Change is the watchword at Dayton, a small high school with big plans. Even though the Greendevils represent one of the tiniest high schools in the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference with fewer then 300 students, changes of late have been massive.
Since last April, Dayton has broken ground on transformative million-dollar projects. The 101-year-old school has experienced turnover at important positions in the administration, especially within the athletic department. Dayton athletes have been flying below the radar with significant accomplishments. Here is a round-up of some of the more notable developments.
SULLIVAN JOINS 1,000 DIG CLUB
Dayton senior volleyball player McKenzie Sullivan parlayed a monster senior season into a milestone year. Sullivan, a libero who can play multiple positions, ranked seventh in Kentucky with 6.94 digs per set in 2024. Sullivan was northern Kentucky’s digs average leader by a wide margin over second-place Madison Stelzer of Calvary Christian. Stelzer averaged 6.04 digs per game.
“There are a lot of good athletes at Dayton and McKenzie Sullivan got her 1,000th career dig,” said Dayton athletic director Ben Adams. He’s been on the job less than six months.
“There’s been a lot going on,” Adams continued. “A new stadium is being built. Many improvements are being made. Our new assistant principal, Brian Volpenhein, has coached basketball at Dayton and Beechwood. We have a new baseball coach. A lot of accomplishments.”
Sullivan stands out. She was ninth statewide in total digs with 604 in 87 sets this past season. Only Notre Dame Academy’s Julia Grace had more digs among area volleyball players with 647. Sullivan’s senior dig number brought her career total to 1,142. She began her Dayton volleyball career in the eighth grade. Sullivan had 383 digs as a junior, giving her a whopping 987 digs her final two seasons, second only to Grace among local players.
That’s not all. In softball, Sullivan is approaching career milestones of 100 career hits, 100 runs scored and 100 stolen bases. In her three-year career, the shortstop has 72 hits, 81 runs and 78 steals in 84 attempts. Last season, Sullivan ranked among Kentucky’s top 50 hitters and was among the area’s top 10 with a .516 batting average. She also won five games and had a save in the pitcher’s circle. Sullivan batted .420 as a sophomore. The 2025 season under coach Beth Fields begins March 24 against Newport Central Catholic at Newport Vets.
Sullivan scored 274 points for the Dayton girls basketball team before ending her career to concentrate on other sports. She was third on the basketball team in scoring as a sophomore with 151 points. She averaged 5.2 per game. Though she was one of the better basketball players at Dayton, she did not play as a junior and senior.
JIMENEZ NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Girls basketball player Axie Jimenez was named to the 9th Region All “A” Classic all-tournament team. The freshman guard scored a team-high 20 points in Dayton’s first-round loss to Bellevue. She was two off the game high of 22 points by Bellevue’s Jayda Dowell. Jimenez, whose family is from Honduras, converted six of seven 3-point attempts against Bellevue and added four rebounds.
“The All “A” was finished last night, so she doesn’t know it because we had a game (against Ludlow),” Lady Devils basketball coach Laura Hall said of the honor for Jimenez. “She will receive it today at practice.”
Jimenez is among team leaders in several categories. She led the Greendevils with 13.4 points per game entering the week. She was third with 6.4 rebounds. Jimenez was shooting 36% (31-for-86) from 3-point range, which led the regulars.
Jimenez is averaging nearly 20 points over the last four games. Her 20 points against Bellevue came in the first game of the new year. She scored a game-high 24 against Eminence while posting a double-double, adding 11 rebounds, in the last game of December.
EVANS ERUPTS DURING TWO-GAME STREAK
Senior boys basketball player Cayden Evans enjoyed a stellar two games in the back half of December. Evans scored a game-high and career-best 27 points in an 86-42 home win over Robertson County on Dec. 17. It was more points than the Greendevils scored as a team in their season opener when they had 26 against Newport, 12 of which were scored by Evans.
Evans shot 9-for-17 from the field and 4-for-8 from 3-point range against Robertson County. He was 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Evans added four rebounds in the contest.
The day before in a 61-39 home win against Calvary Christian, Evans dropped in a team-high 16 points. The shooting guard added six rebounds. The 24-hour rampage gave Evans a two-day scoring average of 21.5, more than twice his season average. He averaged 4.2 points in the five games between the opener and the two-game scoring streak. He had seven career points entering the season.
DAYTON BOWLERS ROLLING ALONG
Bowling season was barely underway in late November when Dayton bowlers began bedeviling the competition. Giving the Greendevils reason to celebrate were the unified team bowlers.
Nick Holaday and Jordan Dyer teamed up for a runner-up finish at the 5th Region Unified Tournament. Both players are from bowling families. Dayton’s Lyssa Mullins and CJ Soukup came in ninth at the event. Gatlin Erdman and Malik Sinclair placed 10th.
The Greendevils are gearing up for the regional tournaments later this winter. Despite the school’s size, Dayton has had a lot of team and individual success at the regionals.
FIRST-YEAR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR SETTLING IN
Among the many changes at Dayton is the one made at the top of the athletic department. Adams has been on the go since his hiring in the official capacity of district director of athletics at Dayton Independent Schools in July. He’s also a Credit Recovery Teacher in the district.
Adams arrives at a critical juncture in Dayton athletics history and has already been part of some momentous occasions. In April, a few months before he arrived, Dayton celebrated the groundbreaking of a $14 million project creating an on-campus sports complex and learning space unifying the high school and elementary schools. The project is expected to be completed this year. It includes a new football field, replacing venerable O.W. Davis Field. Adams was there when Dayton played its last game at the 90-year-old venue in October. The first game at the new stadium is slated for August.
“It’s an opportunity to come in and have a positive impact, and the new football stadium is a very exciting thing,” Adams said. “This is a unique community in this corner of the river city area. Dayton is a small school with a great history, and it can be tough to compete when you’re this small. But I enjoy the David vs. Goliath atmosphere. It’s a challenge but it’s what I’m built to do, and I’m enamored with that aspect of it.”
Adams has also been an adjunct assistant professor of sports administration at the University of Cincinnati, where he’s been teaching since 2018. He’s formerly an adjunct professor of business at the University of Pikeville, where he also head-coached men’s and women’s tennis. The University of Louisville graduate has nearly 10 years of experience as a tennis coach.
NEW BASEBALL COACH READY TO ROLL
The Dayton High School baseball season is just round the corner with a March 27 season opener against Calvary Christian at Meinken Field in Covington. Presiding over practices is new head baseball coach Justin Farr, who like Adams also has college educational ties and wears many hats.
Farr is an associate professor of exercise science at Thomas More University, where he’s also been wrestling team trainer and director of the school’s Quality Enhancement Plan. Farr brings to Dayton 10 years of baseball coaching experience. He also has 18 years under his belt as a college and high school baseball umpire. He is a graduate of the Wendelstedt School of Professional Baseball Umpires.
“The Greendevils are positioned to have a great opportunity to be successful on and off the field,” Farr said. “With the investment the school and community are making in the athletic programs, we have a bright future.”
Senior Chad Nickell is Dayton’s top returning hitter. Nickell, who plays infield, outfield and pitches, batted .409 last season, second on the team. He tied for the team lead with seven doubles and hit the Greendevils’ lone home run. He also led the team in runs scored and RBI and was second with 16 steals in 17 attempts.