Upstate Softball Signes Nine During Early Signing Period
12/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Coming off arguably its best season in the history of the program in 2014, building toward the 2015 season and with an eye toward the future, the USC Upstate softball program and head coach Chris Hawkins signed nine players to national letters of intent during the early signing period.
Signing to play at Upstate and beginning in the fall of 2015 and for the 2016 season were Brittany Case, Caley Chappel, Ansley Gilstrap, Bailey Hoch, Kayla Hussey, Megan Obier, Sam Spears, Kori Wancheck and Kristen Wright. The signees come from South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana as Upstate continues to build its reputation beyond the borders of the Palmetto State.
"I am really excited about this group of signees and am thrilled they have chosen to spend their college careers at Upstate," said Hawkins. "We are losing a large and successful senior class after the upcoming season. It was important to bring in players who we hope will be able to come in, mesh with the returning players from this year's team and build on what the outgoing senior class has provided us. With 11 seniors leaving after this year, a lot of the players we signed will be in the mix for starting positions. There is a lot of talent in this class and I think we have addressed what our needs will be. I look forward to following them the remainder of the year, getting them on campus next fall and continuing our tradition with them in uniform."
Brittany Case | OF | Denham Springs, La. | Denham Springs HS | Louisiana Patriots Gold
Case is a standout outfielder for Denham Springs High School. A four-year letterwinner, she is a first team all-state, all-Metro, all-district and all-parish selection. She also was an all-Baton Rouge Area Large Schools team pick and earned the Super Slugger award from Nola.com. She helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the 5A Quarterfinals as a freshman and a second place finish in the 54 State Championship last year as a junior. She hit .606 last season and was a perfect 21-for-21 in stolen base attempts. She hit .706 in the state tournament last year. She also turned in a strong travel ball season over the summer, hitting .423 with 38 stolen bases for the Louisiana Patriots Gold squad. She was also named a USSSA Pride All-Star selection. A standout in the classroom as well, she is a member of the Senior National Honor Society and earned the Most Outstanding Student Award in Biology.
Caley Chappel | C | Ocala, Fla. | Forest HS | Windermere Wildfire
Chappel has received five letters competing in softball, volleyball and weightlifting at Forest High School. A standout catcher on the softball field, she has a myriad of awards to her name. She was named the 6A District Player of the Year as a junior in 2014 after hitting .482 with a .847 slugging percentage and leading the Wildcats into the Regional Finals of the 6A state tournament. She was a first team all-state selection and led all 6A players in home runs. She was the Forest High School Player of the Year as a junior, earned team defensive player of the year honors as a sophomore and was the offensive player of the year as a freshman. She is a three-time all-county selection. In addition to her play in high school ball, she has played travel ball for the Belleview Blast, Ocala Shockers, Gainesville Gold, Next Level and Windermere Wildfire organizations. She has more than 30 career home runs in travel ball with the Wildfire, which is her latest travel organization. In addition to being a standout player, she is also a solid student and has received three Scholar-Athlete awards from Forest High School.
Ansley Gilstrap | UTL | Blythewood, S.C. | Blythewood HS | Carolina Elite
Gilstrap is a multi-position player who has played at Blythewood High School for five years. She owns a career batting average of .450 with 99 RBIs, seven home runs, 15 triples and 82 stolen bases. She is a two-time 4A all-state selection and hit .558 last year en route to her second honor. She was named the Region IV 4A Player of the Year in 2014 and is a three-time all-region selection. She also helped lead the Bengals to four straight Region IV championships. She currently plays travel ball with the Carolina Elite and previously played for the Lady Lightning and Fire organizations. She has been a part of travel ball teams that have won four South Carolina state championships and advanced to Nationals. She is also a standout student and carries a 4.6 GPA and is a two-time NFCA Scholar-Athlete award winner.
Bailey Hoch | OF | Fleming Island, Fla. | Fleming Island HS | Jacksonville Storm
Hoch has been a standout outfielder at Fleming Island High School. She is a four-year letterwinner on the softball team and is an all-county and all-conference award winner. She hit .347 with a .475 on-base percentage as a junior in 2014 to help lead the Golden Eagles into the Regional Quarterfinals of the 7A state tournament. She has also exceled as a member of the Jacksonville Storm travel team. She hit .405 last summer. In addition to her play on the field, she has been a solid student and earned the Principal Scholar Award each year she has been in high school.
