The
Western Nebraska Community College softball team signed 12 players to play for
the Cougars beginning next fall.
Seven
players committed to the Cougars on Saturday, Jan. 18 in a softball signing
event at Cougar Palace. Those signing include Shaela Heath of Windsor, Colo.,
Courtney Medina of Ft. Collins, Colo., Brittany Corrales of Greeley, Colo.,
Jade Morton of Henderson, Colo., Desirae Visser of Thornton, Colo., and Laramie
Rewerts of Broomfield, Colo., RaeLe Riley of Torrington.
Inking
with the Cougars later included Chloe Miller of Maple Valley, Wash., Christian Bobian
of Aurora, Colo., Shaylee Rickard of Lingle, Wyo., Whitney Fields of
Grantsville, Utah, and Andi Hancock of Ogden, Utah.
All
the players are excited to be joining a Cougar program rich in softball
tradition. The players have extensive softball backgrounds.
Christian Bobian, who inked on Sunday, comes to WNCC from Cherokee
Trail in Aurora, Colo. Bobian played infield and pitcher in high school. She
had a .464 batting average with 16 RBIs. She also represented her high school
in the CCGS all-state game. She was a Centennial League second-team
all-conference player.
“WNCC was the right fit for me
and when I visited; it just felt right,” she said. “Softball is the only sport
I've ever played competitively.”
Bobian is hoping to get better
as a player in her two years at WNCC.
“I love softball because my dad
played baseball and my mom played softball, so it's in my blood,” she said. “My
goals at WNCC are to get better and compete.”
Brittany Corrales comes from Greeley West High where she was named
a second-team Front Range all-conference selection. Corrales hit .533 her
senior year with four doubles and three home runs. She had 32 hits in 60 at
bats.
Corrales, who plays shortstop or
third base, is excited to be joining the Cougars.
"I decided to come to WNCC
because I like how small the school is and how everybody can get to know each
other," she said. "It is also not far from home. At first I wanted to
be far from home, but then I decided not to."
Whitney Fields played high school softball at Grantsville High and
also played summer ball for the TC Thunder. Fields is a utility player, who
also pitches. She comes from the same high school as former Cougar Mariah
Shepherd. Fields earned second team all-state as a sophomore and when selecting
a school, she kept an open mind.
“I
picked WNCC because I really like Coach Winn and the environment of the program
and school,” she said “I was keeping an open mind about all schools and didn’t
really know where I wanted to go. I have been playing softball since I was five
and it has been a goal of mine to play softball in college.”
Her
biggest softball memories have just been playing in out-of-state softball
tournaments.
“I
love meeting new players and coaches at camps and tournament,” she said. “And
when playing softball, it is a special feeling that I don’t get anywhere else.
My goals when I get to college are to work hard in becoming a better person and
player and prepare myself for the future.”
Andi Hancock comes to WNCC from Bonneville High in Ogden, Utah,
from a softball family where she watched her three older sisters play. At
Bonneville, Hancock was a three-year starting pitcher and first baseman.
Hancock was all-state first team, all-area first team, and all-around Player of
the Year in 2013. She was also all-area and all-state in 2012.
“I
have three older sisters that I loved to watch play for many years before I
even started,” Hancock said. “I look up to them so much and I learned to play
watching them.”
Not
only is Hancock a start on the diamond, but she is a setter on the volleyball
team. But, it is on the diamond where she excels.
“Softball
is my escape from whatever is going on in my life,” she said. “I love the
natural high I get whenever I play. Oddly enough, I love the soreness that
comes after a really long day or weekend of softball. I just hope to improve in
any and all ways possible, do my best to be a great team player, and of course
hopefully make a lot of lifelong friends.”
Hancock
had a couple of other offers for softball, but choose WNCC because of its
softball reputation.
“WNCC
seems like a great place to go to school and live,” she said. “I have heard
very good things about the school and the support given by the community. I’ve
also heard a lot of praise for the softball program.”
Shaela Heath comes to WNCC from Windsor, Colo., where she batted
.451 as a senior with 16 runs scored, 19 RBIs and five doubles. Heath has
played several positions, but is mainly a catcher now. Heath is excited to be
coming to WNCC.
