Cousins and Kentucky sports stars Abby, Ellie Hammond happy to ‘experience this together.’

Lexington vs. Louisville.

It’s a passionate, unending rivalry that often exceeds the athletic competitions between the Wildcats and the Cardinals. In a state filled with rich traditions and strong identities, somehow, it still feels necessary to highlight the dichotomy between the commonwealth’s two most populous cities.

Blue vs. red. Horses vs. manufacturing. Metropolitan vs. a more traditional college town.

There’s certainly no love lost between UK’s and U of L’s fan bases, or between the myriad of decorated high school programs from Fayette and Jefferson County frequently vying for KHSAA titles and bragging rights.

However, separated by about a 90-minute drive, Lexington Catholic and Sacred Heart Academy boast two of Kentucky’s most lauded athletes in their respective sports, who just so happen to be cousins: junior Abby Hammond, the Knights’ ace and defensive anchor on the softball team, and senior Ellie Hammond, the Valkyries’ singles tennis champion three years running.

Between the Hammond cousins, the thought of a rivalry is nonsensical. And not just because it’s silly to compare apples and oranges (or, in this case, softball and tennis), but also due to the fact that Abby and Ellie, understandably, prize similar values. Hard work. Athletic excellence. Character. Friendship.

“We both kind of think on the same wavelength, where we know what the other one is thinking,” Abby said. “And so when we talk about our sports, it’s just nice to have someone else that’s on the same page with me. And we’re both very competitive, too, as you’ve probably assumed, but it’s really fun. Just being there for each other and being able to experience this together.”

It doesn’t hurt, either, that they, genuinely, really like each other.

“We’re super close,” Ellie said. “When we were little, we’d see each other all the time. And we were very close then. And now, we’re both so successful in what we do, we don’t see each other near as much. I mean, like I’m in Lexington, she’s at a softball tournament. There’s a family gathering, I’m at a tennis tournament. We don’t get to see each other as much, but we’re still very close. We’re very supportive of each other, not jealous or anything, just supportive of each other being successful in our different sports.”

Fathers, daughters and hard work

This story doesn’t start in either Lexington or Louisville. This story begins in London, Kentucky, with identical twin brothers — and best friends — Mike and Mark Hammond, the fathers of Abby and Ellie, respectively.

Baseball, basketball and football players for Laurel County for the first three years of high school before the school’s split sent the brothers to South Laurel, Mike and Mark did everything together. After graduating high school in 1993, the brothers played baseball and football together at Centre College in Danville. They later moved to Lexington for law school at UK.

“We lived together four years of college, three years of law school,” Mike said. “(We’ve) been sort of inseparable, even though he’s in Louisville now. We talk all the time.”

Abby’s and Ellie’s athletic abilities come as no surprise, especially if one were to look even further into their family’s history with Kentucky high school sports. Mike’s and Mark’s brother, Jay, was a Laurel County quarterback. In 2022, the London Sentinel-Echo reported that Abby’s mom, Emily Hammond, won a girls basketball state championship in 1991 with North Laurel, where her aunts, Amy Hacker Clark and Miranda Hacker also played softball.

But when Mike and Mark had daughters so close in age, there wasn’t much thought given to sports; the brothers simply hoped Abby and Ellie would “be good kids and have fun together.”

“It was neat because they were friends from the get-go,” Mark said. “I never thought they would be awesome athletes. ... And they’ve always been great buddies. Always doing stuff together on vacations, loved watching each other play. So yeah, it’s been fun to watch them grow up together.”

Abby said the four of them have always had a special bond.

“We’re definitely really close, all four of us,” Abby said. “I actually didn’t know when I was 4 or 5 years old who was who. And so I would come up and tap on them and be like, ‘Dad? Not him.’”

Mark practices law for O’Bryan Brown and Toner in Louisville, where he specializes in medical negligence defense and represents doctors, hospitals and nursing homes. Mike, a civil defense attorney, practices law at Landrum and Shouse in Lexington. Their trajectory is necessary when discussing Abby’s and Ellie’s successes because the cousins view them as integral to their growth.

When asked if the fact that they’re both high-level athletes helps the cousins better relate to each other, Ellie noted that, really, it’s the values given to them by their fathers that have opened the door.

“Both of our dads have just ingrained hard work in us,” Ellie said. “So we both have the same things in our head of how to achieve what we need to and that’s made us both the best in the state.”

On the fields and courts

Ellie will also tell you she doesn’t know much about softball, but she’s sure of one thing — “I know she’s a pitcher, and I know she’s the best pitcher out there.”

Abby is the kind of player who didn’t take a single at-bat during Lexington Catholic’s 11th Region semifinal or championship games because, to opposing coaches, it was a safer bet to intentionally walk her. But she’s also the kind of player who doesn’t mind if someone else gets to be the star, so long as her team wins.

