WISE - - We will never know how the 2020 softball season would have turned out for UVA Wise or junior infielder Kalyee Jones, what we do know is that Jones was having arguably the best season by any player in program history. The 2020 UVA Wise Female Athlete of the Year, Jones established single-season school records in batting average (.446), on base percentage (.571), slugging (1.046) and OPS (1.617) before her season was cut short by COVID-19. The Coeburn, Va. native earned the award after being chosen over fellow finalists Liza Akimenko (tennis), Jesse French (lacrosse) and Caitlyn Ross (basketball).

Jones experienced a breakout campaign as a sophomore in 2019 as she belted nine homers and knocked in 31 but, her 2020 season was storybook.

She finished the season as the league leader in slugging while ranking second nationally in the category, her on base percentage was also tops in the South Atlantic Conference while checking in 15th nationally.

In just 24 games, Jones hit nine homers (two shy of the single-season school record), lined 10 doubles, knocked in 23 runs and was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts. The junior produced eight multi-hit games while reaching base safely in all but two games.

Her season began with a bang as she went 6-for-7 with a home run, two doubles, two stolen bases, four runs scored and four RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Virginia State on Opening Day. She would reach base safely in each of the season's first eight games. When the season was cut short, she was in the midst of a 10-for-21 stretch at the plate that saw her homer four times, double five times and knock in 11 runs over an eight game stretch.

Remarkably, Jones had a trio of perfect games at the plate. On Feb. 2, she went 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBI against Virginia State, on Feb. 23, she homered and scored three times in a 3-for-3 game against Lees-McRae before doubling in all three at bats against Tusculum on March 5.

She becomes the second softball student-athlete to be named Female Athlete of the Year since UVA Wise began awarding the award in 2015. Jones also continues a streak for the program, softball has now been home to the Female Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years.