“One
of my biggest deciding factors in coming here was because have the small
classes. I really like Coach Winn and the way she runs things with the softball
program,” Heath said. “It is close to home and it will be exciting to have my
parents and grandparents come and watch me play.”
Courtney Medina joins the Cougar program from a stellar career at
Fossil Ridge High in Ft. Collins, where she was named to the second team Front
Range League. Last season, Medina batted .403 with 18 runs scored and four
doubles while playing the outfield position.
Medina,
who finished with a three-year total at Fossil Ridge with 43 RBIs and 51 runs
scored, is excited for the next level as well as becoming a part of a big
recruiting class next year.
“I
like Coach Winn and the program she has set up as well as the small classroom
feel,” she said. “It is also really exciting to be part of a big incoming
freshman class next year. I have played with and against some of the girls here
and it is exciting to see familiar faces.”
Chloe Miller played softball at Tahoma
High in Maple Valley, Wash. Miller, a middle infielder, has played on an
18-under select team since she was 14 and hopes to get even better as a player.
"My goals are to
become a better player, a better athlete, and a better person," she said.
"I want to improve my game so I can live my dream and go play for my dream
school."
Miller's
dream school is Arizona State. She said she was going to go to Western
Washington and then junior colleges came calling and opted that route.
"I
chose WNCC because I knew I wanted to start off at a junior college and when I
met coach Winn, I knew that she is the kind of person I would want to be
coached by," she said. "I love the game of softball because every
time I step on the field I am at my happiest."
Jade Morton played softball at Prairie
View High in Henderson, Colo., where she was one of the top 10 hitters in Class
5A with a .538 average with 11 doubles, four home runs, and 26 RBIs.
Morton
said she is coming to WNCC to get better as a player and to win a championship.
"I
really didn't think I wanted to go to a junior college, but when I came here I
fell in love with the town and everyone in it," she said. "I just
want to win like everybody else and I know I have to work hard to be out there.
If I don't make it, I will keep working hard."
Laramie Rewerts joins the Cougar program from Legacy High in
Broomfield, Colo., a program that captured the 5A state championship in the
fall. Rewerts has played on the Angels summer team that competed at the
Northern Nationals in North Platte in 2012, as well as the ASA/USA Nationals in
2011.
Rewerts
started out as a pitcher but now prefers to play in the outfield. She said she
is excited to be joining the Cougar program.
"It
is really exciting to meet all the girls and push myself even harder than I
have been pushed before," Rewerts said. "Coming into a program like
this is good pressure because who doesn't want to win. It is a lot of pressure,
but at the same time it will be a lot of fun."
Shaylee Rickard is coming to WNCC as a
3-sport athlete from Lingle, Wyo. Because Wyoming doesn’t have high school
softball, her playing days were on traveling summer teams. Rickard had an
impressive year with Twisters, who finished fifth at the ASA Northern Nationals
and finished 82-9-1.
She
finished with a .420 batting average with 18 doubles, seven home runs, 60 RBIs
and 51 runs scored. In the circle, Rickard was 45-5 with an earned run average
of 1.02 with 287 strikeouts, 82 walks. She faced 1,128 batters and tallied
4,164 pitches.
“I
am really excited [coming here] because I have always wanted to play college
softball,” Rickard said. “This is just making my dream that much better and I
want to continue after college, too. Hopefully I can get to that level.
“[WNCC
has] a really good program and ever since I was little I was always going to
their camp. It is just a dream of mine to play here.”
RaeLe Riley comes to WNCC playing on
the same Twisters team as Rickard. Riley is a middle infielder and outfielder
and had been attending WNCC camps during the summer for a number of years.
“I
really like the community and I have been around here for so long. I like Coach
Winn. I like the girls. I have been going to camps at WNCC for a long time,”
she said.
She added
that playing summer ball has really improved her game and is hopeful to improve
even more under Coach Winn.
“My Twister
coaches really helped me become who I am right know and that is why I am the
softball player I am now,” she said.
Desirae Visser, played at Mountain
Range High where she batted .302. Visser is a third baseman who had a fielding
average of .951 with just three errors in 61 total chances.
"I
really like the atmosphere here of how it is so small and everyone is so close,"
she said. "I also like the softball program at WNCC."
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