Abby Hammond pitched in each of the Knights’ 28 games this season, leading the team to a 26-2 record and a triumphant return to the KHSAA Softball State Tournament after falling short in an extra-innings heartbreaker in the 2023 11th Region championship.

“I think we all knew, and I, for sure, wanted to be back in (the region championship) at the beginning of the year,” Abby said. “Winning this game is truly one of the most exciting experiences ever.”

As a freshman, Abby was named the 2022 Kentucky Gatorade Softball Player of the Year. In September 2023, she announced her commitment to UK, a moment Mike referred to as “a dream accomplished.” Abby followed that milestone with a dominant junior season that included 40 runs (and 13 home runs) on 43 hits in 72 at-bats (.597), and more than 260 strikeouts thrown. Later this week, Abby and her teammates will face offensive powerhouse Montgomery County in the first round of the state tournament for a chance to extend their dream season.

Lexington Catholic senior Lydia Kennedy, whose savvy play at first base and three RBI catapulted the Knights to victory in last week’s 11th Region title game, spoke to what it’s like to play alongside the ace — and her winning positivity.

“She is amazing,” Kennedy said. “There’s not enough words to describe how good she is. She’s just so hardworking. She’s so positive. And we’ve been down a whole lot this postseason, and she has really just picked us up. ‘Come on, guys. We can do this. We can do this.’ And she goes out here and pitches her absolute best, and all we have to do is back her up. You know, she’s just one of the best pitchers out there. And I’m so happy to play with her every day.”

On the tennis court, Ellie has exceeded even the highest of expectations. Entering her senior season with the Valkyries, her sights were set on a three-peat. Since 1960, seven athletes — Waggener’s Pam Sullivan (1961-63), Sacred Heart’s Teri Tafel (1970-72), Presentation’s Bev Ramser (1975-78), Sayre’s Susan Sloane (1983-85), Lexington Christian’s Merritt Emery (2004-06), Sacred Heart’s Carrie Beckman (2018-21) and now Ellie, have won the state singles’ title at least three times.

Beckman, Sacred Heart’s decorated champion, claimed victory in each of her years with the Valkyries, with the only exception being in 2020, when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When Beckman graduated and continued her tennis career at Notre Dame, Sacred Heart head coach Whitney Thompson knew the pressure on Ellie was high. But, step by step, she watched her continue to elevate her game by accessing a deep, genuine passion for the sport. Now, Ellie is preparing to start her own collegiate tennis journey, committed to play for Division I Davidson.

“She’s so unassuming and she came behind some really big shoes to fill,” Thompson said. “And I think a lot of people didn’t think she was capable of it or expect for her to do that, and she quietly just works hard. But the biggest thing is that she loves the game of tennis, and she’s playing for herself because it’s a passion. It’s such a big part of who she is. And when you do that, the sky’s the limit for you because there is an internal drive and so that’s been really, I think, invigorating for the other girls on the team. To see someone love the sport so, so much and what that can take them to.”

So when, in last week’s championship match against North Oldham’s Willow Renton, Ellie hit her stride in the second set of a 7-5, 6-2 victory, the Sacred Heart faithful and its enthusiastic traveling student section erupted with pride.

“It’s meant so much. I mean, Sacred Heart, it’s the best athletics in Kentucky, it’s one of the best athletic programs in the nation,” Ellie said. “To be a huge part of the tennis program here and to be able to bring state championships to Sacred Heart means so much to me.”

Sacred Heart, the winningest girls tennis program in the history of the KHSAA, earned its 36th individual tennis state championship with Ellie’s victory (the Valkyries would quickly win their 37th overall, courtesy of doubles champion duo Lilah Shallcross and Avery Voss). And Ellie, a three-time USTA Kentucky Player of the Year (2021-23) further cemented herself as one of the storied school’s most dominant athletes.

So, of course, several Hammonds were in attendance for the event. That included Abby, who rushed over to the UK tennis courts as soon as she got out of the summer science class she’s taking. Despite the fact that demanding schedules mean less time spent together, the two do their best to support each other in big moments. Abby was in attendance for Ellie’s first two state championships, and made sure she was there to witness the third.

“When I watch Ellie play, I see her,” Abby said. “If she ever gets down, she ever makes mistakes, she pops right back up. And when I watch a lot of tennis … I see people, sometimes they get down on themselves, they get frustrated. Ellie doesn’t do that. She bounces back the next point and she’s just so motivated to be the best version of herself every time she steps on the court.”

▪ Ellie and the Valkyries are competing this week in the inaugural KHSAA Girls’ Team Tennis State Tournament. On Friday at 5:30, Abby and the Knights will face Montgomery County in the first round of the Softball State Tournament.

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