Brazos High School rising senior Makinzy Kneip recently announced her verbal commitment to play softball for the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions in Waxahachie. She will join her sister Maddie, a member of Brazos’ Class of 2021, who will run cross country for SAGU this fall.

Makinzy Kneip finished her junior year on the softball diamond as the Cougarettes’ lone first-team all-district honoree at the shortstop position. She then played for the Texas Lady Aces in a summer league and helped register a 16-6-1 final record.

“I just want to first of all give a big thank you to Jesus for everything that He has done and for putting so many great people in my life to help me along my journey,” Kneip said in a June 23 tweet. “Thank you to every coach that has invested into me to make this possible. Also thank you to my family! Y’all have been the best coaches, teachers and support system! I love y’all! I’m so excited to be a SAGU Lion!”

SAGU competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) against 10 other schools, two of which are also in Texas: Texas Wesleyan and Wayland Baptist. The Lions finished the 2021 softball season 25-20 overall and 16-14 in SAC play.

Kneip finished her summer season and had the opportunity to celebrate with the SAGU coaching staff.

“Thank you to Coach Watson, Coach Amber, Coach Barberis, and Coach Barberis for such a great camp and allowing me the opportunity to play as a SAGU Lion,” Kneip said. “I also want to say thank you to my Texas Lady Aces coaches, Coach Danny, Coach Betak, and Coach Bern. Thank you Coach Danny for taking a chance on me and allowing me to play on such a great team!”

She also gave a shoutout to Brazos Head Softball Coach Dustin Nilius, who just finished his second season at the helm of the Cougarettes’ program.

“Thank you to Coach Nilius for taking on Cougarette softball and teaching me so many aspects of the game,” Kneip said. “Also a big thank you to Coach Eddie for being the best hitting coach I could ask for.”