VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State represented one of just ten schools in the country to have multiple NCAA Division II softball players make the cut on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's top 50 picks for the
NFCA/Schutt Sports 2016 National Player of the Year Watch List, as
Caitlyn Calhoun,
Jaime Phillips, and
Kiley Rusen made the list in this week's announcement.
Each year, the NFCA announces a watch list, which highlights 50 of the top players in the country, and the Blazer selections are living up to the expectations early in the 2016 season. Returning First Team All-American
Caitlyn Calhoun is off to a 3-0 start with a pair of shutouts, while Phillips leads the team with a .450 batting average, and
Kiley Rusen leads the Gulf South Conference with four homers and 11 RBI's.
Headlining the list are 23 returning NFCA All-Americans, nine from the first team, including 2015 Player and Freshman of the Year recipients, Courtney Poole of North Georgia and Janessa Bassett from Dixie State, respectively.
In all, the group consists of 24 seniors, 14 juniors and 12 sophomores, representing 37 programs from 18 different conferences. Ten programs garnered multiple candidates with Valdosta State, West Virginia Wesleyan and California (Pa.) boasting three representatives apiece. Dixie State, Wayne State (Mich.), Cal State Monterey Bay, Humboldt State, University of Missouri-St. Louis, West Texas A&M and Azusa Pacific earned two nods apiece.
The list was voted on by the eight-member NFCA Division II All-American/Coaching Staff of the Year Committee, consisting of one member from each of the NFCA's eight regions.
The Blazers return to action on Friday in Clearwater, Fla. at the Eckerd Spring Invitational. First up for Valdosta State on the slate of three weekend contests is Tampa, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Eddie Moore Complex on Field 6. Live stats will be available for the contest at www.vstateblazers.com, and more information about the tournament can be found at the official tournament page link below.
2016 ECKERD COLLEGE SPRING INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE
