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Chelsea’s Sydney Carroll officially signed with Mississippi State to play softball at a special ceremony where she thanked all her supporters and expressed pride in representing the city in the SEC. (Contributed)

(Reporter Photos/Andrew Simonson)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – Sydney Carroll made her college decision official as she signed to play softball in the sport’s premier conference.

Chelsea’s Carroll officially signed her national letter of intent to play softball at Mississippi State University on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“It is amazing. I am so excited,” Carroll said of her signing. “The coaching staff down there, incredible, so I’m just going to be so blessed. I’m going to be taking care of, everything I need is down there.”

She celebrated her signing with a special ceremony at the Chelsea High School Library with friends and family in attendance.

Carroll gave thanks to her teammates, coaches and family after words from her mother as well as Chelsea softball coach Scott Lowery and girls basketball coach Jason Harlow. Carroll also plays girls basketball for the Hornets and had many of her teammates in attendance as well.

She said that the coaching staff at Mississippi State played a key role in her decision as well as the small-town feel of Starkville, Mississippi.

“Chelsea, Alabama is a small town, so Starkville is a very small town as well, so I kind of get the feel, I was like, ‘This is my home. This is it,’” Carroll said.

As a junior for Chelsea in 2024, Carroll hit 11 home runs off 25 hits, earning a .674 slugging percentage and 1.154 OPS. She secured a Class 7A All-State Honorable Mention and All-County First Team honors and also earned a selection for the North-South All-Star Game in July.

Before that, she was a .400 hitter as a sophomore against 7A competition, earning 32 hits, eight home runs, 23 runs and 22 RBI to secure an All-County First Team place.

Now, entering her senior year with her college decision now cemented, Carroll is working as hard as ever to continue to improve and help the Hornets succeed.

“This makes me so motivated because I know that there’s standards and I want to prove to everyone that I can do better than what I did last year,” Carroll said. “So, senior year, I’m going to come on top.”

Carroll also feels honored to represent the Chelsea community on the biggest stage of softball in the country in the SEC. She knows how many people look up to her throughout the community and feels blessed to take their support with her to Starkville.

“It’s such an honor, because all these little kids, they look up to me,” Carroll said. “I’ve worked with them. I’ve played with some of them. It’s just amazing.”

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