Holden Follows Mother’s Advice, Falls In Love With Softball

Kylie Holden Kylie Holden SS Ocoee | 2028 #14 Nation FL wanted nothing to do with softball when she was little. Her mom, Kamilah Johnson, a Hall of Fame catcher at Bethune-Cookman, encouraged her to at least give it a chance. But Holden had no interest.

But, it turns out, mother really did know best in this scenario.

“She kept begging me and begging me, so I tried around age 7 and I fell in love with it instantly,” Holden said. “I'm really grateful for her to keep trying because I don't know what my life would be like without it. I can't imagine not playing softball now.”

Holden has developed into one of the top recruits in the 2028 class. The Ocoee, Florida, native recently committed to the University of Florida and will stay close to home to play for the Gators. The Gators began tracking Holden's progress at age 12, and she has attended several camps on the Gainesville campus.

“I feel as if Florida is a place where I'm going to be pushed to be better. I'm going to be put around the best of the best,” said Holden, who plays for Unity 18U Johnson. “The coaching staff is really great. But also, outside of softball, I know I'm going to get treated well and I'm going to get taken care of.”

Once she began playing softball, Holden was always the youngest on her team and playing up against better competition. She started at first base, and dabbled at third base. But after getting tired of playing at the corners, she decided to enter the circle.

“I tried to be a pitcher for a little bit, but there is a reason I am not a pitcher anymore,” Holden said with a laugh. “My parents keep it real with me. I have a really good bond with both my parents, especially my dad. My dad basically told me I wasn't good enough at pitching, which was true.”

Holden eventually found a more permanent home at shortstop to further expand her infield repertoire. Offensively, she's an all-around threat.

“I can hit any pitch–in and out of the zone. I have one of the best eyes of the strike zone you'll ever see, in my opinion. My dad says the same thing,” Holden said “I can hit for power. I can bunt the ball. I hit line drives. I can hit wherever you need me to.”

Holden has displayed similar baserunning skills as her mom, who was a leader in steals every season at Bethune-Cookman.

“Kylie's fast, but she's not the fastest runner out there. She's just smart. She knows to anticipate what others are doing on the field. She just has a high softball IQ, and that's kind of how I was,” Johnson said. “It wasn't that I was the fastest player on the team. I was just able to anticipate what was going to be happening next, and it got me where I was.”

Holden is a four-sport athlete at Ocoee High. She plays flag football (quarterback and safety), basketball (forward), and volleyball (outside hitter). The flag football and softball seasons overlap, but her coaches allow her to play both.

“I just love to play every single sport I can,” Holden said. “I've always been around boys, so I've always played football growing up and played basketball. But I didn't start being on an organized flag football team until I got to high school. It's been really fun.”

Holden has an outgoing personality and is “always the loudest person on the field.” Her positive energy was a notable talking point during her recruiting process.

“On every visit that we went on, one of the first things they said was that she's a great teammate,” her mother said. “They told her she's always cheering on her teammates no matter how she's doing. When she gets up to bat or makes a bad play on the field, it doesn't matter. She's always bouncing back. They told her she shows great resilience, and she's always picking up her teammates.”