Clemson softball's Valerie Cagle Top 3 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
Clemson softball's Valerie Cagle is a Top 3 finalist for USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Year award. She joins UCLA utility player Maya Brady and Florida infielder Skylar Wallace as the top candidates for the honor, USA Softball announced Wednesday.
The junior two-way player was named a Top 10 finalist for the second straight year on May 3. The winner will be announced at the Women's College World Series in June.
MORE: How Clemson softball's pitchers — not just Valerie Cagle — can give the Tigers a postseason run
TOURNAMENT DETAILS: NCAA Softball Tournament 2023: Schedule, bracket, time and TV info
Cagle was previously named ACC Player of the Year. She is the Tigers' top hitter and pitcher this season, leading Clemson to a 46-9 regular-season record. She's atop the ACC in numerous statistical categories both at the plate and in the circle: She leads the conference in batting average (.459), shutouts (7), slugging percentage (.899), total bases (143) and is tied for the lead in pitching wins (22) and hits (73).
She enters the NCAA Tournament with a 1.22 ERA. She has thrown 167 innings this season and allowed just 29 earned runs. She has struck out 176 batters and walked 29. At the plate, Cagle sits at a .459 batting average with 18 home runs.
Cagle and the Tigers will host an NCAA Tournament regional as the No. 16 seed, welcoming Auburn, Cal State Fullerton and UNC Greensboro. Clemson opens regional play against UNC Greensboro on Friday (3 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
Christina Long covers the Clemson Tigers for the Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@greenvillenews.com.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson softball's Valerie Cagle finalist for national player of year
