Stay ready so you can be ready.
It’s a common mantra in sports at just about any level.
Looking back, Kassie Estep knows she wasn’t ready for the rigors of Division I soccer… at first, at least. After putting in a boatload of work following her freshman season in 2024, opportunity knocked, she answered, and she’s since established herself as a key player for the East Tennessee State women’s soccer team.
Thrust into the lineup out of necessity a year ago, Estep started nine matches at center back – a position she had never played before – for the Bucs. Skip ahead to this campaign, and she’s been a reliable presence at the six – or defensive midfielder – for ETSU.
It’s a safe bet her number will be called, if not to start but as one of the first reserves, when the Bucs open Southern Conference play Thursday at home against Mercer (6 PM, ESPN+).
“I love the sport,” Estep said during a recent one-on-one interview with I-81 Sports. “It’s just my favorite thing ever. And I think, growing up, sometimes it becomes more of, not a love, it’s more of like a job. But recently my love for soccer has come back.
“My freshman year was rough,” Estep added. “I just was in a mentally dark place.”
That changed in the spring of 2025, a shift in mindset from a workmanlike “I have to do this” to more of “I get to do this.” As she explained…
“There’s people who would kill to be on the bench, there’s people who would kill to be anywhere on that field, and I was like, I get the opportunity to be here,” she said.
That attitude has proven to be infectious.
“The energy she brings onto the field is unlike no other,” midfielder Abbey Hayberg said of Estep. “Like, she is always the most positive, always complimenting, always ready to make the next play. She’s always just so focused and determined in what she’s doing and not only in practice, but in also games, everything that we do. She’s one of the most hard-working people I know and I think that speaks a lot from the character that she just shows off the field as well as on the field.”
Jada Cooper, currently starting at wing for ETSU, joined Estep as a freshman for the Bucs in 2024.
“I have seen her work behind the scenes, and I’m just so proud that everyone can see the work that she put in now, and she’s getting what she deserves.” Cooper said.
For Estep, that opportunity knocked midway through last season, when she got the call to start at center back.
One twist to that: while Estep had been practicing at the position, she had never played center back in a game, at any level.
Ever. Was it a scary proposition?
Absolutely.
“I was like, I don’t know if I’m going to be good at this,” Estep said. “But the coaches trusted me and I just did my best every day.”
The coaching staff continues to show trust in Estep. She has logged significant shifts in every match this season for ETSU, starting the past five fixtures at the six (aka the defensive midfield position).
“Last year she stepped into that role, took it on, and this year, has moved to a new position and really done very well to establish herself,” ETSU coach Jay Yelton said. “She’s got the East Tennessee grit. Sh’;s just a hard-working kid that wants to do the job for her teammates, and we’re certainly lucky that she can play more than one position.”
Midway through her third campaign of college soccer, Estep was asked if the high-school version of herself would even recognize the skills of the current version of Kassie Estep.
“No,” Estep said. “Absolutely not. … When I was in high school, I didn’t run, didn’t know how to rotate my passing, definitely improved my long balls for sure. Being able to get a ball 50, 60-plus yards up the field, in high school, that would never happen.”
Maybe so, but Estep’s coach for her final two years at Daniel Boone, Ashley Delavega Haren, said she always expected big things from Estep:
“Just the leadership, the person that she is inside and out, the way she keeps Christ at the center of all that, and then she’s a fierce competitor,” said Delavega Haren, who also coached Estep in soccer in middle school. “I knew when she was in sixth grade, this teeny, tiny little girl, I was like, she has big, big plans for her future. … Super proud of her and all that she’s been able to accomplish at ETSU. And we’re excited to see what else she’s able to do.”
Estep also spoke to the importance of her faith in her athletic journey. She writes a different verse of scripture on her leg on the morning of every game day. It helps remind her she’s playing for something bigger than herself.
“The Lord, He has given me the sport,” she said. “There’s people who can’t walk, people who can’t run, people who can’t move their body. And I have been blessed with health throughout my entire life. A few injuries here and there, but He has given me this opportunity not only to go out and play the sport, but also be a disciple on His field.
