Kinley Burrows has been around baseball and softball all of her life, so when it came time to pick a career, she naturally gravitated to sports.
At a glance
At a glance
SCHOOL Jacksonville
CLASS RANK 2 of 165
GPA 4.045
ACT 29
SPORTS Softball, volleyball
COLLEGE Central Baptist
MAJOR Health science
NOTEWORTHY Born Aug. 17, 1998. … Parents are Larry and Stephanie Burrows. … Kinley was a four-year letterman in softball and a two-year letterman in volleyball. … She was selected to the all-state softball team as a senior. … Named Jacksonville Student of the Year her junior year and was named Ms. Jacksonville High her senior year.
Another area outside of athletics, however, may be her destination.
Burrows will attend Central Baptist College this fall and she plans on majoring in health science. Eventually, she plans to get a degree in physical therapy.
"I wanted to go into the sports side of therapy at first," Burrows said. "But I was able to job shadow an occupational therapist who specialized in special needs people. I really enjoyed it. It seems like the thing I want to do."
Burrows received both athletic and academic scholarships to attend Central Baptist. She will continue her softball career after helping Jacksonville High School advance to the Class 5A state semifinals and complete the season with a 26-5 record.
"We had an awesome season," Burrows said. "Being able to do that after it had not worked out for us in the first round the last couple of years was a great feeling. All that hard work we put in finally paid off. There was nothing like it."
Burrows' father, Larry Burrows, is Jacksonville's baseball coach.
"He taught me everything I know about the game and how to play it," Kinley said. "When I was younger, every Sunday we would go hit. He taught me how to work hard and to get what I wanted."
And while Kinley proved her worth on the field as the Lady Red Devils' shortstop, she was just as successful in the classroom.
"I was proud I was able to keep up with everything," Burrows said. "It was a lot of hard work, but everything clicked."
-- Tim Cooper
Sports on 07/24/2016