It’s a good feeling when you’re a fan or supporter of a team and there is a player in the lineup that you know can do something amazing whenever they come to the plate.

Brookhaven Academy has been blessed to have a few players who fit that bill over the years and the latest slugger on the roster that wears that crown is junior Annaston Poole.

The leader in nearly every offensive category for the MAIS 5A runners-up, Poole has been tabbed as The Daily Leader All-Area Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year for 2023-2024.

Poole had a team-best 63 hits for a BA squad that finished 30-9-1. She had 17 doubles, two triples and six home runs. She scored a team best 42 runs and finished with a team best 33 RBIs. She was selected for the MAIS 5A All-State team at the conclusion of the season.

The daughter of Brookhaven Academy assistant coach Scott Poole, she stole 13 bases as a junior. Poole also plays tennis for the school in the spring.

Watch Poole at the plate and you’ll see a player that stands in the batter’s box with confidence and uses quick wrists, great hand-eye coordination, and natural strength to spray balls to all parts of the field.

The MAIS 5A ranks are rife with talent. East Rankin Academy, a team BA beat last season in the state tournament, had their best player sign with Mississippi State. Parklane Academy, the school that beat the Cougars in the title series, had a senior sign with the mighty Baylor Bears.

A shortstop, Poole and her abilities take a back seat to no one as she’s shown that she’s among the best on the field whenever she steps between the chalk lines.