ADAMS TWP — Her parents decided to down-size. Annalynn Isaacs upgraded as an athlete regardless.

A role player for North Allegheny’s girls basketball team and one of the Tigers’ best hitters in softball, Isaacs found herself headed to a new school for her senior year when her parents moved from Franklin Park to Mars in the summer of 2022.

“We have two older children who are getting married,” said Chris Isaacs, Annalyn’s father. “Our daughter got married last weekend and our son is getting married in October. Both are moving into their own houses.

“We didn’t need such a big house anymore. We were planning to get a smaller home in 2024, but we talked to our kids’ real estate agent and were told the market was best to sell now (last summer). Our house sold in one day and by August of Annalyn’s senior year, we were in a townhouse in Mars.

“We talked to her before doing this,” he emphasized. “If Annalyn wasn’t on board with it, we would have waited. But she was all in.”

And Mars is happy she was.

Isaacs wound up making first team Big 56 all-section in basketball and softball. She averaged 8.3 points per game as the Planets’ starting shooting guard and sank 37 treys, including five in a game against North Hills.

She hit .394 in softball with five home runs, batting in the fourth spot and playing third base all season. Mars fell a game short of the WPIAL playoffs.

“After the COVID year, I was cyber-schooled at North Allegheny, so that made it a little easier to leave,” Isaacs said. “I didn’t get much playing time in basketball (at NA), the team had so many good players. I hit .333 my (softball) junior year and batted in the middle of the lineup.

“I knew some of the kids at Mars through travel ball, so that made my transition there a little easier.”

First-year Mars softball coach Mike Bell described Isaacs as “the most well-liked kid on the team. She had the greatest work ethic on the team.

“If we hit her 50 ground balls, she wanted 100. If she took 50 swings in the cage, she wanted 100. She was always working on her craft.”

Isaacs recognized she caught a break in joining a softball team that had a new coach.

“It was like we were all starting from scratch, with a clean slate,” she said.

Basketball was a little different.

“I knew I had to fight for my spot on the team,” she said.

Now-retired Mars coach Dana Petruska appreciated that attitude.

“She never assumed anything,” Petruska said. “A lot of times, a kid coming in from a bigger school, especially from a program like North Allegheny, might figure they have a guaranteed spot. Annalyn wasn’t like that.

“She came to all of our summer stuff, the fall league ... I was able to get a good look at her. She has a great work ethic. She’s a knowledgeable player, very smart.”

The Planets were 18-9 this season, reaching the second round of the PIAA Tournament. But Isaacs was ruled ineligible for postseason play by the WPIAL because of her transfer.

“That was hard, having to sit and watch,” Isaacs admitted. “But I came to every game. I wanted to be supportive.”

“I was very disappointed in that ruling,” Petruska said. “I couldn’t believe it, actually, But Annalyn handled it well. She’s a great kid.”

She’s not through playing two sports yet.

Isaacs is headed to Mount Aloysius, where she plans to major in business administration and play basketball and softball.

The basketball team was 4-22 last season, the softball team 19-12, including 12-2 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play.

“The coaches are working together so I can play both sports,” Isaacs said. “The basketball coach (Slippery Rock High graduate Brian Giesler) is willing to work with me on my softball drills when I miss softball practice due to my playing basketball.

“I’m excited to do both. I couldn’t make up my mind which sport to continue with.”

Isaacs was named Defensive MVP for Mars softball this spring, playing errorless ball in 14 consecutive games.

“At our banquet, she said she had the time of her life playing for us,” Bell said.

“(Annalyn) is really mature for her age,” Petruska said. “I’m very confident she’s going to have great careers in both sports in college, along with academically.”