By Robert Wilson
Jackson Academy’s Kaylee Lowther made history when she became the first Libero to be named the Mississippi Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year since the award began in 1996.
In the process, Lowther’s honor also gave JA its fifth consecutive year of winning the Mississippi volleyball award, the only school in the country to win its state’s Gatorade volleyball award for the past five years. Lakin Laurendine, now playing at Auburn, won it in 2022 and 2023 and Parker Bracken, now playing beach volleyball at LSU, won it in 2020 and 2021. In addition, JA’s Conley Chinn, who was an all-conference basketball player at Belmont University, won the award in 2016.
JA now has had 10 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year winners in the past 11 years. No school in Mississippi has had more in that time period. In addition to the six volleyball awards, JA has won two in cross country (Curt Knight in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons) and one each in baseball (Dakota Jordan 2021-2022) and boys soccer (Emery Thigpen in 2020-2021).
Awards are usually given to, like most other sports, to the players who excel offensively, but Libero is a defensive position, so winning the state award was unusual, normally given to an outside hitter.
Lowther, a senior and Southern Miss signee, was selected an American Volleyball Coaches Association first-team All-American and was named the National Libero of the Year but Scorebook Live. She was named an Academic All-American by the AVCA and an AAU All-Academic team. She was voted the MAIS Division 1 Player of the Year.
Lowther led JA to its fifth consecutive MAIS Division I state championship and a 35-13 record – an 18-1 mark against MAIS teams. JA had 15 shutouts in those 19 MAIS matches, and Lowther was a key reason why.
“I think that this award meant more to me than any other award because it truly shows all the hard work that has been put in and the letters of recommendation meant a lot too because it showed me the support I had throughout the whole process,” Lowther said. “This award shows how dedicated JA is to their volleyball program and how my coaches and teammates pushed each other throughout the year to achieve our goals.”
Lowther and her family moved from Massachusetts to the Metro Jackson area in the middle of her fifth-grade year. She transferred to JA from Germantown High in the middle of her sophomore year.
“Kaylee is remarkable athletically, academically, and as a human,” JA coach Melissa Denson said. “She is by far the best libero I’ve seen in years. The first
year I had the opportunity to help coach Kaylee at Infinity Volleyball Academy on 16 Open I was amazed at her athleticism, grace, and poise. I didn’t know much about her, but it didn’t take long to realize how special she is.
Kaylee’s eye for the court and the game is the best I’ve seen. Her ball control, speed, and ability to make athletic
plays are unmatched. We played the hardest strength of schedule in the state of Mississippi and the hardest
schedule I’ve ever put together for JA. We traveled to Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana to play the best of the best. Everywhere we went coaches asked me who she was. Kaylee had 12 matches this season where she had
20-plus digs. Her highest career digs in a match came against Mt. Caramel from Louisiana in a three-set tournament loss. She had 35 digs. In the MAIS state championship game, she tallied 34 digs. Kaylee passed a 2.6 on the year. She had 605 total receptions with only 36 errors. She can pass the entire court.”
“We are so proud of what Kaylee has accomplished,” JA Athletic Director of Enrichment Aubrey Blackwell said. “She is a leader in our hallways, to her team, and to the younger girls in our program. My sixth-grade daughter (Kayla) who played on the middle school team, always talks about how Kaylee encourages her team and her. When you have a student athlete that’s talented, that’s good for your school, but when you have an athlete that makes a life changing difference to those around them, your school is blessed, and that athlete is special. We’re so thankful for Kaylee on the court, but even more so for the lives she impacts off the court.”
“We are so proud of Kaylee and all she has accomplished,” Southern Miss volleyball coach Jenny Hazelwood said. “She is so deserving of this award, and we can’t wait to have her making an impact at USM.”
JA had a young team this year and Lowther was the glue who kept the team together and was the leader on and off the court.
“New to our court this year we had both outsides, a sophomore setter, a middle blocker, and both right sides,” Denson said. “We also had two starters miss about three weeks of season due to injury and illness. Kaylee was the true leader on the court and really stepped up during this time. The way she carried herself and helped lead the younger ones through the tournaments in Fairhope, Ala., and the Southern Classic was amazing. We ended up beating Brandon, number one ranked in Mississippi, with a freshman and eighth grader on the floor. Kaylee verbally and physically led so well in that match. The girls look up to her, not only for her abilities, but for her strength and kindness she shows to them on and off the court. Our middle school Libero wants to be just like Kaylee when she gets older. Kaylee spends a lot of time investing in our younger girls. The younger player begged me to wear number 33, just like Kaylee. Kaylee always has a huge smile on her face and is such a light to all those she comes in contact with. She is the definition of servant leader. She is on the leadership board for JA athletics and was nominated to be on the leadership team for JA Volleyball. She communicates extremely well and has a desire to make everyone around her better. She is genuine to the core and is sincerely shocked every time she wins an award.”
Lowther is also very community oriented and willing to help others in need.
“Kaylee thinks of others first and works hard in the community,” Denson said. “She has volunteered her time and energy to coach rec league and give lessons to those who may not can afford it. Kaylee does various service projects such as stocking shelves at Shower Power, a facility that provides for the homeless in Jackson, and participating in Operation Christmas Child every year. She is an active member of the service club at Jackson Academy that plugs our students into various opportunities around the community. These opportunities have allowed Kaylee to read to classes, clean up local elementary schools, and work at the animal shelters. Kaylee acts as a lead camp coach for me at Kid’s Camp at JA and is able to organize and run stations without any direction. Academics are extremely important to Kaylee. She takes the most rigorous schedule possible at Jackson
Academy. She does a phenomenal job of balancing academics, service, athletics, and social aspects of her life. She is extremely well rounded. Kaylee is most deserving of this award. Her level of play throughout this year has been consistent and exceeds everyone’s expectations.”
Lowther is the daughter of William and Kristi Lowther. Her older sister is Madison and she is a graduate of Germantown High and is a student at Ole Miss.
