2026 Female Comeback Athlete of the Year: Laila Hudspeth
UK HealthCare Sports Medicine is proud to present the 2026 Female Comeback Athlete of the Year Award. This award is given to a student-athlete who returned to play after overcoming adversity and injuries that limited their participation in KHSAA competition.
This year’s recipient is Laila Hudspeth, a sophomore at Frederick Douglass High School.
Laila has been a do-it-all athlete for as long as she can remember.
As a seventh-grader in 2022, she made the varsity basketball team right after finishing her JV soccer season with the Broncos. However, she tore the ACL in her left leg a month in the basketball season.
After fully recovering by her freshman season in 2024, she earned a starting spot on the soccer team. Unfortunately, three games into the season, Laila tore the ACL in her right leg.
She returned once again to the soccer pitch in 2025, reclaiming her starting spot and finishing among the team leaders in points before yet another setback — in the Broncos’ final regular-season game, Laila again tore the ACL in her left leg.
Even with managed minutes throughout the season to aid her recovery, she still performed at a high level. Laila finished with 14 goals and 5 assists, becoming one of the top point leaders on the team.
While many would be devastated by this level of adversity, Laila has approached each challenge with resilience and grit, getting right to work again and again for her next comeback.
