Like Mother, Like Daughter

Talk about a legacy. When Lely’s Brooke Bledsoe represents Lely in the prestigious Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award competition on Thursday, May 7, she’ll be carrying on a family tradition. In 1995 her mother, who happens to be Lely principal Jennifer Bledsoe, then known as Jenni Thompson, was a finalist as a Lely softball player.

Brooke Bledsoe led her Lely softball team to a district final Thursday night, a 15-0 loss to Barron Collier. Jen Bledsoe was happy to talk about her high-achieving daughter and Lely's overachieving softball team.

“This team, honestly, there's been so much growth and it's just such a great group of girls,” Bledsoe said. "And it's been fun to watch them develop. And there's always just a lot of effort. So I'm very proud of the entire team. Barron is a very talented team. They hit the ball very well."

Brooke will be advancing her college softball career with a scholarship to Southeastern University in Lakeland.

“She's very excited about that,” Bledsoe said. "And I'm excited to watch all that hard work pay off for her.”

Bledsoe feels her daughter may have what it takes to be Lely’s fourth Winged Foot Award Winner, and first since Eric Beights won it in 2002. She was happy to run down her daughter’s accomplishments.

“She's got a 5.48 GPA,” Bledsoe said. "That's all earned. Earned the AICE diploma. She's full-time dual enrollment with Florida SouthWestern. Brooke is a four-year letterman on the softball team, three years as captain. She's a three-year letterman in volleyball and district and regional champion in weightlifting. She's had an incredibly well-rounded experience at Lely. She's very involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and FCA leadership, and National Honor Society.

Bledsoe’s batting average is every bit as eye-popping as her GPA. As a senior, she’s hit for a .510 average, which is actually a bit lower than her four-year career average of .515. She has 103 career hits, 14 triples, and 31 doubles. She’s also an outstanding fielder with great range and a .997 fielding percentage at her shortstop position. She’s a career .964 fielder.

The Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award ceremony will be held at the Ritz-Carlton. This year’s guest speaker is Tom Crean, ESPN college basketball analyst, whose coaching career includes stops at Marquette, Indiana, and Georgia.