Kent State University at Tuscarawas is announcing the signing of a 2024 William Henry Harrison (Harrison, OH) High School senior to their softball team.

On Friday, Alana "AJ" Lemmel signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Golden Eagles.

Lemmel, a pitcher/outfielder, is a two-year letter winner for the Wildcats who play in the Southwest District of the OHSAA. In 2023 she led the Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC) in RBI's and home runs. She also has impressive speed and has been clocked with a time of 2.75 seconds running from home to first base. Her career pitching ERA is 2.641 and she also plays travel softball for the Indiana Gators 18u.

Academically she has taken college prep courses, including five years of Spanish, and has volunteered her time to mentor elementary school students. Her passion to off-field conditioning led to her speed and agility coach to hire her to train fellow teammates.

At Kent State Tuscarawas Lemmel plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in business management.

"I am thrilled to have Alana as part of our program," said Kent State Tuscarawas Head Softball Coach Larry Schall. "She is a phenomenal athlete, is extremely fast and is a huge threat anytime she is on base. She can also cover a lot of ground in the outfield which doesn't open up much room for opposing hitters. Her work ethic is second to none and she will continue to pursue her academics and athletics at a very high level."

Alana Lemmel with her grandmother Ramona Lemmel, sister Addie, mother Carrie, grandfather Randy

Lemmel and father Ryan.

(Photos courtesy of Harrison HS Athletics)