Madilyn Nickles Named Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year
Madilyn Nickles Named Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year
Gatorade announced That senior Madilyn Nickles of Merced (Calif.) High is the 2015-16 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year.
Gatorade announced this morning that senior Madilyn Nickles of Merced (Calif.) High is the 2015-16 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year.
Two-time Olympian Jennie Finch surprised the NorCal standout by presenting the award in person at the high school today.
The only high school player to make the USA Softball Junior National Team, Nickles is a 5-foot-8 right-handed pitcher and shortstop and went 20-5 in the circle this season along with a 0.63 ERA, leading the Bears (22-7) to the semifinals of the Sac-Joaquin Division I Tournament in the one-loss elimination bracket.
The UCLA signed struck out 308 batters in 167.1 innings pitched, allowing 81 hits and issuing just 28 walks enroute to nine shutouts and three no-hitters.
At the plate, she batted .552 with 20 doubles, eight home runs and 27 RBI to finish with a 1.126 slugging percentage and zero strikeouts in 104 plate appearances.
Along with playing on the USA Junior National Team, Nickles was the only high-school-age player invited to train with the 2016 USA Women's National Elite Team.
Nicknamed "Bubba" by her father when she was younger, Madi was a FloSoftball 1st Team All-American as a junior and is ranked as the No. 2 player in the FloSoftball 2016 Hot 100 list of the top recruits in the nation.
Off the field, Nickles has maintained a 3.97 GPA in the classroom and volunteered locally as part of multiple community-service initiatives through her school's Rotary International Interact Club.
She has also donated her time generously to youth players, serving as a volunteer assistant for the past four years with both ASA Development Camps as well as Nike Softball Camps.
In addition, Nickles has coached and advised area U-12 to U-14 players on an individual basis and served as an instructor at USA Softball Youth Camps.
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Here is a list of the 2015-16 Gatorade State Players of the Year