It’s not hard t
o find Summer Lee’s name on the Brantley County High School honor roll; it’s usually near the top. A member of the National Honor Society, she usually makes A’s with an occasional B.
She’s not hard to find on the basketball court either. Look for the ball; chances are, she is somewhere around it. Whether she is bringing the ball up court, draining three-pointers, or leading the break after a steal, the Herons senior is a leader on the court. The crowd cheers at home games when she is introduced as “Summer ‘Can You Feel the Heat’ Lee” as the team runs onto the floor.
Lee is the third of Norman and Tammy Lee’s seven children. “In the old house we had five bathrooms, so it wasn’t so bad,” Lee jokes. Lee and her youngest sister, who is now playing in middle school, are the athletes of the Lee family.
In her first recreation league game at 10 years old, Lee blistered the nets for 19 points, much to the surprise of her parents and the referees. “They were asking if we had just moved to town because they had never seen her play before,” says Lee’s mother. Lee had never played organized basketball until that day.
The following season playing softball, Lee recalled her first big hit during the game that would determine who would play in the state playoffs. With her team two runs down with two runners on base, Lee hit a triple to the left field fence, scoring the two runs, and then scoring the go-ahead run moments later on a base hit.
Coming up in the recreation leagues had a major impact on Lee, who has already started to pay it forward by working with young athletes at the Brantley County Recreation Department in basketball and softball. This season, her 11and12-year-old basketball team made it to the state finals.
Now in his seventh year as coach of the girls’ basketball program at Brantley County High School in Nahunta, Dean Horne has seen Lee progress as a leader on and off the court. “She gives us outstanding leadership,” Horne says of the four-year starter. “She is a great scorer and a great defender, too.”
Lee was named to the All-Region first team in her sophomore and junior seasons. Her mother recalls being amazed at seeing Lee shooting over a 6’3″ Appling County player during a game that season. In a game with the Toombs County Bulldogs, Lee made the most memorable shot of her young career. With the score tied and only three seconds left to play, she took an inbound pass and tossed up the winning shot to make it 44-41.
In her 11th grade year, Lee averaged 18 points per game for the Herons to go with seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists per contest, and an 81 percent average from the free throw line. This season has been a little more difficult for the 5’6″ guard with more opponents double teaming her when she touches the ball.
In the fall, Lee swaps sneakers for cleats to take to the softball diamond, where she plays shortstop and carried the Herons’ highest batting average in her sophomore year. Brantley County went on to win the region championship in 2011, and Lee was named to the second team All-Region squad. She was named first team All-Region in her junior and senior years, leading the Lady Herons to the state playoffs three straight years.
Lee puts on her tennis shoes in spring and takes to a different kind of court for the Herons’ tennis team, where she helped the team make it to the Elite Eight of the state playoffs in 2013.
Away from school, Lee plays with her dog, a Dalmatian named Nike, and she constantly reads books on her Kindle at her home in Hoboken.
The next step for Lee will be college and a future as a marine biologist. Several smaller schools have been actively recruiting her, including the LaGrange College Panthers just north of Columbus. Playing at the next level should be no problem for Lee, whose mother credits sports with teaching Lee a great work ethic and how to be a team player.
Those attributes should get her where she needs to go, according to Horne. “She is constantly working on improving herself. Plus, she understands the game.
Summer Lee’s sports honors:
Sophomore year:
Softball – Second team All-Region
Softball – Highest batting average
Softball – Region champions
Softball – State playoffs (Elite Eight)
Basketball – First team All-Region
Junior year:
Basketball – Averaged 18 points/seven rebounds per game
Basketball – First team All-Region
Softball – First team All-Region
Softball – State playoffs
Tennis – State playoffs (Elite Eight)
Senior year:
Softball – First team All-Region
Softball – State playoffs
SE-AA-01.14-Summer Lee
Academic Athlete
Girls Basketball
Brantley County High School
Nahunta, GA
By Rob Asbell
