Softball players at Bradenton school form ‘unbreakable’ bond and make program history
The first time Danika Best saw Inspiration Academy’s softball team was during her sophomore season.
At the time, the future Iowa State commit played for Lakewood Ranch High School.
“They were super scrappy,” Best recalls of her first encounter with Inspiration Academy’s softball team. “I could see potential and I was like, ‘I want to play for a team like that.’”
Midway through that year, Best transferred to Inspiration, located next to Palma Sola Park in west Bradenton.
Fast forward to 2024 and Best is the team’s lone senior and became the program’s first Division I signee when she pledged her national letter of intent to Iowa State.
The center fielder, who is hitting .515 with a .568 on-base percentage in eight games, isn’t the only future college player on the roster. The young program also has two juniors committed to Division I schools.
Inspiration Academy softball team makes history
Three Division I commits at one time is the most in program history.
Avery Bouquin, who plays shortstop and catcher, is committed to North Carolina Greensboro, while third baseman Jade Carnahan is committed to Central Arkansas.
“Jade’s like my sister,” Bouquin said about playing on the left side of the infield with Carnahan. “All of them are like my sisters. Me and Jade really have that bond that’s unbreakable. And so when we’re on the field, it’s kind of we know what each other’s next move is going to be.”
The trio are part of a Lions team off to an 8-2 start that is ranked 28th in the state, according to MaxPreps. That’s the highest rank of any team in Manatee County.
However, Inspiration can’t play for a state softball title later this spring, because the school plays as an independent.
“Our goal is to create the best player development process possible,” baseball and softball director Brian Commerford said. “And then in the spring, play the most talented teams we can find. ... We play junior colleges in their preseason. We play junior colleges later in May. We just try to get them as prepared for college as possible at the high school level. That’s our goal for them.”
Softball program honors past player
A driving force behind the program is keeping the memory of a past player alive.
Aubrien Jimenez, daughter of former baseball director Mario Jimenez, lost her battle with cancer in 2022. Since then, Inspiration Academy has honored her by having one softball and one baseball player wear No. 21, the number she wore during the infancy of the softball program, each season.
That player is chosen each year through an academy-wide nomination process. The players chosen get their picture wearing that number featured along with Aubrien’s photo inside a hallway leading out the back of the school toward the batting cages.
“She was an amazing person,” Carnahan said. “She still is and she just means to this school and everyone. She showed a lot of resilience and she was just a great person to be around.”
This year, it’s Michele Will for softball and Will Belmore for baseball.
“(Aubrien Jimenez) wanted her experience with cancer to be a light and to bring other people to Christ,” Inspiration Academy softball coach Anne Gerwitz said.
