true player’s coach. He is always getting extra reps, working on his game, finding ways to get better all while keeping his grades up in the classroom. He is a great example for our younger kids in the program, school, and community.

“We are super proud of Kaden and all of his accomplishments. It is an honor for him to be recognized by other Cherokee County coaches for his hard work.”

Tiger football coach Garrett Crane also said Pack is “very deserving” of the scholarship.

“He is a phenomenal competitor who always picks up his teammates and elevates the play of everyone around him,” Crane said. “I’m extremely fortunate and blessed to be able to see his maturation as a young man. I pray that he has the opportunity to continue his athletic career.”

Coursey said Pack is receiving college baseball interest from Bryan College and a few other junior colleges.

As for Brown, Spring Garden volleyball and basketball coach Ricky Austin said she’s “very mission driven.”

“You take all her resiliency on and off the court and her personality and it’s just a great blend to represent the Cherokee County coaches’ scholarship,” Austin said.

Austin said Brown had never played volleyball until she did at Spring Garden, but by the time she left the court she became a valuable right-side hitter/blocker for the Lady Panthers (54-5), who won their first state title since 2007.

“She was way behind in volleyball when she first started, but I told her if she would just be patient she was way too athletic not to figure this out,” Austin said. “She got really frustrated early, but her resiliency and wanting to accomplish something she started really stood out to me in volleyball. This year during our state championship run in volleyball she played a critical role.”

Not satisfied with just one state title this past year, Brown helped the Lady Panthers win another in basketball back on Feb. 29. It was Brown’s third state title team she was a part of in the past two years.

“Once again, her resiliency rose to the top,” Austin said. “In basketball, her first year here, we had a lot of players and she didn’t get on the floor a lot, but you could really see the potential and the desire she had to want to learn our system. This year, not only did she grow as a player, but she grew as a leader. Her leadership was something we leaned upon a lot. She did a fantastic job for us.”

Austin said she’s just as fantastic a student in the classroom as well.

Austin noted he’s received several calls from college coaches wanting Brown to come play for them, but she’s made up her mind to become a full-time college student.

“She’s wanting to go into education to become a teacher,” he said. “I’m not sure if she wants to coach, but that may be something that’s in her future. When you see her walk the halls of our school and how she treats the kindergarteners and first graders, it’s almost like she’s a mother hen to them. The love she shows for being around people is really outstanding.

“She’s always willing to give a hand. She’s one of the best organizers I’ve ever seen. She’s a very precise, hard-working, caring person. I don’t have enough words to describe her. We got a gem when she moved here, not only as an athlete but as a person. I expect great things out of Libby.”

The Cherokee County Coaches Association has given scholarships to deserving county athletes since the 2013-14 school year. The first two recipients were Gaylesville’s Cole Murphy and Sand Rock’s Tori Myrick. Last year’s winners were Sand Rock’s Ben Dale and Cedar Bluff’s Haley Allen. A complete list of scholarship winners through the years is listed below.

Cherokee County Coaches Association Scholarship Winners

2013-14: Tori Myrick – Sand Rock, Cole Murphy – Gaylesville

2014-15: Maggie Lyn Lumsden – Sand Rock, John Hill – Cherokee County

2015-16: Abby Stallings – Cherokee County, Jordan McElroy – Cedar Bluff

2016-17: Kaitlyn Rogers – Spring Garden, Race Clausen – Sand Rock

2017-18: Paige Norris – Sand Rock, Riley Austin – Spring Garden

2018-19: Kirby Deboard – Sand Rock, Clark Oliphant – Cherokee County

2019-20: Chloe Clausen – Sand Rock, Eli Bates – Sand Rock

2020-21: Cheyenne Fuqua – Sand Rock, Ryley Kirk – Spring Garden

2021-22: Magge Clowdis – Cedar Bluff, Cooper Austin – Spring Garden

2022-23: Haley Allen – Cedar Bluff, Ben Dale – Sand Rock

2023-24: Libby Brown – Spring Garden, Kaden Pack – Cedar Bluff