Things have slowed down for Makinley Ensey. Just a little bit.
A three-sport athlete, Ensey is currently awaiting the March 2 start of softball season after basketball season ended on Monday.
The junior had walked onto the basketball court immediately after volleyball season with less than a month to prepare for the change.
The change from volleyball to basketball was from primarily a JV role to one of starting and her current change is from that starting role to the most crucial starting role in that of the team's ace pitcher.
Consequently, Ensey has been exercising a dual focus for weeks because the junior is expected to toss most of the pitches thrown by the Lady Bearcats this season.
“I’ve been working really hard the last couple months to try to build up my speed with my pitching coach Rick (Nelson),” Ensey said. “Coach Simpson is trying to get some of our other players like Cam (Parish) and Presley (Walker) to give me some help.”
But still, it is her job and she has planned accordingly.
“Every weekend I’d put some work in because during the week I would be busy with the other sport, said Ensey. “Even small things like throughout the week when I couldn’t do too much because it’s basketball season, I’d sit and just work on my finger grip, my spin and things.”
Basketball would sometimes bleed over into the weekend for makeup games due to weather or other factors. Ensey still managed to work.
“If on Saturdays I wasn’t able to pitch, Sundays was my key day to lock down on softball. I reserved that for softball only,” she said.
Last season Ensey appeared in 80 percent of the games, threw almost two-thirds of the innings, and accounted for 12 of the 19 wins. She started 15 of the final 17 games.
Tori Nobles, then a freshman, accounted for the rest of the innings but has since transferred.
“Mak really stepped up for us last season,” said Lady Bearcat head coach Chad Simpson. “She earned the staring pitcher role midway through the season with a great first half of the year, and never looked back.”
Ensey is accustomed to throwing a lot of innings – she has been doing it since she was 8 years old – but she likes the idea of taking her turn at the plate, too.
“Before last year I’d play the outfield (for the Lady Bearcats) because we had Lexi (Franklin) who did all the pitching and she was absolutely amazing,” Ensey said.
As a freshman Ensey had 62 plate appearances – she hit two home runs on the season and recorded a hit in a state tournament game – but she had only three at bats year ago, with a single hit. That is not expected to be the case in 2026.
“I’m expecting big things out of her this season in the circle and at the plate,” said Simpson.
Ensey’s day includes a fashion and design class, pre-calculus/trigonometry, economics, AP literature, a period in which she has two classes – health and a sign language course – and chemistry.
Ensey is the daughter of Kaila and Eric Ensey. She has a younger sister in the sixth grade, Hadley.
ENSEY EXPECTED TO THROW A LOT OF INNINGS IN 2026
