Daily News Journal All-Sports Female Athlete of the Year for 2023-24 is MTCS' Anna Clay Shirley

Middle Tennessee Christian School's Anna Clay Shirley hopes the best is yet to come for her athletic career.

The junior already has made a big name for herself around the Murfreesboro area, bursting onto the scene as one of the top volleyball and girls basketball players since her eighth grade year.

As a sophomore, Shirley had both individual and team success, being named first-team all-area in volleyball and basketball. She has been named Daily News Journal 2023-24 All-Sports Female Athlete of the Year.

"I think it was a pretty good year," Shirley said. "I'm hoping for more next year. I felt like we finished short (of state titles), and that will make us hungrier for more and ready to come back stronger."

Shirley helped lead the Cougars volleyball team to a third-place finish in the TSSAA DII-A state volleyball tournament as an outside hitter. The first-team all-area performer was the district co-MVP, collecting 515 kills, 444 digs and 41 aces to lead MTCS to 42 wins.

"My go-to description for Anna Clay is that she's the ultimate competitor," said former MTCS volleyball coach Troy Berry. "If she's playing the game, she's trying to win. It's funny to see that in such a young athlete, but that's her mindset.

"There's no hard feelings or anything, but she's going to compete, no matter if it's a practice, a team bonding or whatever. That allows her to take a lot of the emotion out of the big moments, She's just so laser-focused on the task at hand. It allows her to rise to the big moments."

The 6-foot guard was also a first-team all-area basketball performer, averaging 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 36% from 3-point range. MTCS reached the Middle Region tournament after having reached the DII-A state championship game each of the previous two seasons.

Shirley was named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association all-state teams in both sports.

Playing at a high level in both as a sophomore wasn't easy, but something that seemed effortless watching her play.

"Yes, it can be (difficult), for sure," Shirley said. "That and balancing schoolwork and everything. I just focused on what I needed to focus on and not get overwhelmed. I don't do travel volleyball anymore, so I had to be really intentional in the weight room and stuff to help me get stronger and jump higher. That really benefitted me in volleyball."

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Shirley has been busy in the offseason playing AAU basketball and attending team camps with the Cougars. She rarely takes a day off from the gym. She hopes that dedication helps lead to more success both individually and for her teams.

"I would definitely say winning a state championship is a goal of mine (for 2024-25) in either sport," Shirley said. "I just want to get better and improve in everything I do."

Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Daily News Journal All-Sports Female Athlete of the Year for 2023-24 is MTCS' Anna Clay Shirley