05/30/2026
Layna! BSN Player of the year! Congrats, Layna! You had an amazing Junior year! Let’s go! 💚🤍🐾
BSN SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: MELBOURNE’S LAYNA AYALA REPEATS AS BSN PLAYER OF THE YEAR: AWARD PRESENTED BY Gamerz R' Us
BSN WILL ANNOUNCE OUR ALL-STAR SOFTBALL TEAM MONDAY
Some awards require debate. This one did not. It was unanimous.
For the second straight season, the Melbourne Bulldogs’ Layna Ayala was named the best softball player in Brevard County by Brevard Sports Network.
She had competition right on her own team in Madison Rider and Kami Potts, and Eau Gallie had a few players who were in the conversation, but Ayala, a Florida State commit, not only repeated as BSN Softball Player of the Year, she somehow elevated her game to an even higher level.
In winning the award last season, Ayala batted .495 with 16 home runs and 46 RBIs.
This season, Ayala captured the Brevard County Triple Crown, leading the county in batting average (.580), home runs (13) and RBIs (55).
The RBI total not only led Brevard County, it led the entire state of Florida. Her 13 home runs were the most in Brevard County and ranked second in the state.
She helped lead Melbourne to a 27-2 record, a regional final appearance and one of the most successful seasons in program history.
Think about that for a moment. In one of the toughest softball states in America, in the toughest classification in the state (6A), Ayala finished first in Florida in RBIs and second in home runs.
That alone would make for a remarkable season, but the deeper you dig into her numbers, the more impressive they become.
Ayala finished with 51 hits (led team), 42 runs scored and seven triples, which were second best on the Bulldogs.
Her nine doubles were tied for the team lead.
She led the Bulldogs with a .621 on-base percentage, a staggering 1.284 slugging percentage and an eye-popping 1.905 OPS.
Those are video-game numbers, and unlike many elite hitters around the state, Ayala wasn’t compiling those numbers against weak competition.
Melbourne played one of the most difficult schedules in Florida. The Bulldogs faced opponents who combined to go 360-233, a .607 winning percentage.
That schedule included:
One state champion
Two state runners-up
Two Final Four teams
Two regional finalists
Five regional semifinalists
The Bulldogs routinely faced elite programs including Doral Academy, Bartow, Coral Springs Charter, Bloomingdale, Cornerstone Charter Academy, Eau Gallie, Lake Brantley, Lake Mary, Oviedo, St. Cloud and Steinbrenner.
And Ayala never slowed down.
Against Eau Gallie, she went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Against Cornerstone Charter Academy, a Final Four team, she went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a home run.
Against Doral Academy, one of the top-ranked teams in Florida all season, she homered. Against Astronaut, she went 3-for-4.
Against Oviedo, she went 4-for-5 with five RBIs and two home runs in two games.
Against Viera, she went 7-for-7 with seven RBIs, three doubles, a triple and a home run across two meetings.
When the competition got better, Ayala often got better with it.
She recorded 13 multi-hit games and reached base at an elite level all season long.
What made Ayala special wasn’t simply the power. It was the complete package.
She hit for average. She hit for power. She drove in runs. She scored runs. She stretched singles into doubles, doubles into triples and changed games every time she stepped into the batter’s box.
Opposing pitchers had no answer and perhaps the most impressive statistic of all?
She struck out only eight times the entire season. Eight. In 97 plate appearances.
Power hitters aren’t supposed to have that kind of bat-to-ball ability.
Yet Ayala combined elite contact, elite power and elite production into one of the best offensive seasons Brevard County has seen in recent memory.
By season’s end, there was little left to prove. The numbers were overwhelming.
The competition was elite. The production never stopped.
In the field, playing the hot corner, she was just as good. She recorded 92 total chances, the most of any player who was not a catcher, and made just three errors. That’s an unbelievable .967 fielding percentage at third base.
For the second straight season, Layna Ayala wasn’t just one of the best players in Brevard County. She was the standard.
And that’s why the Melbourne star is once again the BSN Softball Player of the Year.
Ayala keeps the award at Melbourne for the third consecutive year and fifth time in the past six years.
Jazzy Francik won the honor in 2021, 2022 and 2024, with Ayala taking the honors in 2025 and now again this season.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2021 JAZZY FRANCIK MELB.
2022 JAZZY FRANCIK MELB.
2023 SKYLAR WAGGONER VIERA
2024 JAZZY FRANCIK MELB.
2025 LAYNA AYALA MELBOURNE
2026 LAYNA AYALA MELBOURNE
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School Softball
06/17/2026
06/16/2026
06/06/2026
06/03/2026
05/30/2026
05/30/2026
05/27/2026
05/27/2026
05/27/2026