NEW ALBANY – It’s been a fun two years for New Albany boys soccer.
After never winning a North half title, the Bulldogs have now done it in back-to-back years, winning over 40 games in that span. One of their biggest pieces is now getting his due.
Grayson Alexander is the 2024-25 Daily Journal Boys Soccer Player of the Year. He becomes the first Bulldog to ever win the award.
“It's a good feeling,” Alexander said. “I've worked hard. God's given me the opportunity to come out here and give it my all, and it feels good to let it shine.”
The sophomore striker let it shine this past season with 36 goals and 11 assists. Much of his individual and the team’s production came from improved finishing skills.
“That was a big problem, before anybody really started working,” he said. “And connecting with teammates definitely helped. We had a lot of seniors this year, and they definitely helped.”
Alexander has helped raise the standard at New Albany with his work ethic, which includes hard work on and off the field all year. His teammates have taken note and the results have shown in spades.
“Other players have started to imitate him and the extra work that he puts in off the field outside of practice hours,” coach Austin Baker said. “And so he has those expectations for himself and other players see the progress that he's made over the last couple years, and so now they're like, ‘Oh, this is what it takes’.”
This year’s road to Ridgeland did not come without its bumps. New Albany went down to Leake Central for its quarterfinal game and found itself down 1-0 early in the second half. Later on, Abraham Tinajero found Alexander right in front of the net on a free kick, and he put the pass into the back of the net. The Bulldogs wound up winning 2-1 in extra time.
“We had a whole lot of passion in that game,” Alexander said. “It was kind of slow, especially in the beginning, and they came out and scored, but Abe, he can play a ball like nobody else, and we just connected, and I laid it in there.”
Alexander’s passion doesn’t show itself that often, but when it does, it has a great effect on the team.
“He's a fiery guy when he scores, but other than that, he's really calm,” Baker said. “But the players see his passion, and when they see his passion, when your top player is scoring goals and encouraging people, it's a great thing to see.”
