Slugger with a Gift: Numbers pale in comparison to heart of Quitman’s Maggie Guyotte
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
The best pitcher in school history had graduated and was off to LSU when senior shortstop Maggie Guyotte heard some of the doom and gloom associated with the immediate future of Quitman softball.
The Lady Wolverines had won the back-to-back Class B state championships – the first two in school history – where they lost one of the program’s most celebrated pitchers in Cali Deal who signed with LSU.
Guyotte took notice of the naysayers who were predicting a bit of regression when the Lady Wolverines played without the feats of Deal in the circle for the first time since 2020.
“There were definitely people talking and saying we weren’t going to do anything,” said Guyotte, the team’s lone senior this season. “We all knew we had the capability to do anything. I think this year we’ve put in the most work. I feel like we’ve been more disciplined.
“I’ve tried to make sure I’ve held myself accountable and if I can, I’ll hold someone else accountable,” said Guyotte. “I’m not afraid to tell them, ‘Just to work on this, or work on this.’ I’m not going to do it in a rude way. It’s like a teammate type of thing. I try and hold myself to the highest standards. If they see me slip, they’ll slip. I try not to.”
She’s been on solid ground the entire season, setting the requisite examples for her team to follow.
Guyotte has enjoyed a career equal to that of Deal. She’s a six-year starter, breaking into Quitman’s starting lineup in 2021 as a seventh grader, and has become not only one of the school’s greatest hitters, but one that’s on par with some of the best nationally.
She’s highly thought of enough to land on the Class B All-State first team three straight years and six months ago signed with Louisiana Tech to continue her playing career 15 minutes from home.
When No. 2 Quitman (23-9) faces No. 3 Hicks (20-3) in a Class B state semifinal at noon Saturday, Guyotte will look to continue her role in her team’s success in what will be her final state tournament at Frasch Park in Sulphur.
“It’s pretty bittersweet,” she said. “I’m grateful to be able to have all of the opportunities I’ve been able to have. It’s been fun and I’m just trying to enjoy every single second of it. Enjoy every minute I have with my team and just have fun. There’s no point in doing any of it if I’m not out there just having fun.”
Quitman, which has won its last 10 games, is looking to join Holden, Florien, and Chaneyville as schools that have won at least three straight Class B state titles.
The Stanley-Anacoco winner awaits either Quitman or Hicks for the state championship game at 3 o’clock on Sunday.
“We made it to state when Maggie was a seventh grader,” Quitman softball coach Justin Dodson said. “She was hitting in the 3-4 hole, and we got beat (9-8) in semifinals by Anacoco. From that moment she just kept getting better and better.”
The 5-foot-9, left-handed-hitting Guyotte is the youngest of six children and the product of an athletic family.
She had two sisters who provided the blueprint she wanted to follow on a softball diamond, especially her older sister Lindsey who was a pitcher.
“I grew up at the softball field,” Guyotte said. “As soon as I could, I was out there with them in a stroller just rolling around. I grew up on the field. I was always there and also being able to see my sister’s successes, and being around that environment, it made me love it.
“It made me want to be like her,” Guyotte said. “I also wanted to be like my big sister. She was my biggest role model. I wanted to be just as good as her. She’s everything I looked up to in softball. Now that I’m getting to do it, getting to play on the same field she played on, it was a big dream come true for me.”
Guyotte thrived in softball and by the time she was 11-12, was playing against girls two years older. That level of competition introduced her to keener battles, particularly against out-of-state teams.
“I was seeing a lot of different pitching, more experienced pitchers,” she said.
Every weekend brought Guyotte face to face with some of the nation’s top up-and-coming prospects, who were some of the elite players on the travel ball circuit that were earning notice from top colleges across the country.
It was commonplace for Guyotte to step into a batter’s box to try to solve a pitcher that was already committed to a Power 4 Conference school.
“I would see these big commits, it was kind of crazy to have those at-bats,” she said. “It makes you realize any pitcher that I faced, no matter what, I can do it because I’ve seen it.”
Because Quitman’s a K-12 campus, athletes can begin playing varsity sports in the seventh grade.
Dodson saw Guyotte hit a home run on the school’s junior high team in sixth grade and relished the day he could bring him over to the varsity team where Deal waited and provided Quitman with quite a force.
With her natural ability and travel ball background, Guyotte’s name was written in Dodson’s lineup card as a seventh grader, where she’s remained a fixture for the past six years.
“I knew she would have some talent coming in when she was in sixth grade,” Dodson said. “I knew she was going to college ball by the time she was in the seventh and eighth grade. Her older sister pitched for Quitman when they were (state) runner-up to Anacoco (2012) and Florien (’14, ’15).”
Guyotte didn’t look like a 12-year-old seventh grader and certainly didn’t play like one. She batted .436 with seven homers, 15 doubles, and 38 RBIs.
She was just getting started.
Guyotte batted .500 or better (.516) in her first of three straight seasons with 11 homers, eight doubles, and 46 RBIs.
