Rector, Shubert Sign with Upstate Softball During Early Signing Period
11/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Spartanburg, S.C. – USC Upstate head softball coach Chris Hawkins has had a lot of luck lately with signing solid recruits to the early signing period. He hopes and expects that trend to continue in announcing the signing of Palmetto High School standout Ryan Rector (Williamston, S.C.) and Fred T. Foard High School (Hickory, N.C.) standout Lexi Shubert to a National Letter of Intent during the early signing period.
"I am thrilled to have the Ryan and Lexi be the first two signees in our recruiting class this year," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "Both Ryan and Lexi have had tremendous success in high school and travel ball. Even more, they are great people with terrific attitudes and a strong work ethic. It is going to be exciting to coach these two young women."
Rector is a senior at Palmetto High School and is set to the lead the Mustangs in their first season playing in the 3A classification. Last year, she helped lead the team to the 2A state championship en route to earning All-State honors. She played an integral part in Palmetto winning the state championship. She hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to win the first game of the state championship series against Dillon, and won the state championship after scoring with the winning run from third on a passed ball in the second game.
Rector hit .398 with seven home runs, 40 RBIs and 53 runs as a junior last season at Palmetto. She earned All-State honors for the first time in her career and was also named the Anderson Independent Player of the Year. She earned her second all-region honor and was an all-area selection as well. She hit .356 with 13 RBIs in the 2012 3A state playoffs en route to the state title.
In addition to softball, she has been a standout basketball player at Palmetto. She is a two-time all-region selection in leading the Mustangs to back-to-back region championships. She also has had a successful travel ball career playing for the Carolina Elite under former Elite head coach and current Upstate assistant Bryan Pack from 2010-12. She helped lead the Elite to the 16U Nationals the last two seasons.
"Ryan is an all-around strong talent," said Hawkins. "She can hit for average, can hit the ball over the fence, has great speed on the bases and is strong defensively. And, she is a tremendous person. She is going to be an asset in our program on and off the field."
Hawkins hopes his good fortune in recruiting pitchers out of western and central North Carolina will continue with Shubert. Prior to Shubert's signing this year, Hawkins has had former all-time great Morgan Childers (Kings Mountain) and current A-Sun All-Conference performer Hannah Alexander (North Davidson) come to Upstate from the Tar Heel state.
Shubert has been a dominant pitcher over the last three years for Fred T. Foard High School (Hickory, N.C.). A senior this season, she is a two-time 3A District 7 Pitcher of the Year award winner. She earned 3A All-State honors and was named the state's 3A West Pitcher of the Year last season after winning 26 games with 390 strikeouts. She led the Tigers to the sectional championship and an appearance in the state championship series before settling for second place.
Shubert burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2010, finishing the year with 19 wins and 266 strikeouts. She led the Tigers into the second round of the 3A state playoffs. As a sophomore, she won 21 games with 296 strikeouts in leading the team to an appearance in the sectional finals.
For her career, she has 66 wins and 952 strikeouts at Fred T. Foard. She is a three-time all-conference selection, earned conference pitcher of the year honors last year, is a two-time all-district selection and has earned All-State honors once.
In addition to her play at Fred T. Foard, Shubert has had a strong travel ball career as well. She has played for the Carolina Cardinals (2011-present), Carolina Curve (2010-11) and Smoky Mountain Sting (2009-10) organizations. She led the Curve to the championship at the ASA Southern Nationals in 2010, the North Carolina ASA state championship in 2011 and the Dynamite championship in 2011. She led the Cardinals to 2012 ASA National Tournament where the team finished second.
"Lexi is a game changer," said Hawkins. "She will remind a lot of people of Morgan Childers in that she has exceptional movement and location on her pitches. I certainly expect her to have a lot of success here at Upstate, which should obviously translate to good things for our team."
