Prep Athlete of the Week: Aleah Brooks, Cheyenne Extreme

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - The Cheyenne Extreme 18U softball team just returned from Rocky Mountain Nationals in Salt Lake City, and Aleah Brooks had a monster stretch at the plate during the tournament.

She put her power hitting on full display, and said that she credits her pop to some technical adjustments to her swing.

”After my hip surgery it was more like hand stuff, and I think that’s what got me really back into my swing. I got top and bottom hand work, so I’m really seeing the ball well in that aspect. Then obviously my lower half, that’s where all the power is coming from. So just making sure that my hips are in the right spot at the right time, and that they’re firing at the right time, and I think that was probably the biggest thing,” Brooks said.

That work certainly paid off, because Brooks put up video game numbers to help her team to a third place finish. Across eight games in Utah, she had eight extra base hits-- which accounted for over half of her total hits during the week. Even more impressively, six of those knocks left the park.

When examining her entire body of work throughout this tournament, the numbers are arguably even more eye popping. Brooks was 14 for 19 in total at the plate, good for a .737 batting average and a .773 on-base percentage. With those stats, one can expect that the scoring production will be off the charts; she drove in 13 runs while crossing home 14 times herself, and all of this offense is coming from someone who’s entering just her junior year of high school.

Brooks said that despite being a younger player, she already feels like she’s becoming a leader on her team and has learned a lot from the older girls.

”I do feel like I’ve stepped into a leadership role, just because Coach [Adam Galicia] is always telling me I lead by example. I always work hard, I’m always giving 110 [percent] just because I care about the sport, and I’m always trying to get better. But I see older girls like Trista Stehwien and Gracie Oswald, and they’re always pushing me to be my best, and then it just makes me want to push the younger girls on the team too,” Brooks said.

Congratulations to Aleah Brooks on her dominant performances on a national stage.

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