Hall of Fame

2022 HOF - Anna (Miller) Nickel

Anna (Miller) Nickel

  • Class
    2014
  • Induction
    2022
  • Sport(s)
    Softball
Anna (Miller) Nickel is the ninth softball player in program history to be inducted into the USC Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame. A native of Portland, Oregon and a product of Sunset High School and the College of Siskiyous, Nickel competed on the softball team from 2013-2014.

During her time as a Spartan, Nickel played as an essential piece on the mound for Upstate as she worked with head coach and 2003 USC Upstate Hall of Fame Inductee Chris Hawkins. Her efforts at Upstate led to her being the second player to ever be drafted into the National Pro Fastpitch League.

In her two seasons with Upstate, Nickel recorded 193.2 innings pitched, throwing 290 strikeouts and a .176 opponent batting average. She finished with a 1.84 career ERA, 23-6 career record, 16 career complete games and 11 shutouts while also tying the school record for career no-hitters (6).

Her senior season brought Nickel massive success as she stacked several accolades, just one of which was being the only player in school history to have ever pitched a perfect game in an NCAA Regional. She was named the 2014 ASUN Pitcher of the Year and the 2014 ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year while garnering First Team ASUN and All-Academic Team recognitions. She was also named a 2014 Capital One First Team Academic All-American, a 2014 NFCA Second Team All-Region Selection, and a 2014 ASUN NCAA Woman of the Year candidate.

During her first year as a Spartan, she would contribute both at the plate and in the circle – including throwing a complete game shutout - as Upstate captured the ASUN Tournament Championship.  In the NCAA Tournament, she would throw a perfect game in five innings against Jacksonville State to win 8-0, at the time just the second perfect game in program history and first at the Division I level. The 2013 season, Nickel was recognized as an ASUN All-Academic selection.  Nickel currently serves as the pitching coach at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash.
 
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