“There’s been a lot of people in the state to have similar playing time, too,” Guyotte said. “I didn’t realize I had those kinds of numbers. It’s incredible that I was able to do that. That’s never why I’m playing the game for. I’ve never really worried about my stats. So, what if I go 0-for-3 or hit two home runs in a game, I’m playing for my team and not really for myself.”
The first two years of varsity experience set the stage for Guyotte’s breakout season as a freshman.
Career highs in batting average (.585), slugging percentage (1.264), home runs (21), and RBIs (60) helped Quitman to the first of three successive trips to the state tournament, falling 2-1 to Converse in the state final.
“I was killing the ball that year, I couldn’t miss,” Guyotte said. “That was the year people kind of found out who I was. We played a decent schedule that year.”
Opposing teams began treating Guyotte with caution when she stepped to the plate. Three years with 39 homers and 144 RBIs, and a near .500 batting average, were enough reasons to either pitch around her, or simply give her a free pass, and take their chances with other players.
“We played a harder schedule my sophomore year,” said Guyotte, who hit .550 with 10 homers, 60 hits, 53 RBIs, and a career-best 19 doubles. “I was also getting pitched around a lot and I was trying to make that adjustment.”
That trend continued in 2025 when Guyotte dealt with career lows in batting average (.423), slugging percentage (.724), homers (9), and RBIs (34), but that didn’t deter Quitman from successfully defending its title with an 8-1 win over Stanley.
“Last year was actually my worst,” she said. “It’s one of those things where you go through a big slump. I still hit nine home runs. It wasn’t the best, but I was getting pitched around a whole lot. I still had a good batting average and got on top of a lot of hits.
“I’ve never minded taking walks,” she said. “I know having a runner on base is just as good. I’ll take anything if it helps us get a win. I’m just as hyped for that because I know the people behind me are going to do just as good.”
Guyotte didn’t permit her hitting to affect other areas of the game. She played a terrific shortstop and when opponents managed to make weak contact against Deal, she was there to throw the ball across the field for an out.
She was also very valuable in the circle when Quitman lost the services of Deal for more than three weeks because of thoracic outlet syndrome, helping the Lady Wolverines remain on course for another trip to the state tournament and a state crown that Deal had returned for.
“I think I’m pretty solid on defense,” Guyotte said. “I don’t make too many errors. I try and do simple things. I don’t try to be too flashy. I try to make the plays that I can make. If there’s a ball I can dive for, I’m going to lay out for it and try and be the best. You have to be pretty equal at both (hitting and defense) things. Hitting’s the thing that people see the most. I feel like I’m just as good on the defensive side.”
Louisiana Tech was the destination on Guyotte’s radar from the time she began attending hitting camps in Ruston. She, in turn, was also in the Lady Techsters’ crosshairs every time they saw the young girl from nearby Quitman show up and show out.
There was a particular camp, in the eighth grade, when Guyotte felt she rose to the level of being a legitimate college prospect.
“I was killing it, hitting the ball all over,” she said. “When they asked which grade I was in and when I said eighth, they were like, ‘Oh wow.’ That year got me on their radar for the future. I continued going back. I constantly went to prospect camps and hitting camps.
“I think deep down I knew I wanted to stay close to home,” she said. “I’m a big homebody. Anytime I tried going to other camps I just didn’t feel the same. Being this close to Tech has been amazing to be able to have that opportunity to go there.”
Like Deal, Guyotte was also a small-town girl from a community of 158 in Jackson Parish with big-time talent that would take her places.
If not for a wedding, Louisiana Tech would have offered Guyotte a scholarship on the actual first day in 2025 when overtures could be extended. Coach Josh Taylor called a day later with an offer and a date in October for her to visit the campus.
“I wanted to make sure with everything,” she said. “I had another school that was calling me, but their coaching staff completely changed, and I didn’t know how I felt about it. I think I kind of knew. I wanted to think about it and really make sure that’s where I wanted to be.”
Guyotte emphatically chose Louisiana Tech where she signed in November during a ceremony in her school’s gymnasium.
“It was packed out,” Guyotte said. “A lot of people talked like my coaches and my youth pastor. It was really special. I got to be around all the people I was closest to and they got to experience that with me. It was really a blessing. Everyone in my family and at the school was so supportive.
“I was so happy, a little bit emotional, but more realizing that I made it,” Guyotte said. “I got to be right where I wanted to be. Having those people in that moment was pretty awesome. To have that behind me is just amazing.”
Taylor praised Guyotte, a projected third baseman, for her ability that can impact his program.
“Maggie is a strong, left-handed hitting corner infielder who plays with toughness and pride,” he said during signing day.“Coming from right here in Quitman, she understands what Louisiana Tech softball is all about — family, hard work, and competing for something bigger than yourself. We’re proud to keep this local talent close to home and can’t wait to watch Maggie grow into a difference-maker in our program.”