Kayla Hussey | SS/3B | Crawfordville, Fla. | Wakulla HS | Next Level Elite/Wagner's Gold
Hussey has been a standout left side infielder at Wakulla High School for four years. She hit .400 last year as a junior. She has received several honors throughout her high school career, including the Class 3 5A Player of the Year in 2011 and first team All-Big Bend in 2013. In addition to her high school career, she has played travel ball for the Next Level Elite and Wagner's Gold squads. She has been a part of the USFA 16A World Series champions and ASA 18 gold national champions.
Megan Obier | 2B/SS | Pembroke Pines, Fla. | West Broward HS | Florida Power Black
Obier has earned three varsity letters as a middle infielder at West Broward High School. She hit .512 with 24 runs and 18 RBIs to help lead the Bobcats into the Regional Finals of the 8A state tournament as a junior in 2014. She hit .517 with two home runs and 22 RBIs as a sophomore. She helped lead West Broward to an appearance in the Regional Semifinals of the 8A state tournament as a freshman in 2012. She is a two-time first team All-Broward County selection and was also a second team pick as a freshman. She has enjoyed tremendous success in travel ball as well. Since the fall of 2013, she has hit .370 with 64 runs and 54 RBIs for the Florida Power Black. She hit .444 with 10 doubles and 17 RBIs last summer. She helped lead the team to a third-place finish at the 2014 Triple Crown Nationals as well as qualifying for the ASA Nationals. She helped lead the Diamond Dusters Gold to a seventh-place finish at the 2012 ASA 14U Nationals.
Sam Spears | OF | Bartow, Fla. | Bartow Senior HS | Bartow Intimidators/Seffner Lady Hawks
Spears has been a solid outfielder at Bartow Senior High School. A member of the junior varsity as a freshman and sophomore, she played varsity as a junior in 2014. She hit .358 and helped lead the Yellow Jackets to an appearance in the Regional Semifinals of the 7A state tournament. In addition to her high school career, she hit .412 last summer in travel ball playing for the Bartow Intimidators.
Kori Wancheck | P/1B | Rock Hill, S.C. | Northwestern HS | Carolina Elite
Wancheck is a six-time letterwinner at Northwestern High School. She helped lead the Trojans into the 4A state tournament for the first time in more than 10 years in 2014. Northwestern won the District III title to earn a trip to the state tournament after making appearances in the district playoffs in 2012 and 2013. She had 248 strikeouts in 136 innings pitched with a 1.42 ERA. She was also a standout at the plate and hit .388 with four home runs and 22 RBIs. She is a three-time 4A all-state selection, a four-time all-region pick and three-time all-area selection. She was named the Region Player of the Year last year as well. In addition to her high school career, she has been a key member of the Carolina Elite travel ball team and was a USSSA Pride All-Star selection. She has also been a standout in the classroom. She is a member of the National Honor Society and National Beta Club and has earned the Academic Excellence award three times. She has also earned five Athletic Academic Excellence honors.
Kristen Wright | OF/2B | Lake Worth, Fla. | The King's Academy | Florida Power Black
Wright has been a standout second baseman for The King's Academy squad and has received four letters in her career. She is a .500 career hitter and a three-time team most valuable player selection. She helped lead the Lions into the 4A Regional Semifinals of the state tournament as a junior in 2014 after leading the team to the 3A State Semifinals as a freshman and sophomore. She is a three-time first team all-area selection by the Sun Sentinel and Palm Beach Post and earned second team all-state honors as a junior. In addition to her high school career, she helped lead the Florida Power Black travel team to a third-place finish at the 2014 Triple Crown Nationals as well as qualifying for the ASA Nationals. She has also been a standout in the classroom and is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.
The nine signees will join a program that has enjoyed tremendous success in the last several years, including back-to-back seasons of winning 40-plus games, winning A-Sun Championships and earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans won a Division I era school record 46 games in 2014 en route to winning the A-Sun regular season championship and sweeping nearly every major award (Player, Pitcher, Freshman and Coach of the Year) in the conference. The Spartans earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament and played in the Tuscaloosa Regional at the home of the national runner-up Alabama Crimson Tide. In 2013, Upstate won 42 games en route to winning the A-Sun Tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, also playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional at the home of the defending national champion Crimson Tide.
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