“And it’s like if someone sees that verse on my leg and goes home and reads the Bible, job well done,” Estep said. “It’s not only for me, it’s just something to do. I get to glorify Him through it.”
Meanwhile, Addison Yelton (Johnson City), whose uncle is head coach Jay Yelton and father is Bucs assistant Matt Yelton, continues to start in goal for ETSU. She’s allowed 10 goals through seven matches, good for a 1.43 goal with 20 total saves.
The contributions of the Bucs’ other locals, who are all reserves, follow:
- Hannah Dawson (Johnson City/Science Hill), 6 games played, 121 total minutes
- Ava Flanary (Kingsport/Dobyns-Bennett), 4 games played, 60 total minutes, 2 shots
- Ary Patterson (Johnson City/Tennessee High), 5 games played, 110 total minutes’
- Megan Burleson (Johnson City/Science Hill), 2 games played, 22 total minutes
Staying in women’s soccer, Cayden Norris (Johnson City/Science Hill) continues to start for Tennessee. She had a stop and a goal allowed in Friday’s Southeastern Conference opener with LSU, a 3-1 victory for the Lady Vols.
College Football
Charlie Browder (Kingsport/Dobyns-Bennett/Christ School [N.C.]/UCF/Tennessee) has 11 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown through three games this season for ETSU. Browder snagged a career-long 44-yard catch last Saturday in a 35-3 loss at North Carolina. Browder’s younger brother, Sam Browder (Kingsport/Dobyns-Bennett/Christ School/Memphis) has started the first three games for the Bucs at left tackle, while Mason Ball (Elizabethton) continues to get regular work at defensive tackle.
VMI punter Ben Shrewsbury (Jonesborough/Daniel Boone) had four attempts for a 45.5 yard average in last Saturday’s 14-3 loss to Bucknell.. Shrewsbury’s longest punt of the day reaped 55 yards.
Volleyball
Makayla Bays (Gate City) finished with 11 kills, a team-high 15 digs, and four aces as ETSU defeated South Carolina at home on Tuesday in five games. It marked the first time the Bucs have beaten a Southeastern Conference opponent since 2018. Through all matches played Sept. 15, Bays ranks sixth in the SoCon in total kills, with 118.
Men’s Basketball
Jack Browder (Kingsport/Dobyns-Bennett/Carson-Newman) has committed to Campbell for a fifth year of college basketball, but there’s still uncertainty as to whether or not he will get to play, as the Tennessee state court decision that granted eligibility to him and others in the graduating high school class of 2022, including BJ Edwards, was stalled by appeal in late August.
Pro Baseball
The 2026 minor league season is winding down and with it the campaign for several players with local or ETSU ties.
Former Kingsport Axmen shortstop and 2025 Appalachian League Player of the Year Kam Durnin hit the ground running after getting drafted in the fourth round by the Astros this summer out of Missouri. Durnin was assigned to the Astros’ Single-A Fayetteville affiliate, hitting .267 with a .785 OPS, two homers, 10 RBIs, and 10 steals.
Infielder Cody Miller (ETSU) finished his season with the Braves’ Single-A affiliate in Rome hitting .202 with a .675 OPS, 15 home runs, 78 RBIs, and 56 steals.
First baseman Cameron Sisneros (ETSU), who was traded midseason from the Cubs to Houston, finished 2026 hitting .241 with a .778 OPS, nine home runs, 55 RBIs, and four stolen bases.
Josh Owens (Johnson City/Providence Academy) finished the season with the Rangers’ Single-A affiliate in Hickory, where he hit .182 with a .477 OPS. Owens, a two-way player who spent the bulk of his 2026 with the Rangers’ rookie affiliate in the Arizona Complex League, finished with a .246/.770 OPS line with nine home runs, 37 RBIs, and six steals. He struck out in 70 of his plate appearances. On the mound, Owens went 0-2 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 14 total outings, nine of them starts.