The opportunity to play college softball has a deeper meaning to Guyotte.
The person she idolized the most, her sister Lindsey, also had a career path set when she committed to pitch at South Alabama. Unfortunately, though, that never materialized because of a shoulder injury.
Now, Guyotte wants to live out her own hopes and dreams and create the footsteps her sister wasn’t able to take.
“She was the biggest name in high school,” Guyotte said. “She still holds a couple of pitching records. She was the stud pitcher and was really incredible.
“A part of me is doing it for her just because she always tells me that she regrets it and wishes that she could do it,” Guyotte said of Lindsey, now a nurse practitioner in Monroe. “Seeing me and what I have, she just loves it. She’s my biggest supporter. It’s pretty awesome.”
Guyotte continued to push her career numbers through the softball roof this season.
Not only has she been a calming influence to those around her, but Guyotte’s also regained her past form and brings in a .495 average, 1.101 slugging percentage with 16 homers, six doubles, three triples, and 52 RBIs into the state tournament.
She’s also worked in tandem with sophomore Brenna Lamkin, whom she mentored in the offseason, to handle Quitman’s pitching duties.
“I’ve gotten it back this year,” she said. “I wanted to have fun and just hit the ball.”
Taking into consideration Quitman’s schedule with 25 of 32 teams ranging from Class 5A-1A, a great deal of Guyotte’s success has been against more difficult competition.
Ten of her 16 homers have taken place against Class 5A-2A teams with one coming against Jena ace Kiette Cooper, a McNeese State signee. She also homered twice against both Class 5A Ponchatoula and Alexandria.
“If she was in 5A, she’d still have the same numbers,” Dodson said. “Most of the time she struggles is when we have to play district games. When we’re playing the tough competition, she shines.”
Guyotte, a three-time, first-team all-district choice and Class B All-State selection, has set the offensive bar nearly out of sight at Quitman. She also ranks her among the best nationally.
The three-time district offensive MVP has a career batting average of .454 and a .949 slugging percentage, with 74 homers, 284 hits, 283 RBIs, 63 doubles, and 10 triples.
“I didn’t realize it until we started to look at it,” she said of her impressive body of work. “Seeing that, yes I had six years of playing, but it’s still pretty incredible.”
Guyotte also discovered a platform to help through her ability to hit the ball over the fence.
Childhood cancer was prevalent in her own family where a cousin, Emery Jones, dealt with the illness, and the brother of a church friend, Crew Tidwell, also battled the malady.
Both are now cancer-free, and it’s because of the efforts of caring people such as Guyotte that they will have the opportunity to enjoy a better quality of life.
“I’ve always wanted to do something with St. Jude’s and give back to the kids because I’ve had people in my family that have been through that,” she said. “I have had friends that have been through that. It’s heartbreaking to see.”
‘Home Runs for Hope’ was the source of Guyotte’s senior project with the idea of raising money for St. Jude’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
When Quitman hosted its own tournament March 27-28, a total of $440 was raised for a total of 44 homers hit in the two-day event.
Competition began after an emotional scene where Tidwell threw out the first pitch.
“It was pretty awesome and super sweet to see that,” Guyotte said. “You should have seen the big smile on his face. He loved it.”
Guyotte’s father, Brian, said that more than $3,000 has been raised, and an event the night before the LHSCA All-Star game May 26-27 at Louisiana Christian is scheduled to bring in even more.
Two players from the East and West All-Star teams will join Guyette in a home run derby with all proceeds earmarked for the ‘Home Runs for Hope’ campaign.
“Every dollar counts for them, bringing them any comfort possible, any of those families” Guyotte said. “From what I’ve heard from other people that I know that have gone through childhood cancer, they’ve had people that have done fundraisers, and it helped them tremendously get through their journey. Just being able to provide that little bit of comfort, even if it’s just a little bit it helps.”
Guyotte, who has qualified for next week’s Class B state track meet in the javelin where she placed fourth two years ago, will also represent her school as class valedictorian.
“It’s going to be an honor,” she said. “I’ve put just as much work in the classroom as I have on the softball field.”
The straight-A student has proved to be more than an athletics sensation. She’s also astute in the classroom where the same pursuit of excellence has prevailed. She took three dual enrollment classes last year and is taking two more this year to help prepare her for the rigors of college coursework.
That persistence in the classroom existed because of her dedication en route to weekend trips out of the state for travel ball tournaments. Guyotte did homework and studied during exhaustive car rides to and from weekend competition, fearing she would fall behind in school.
Since last October, she’s added a way to earn some additional money, working for a friend at a local sandwich shop, and putting in three hours each day after she’s finished with school before heading to practice to continue sharpening her skills.
“I’ve thought academics was just as important if not more important,” said Guyotte, a member of the school’s FFA, FCA, and Beta Clubs. “That comes first no matter what because you can’t do the rest of it without having the grades. I’ve made sure that comes before anything.”