Jan. 30, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
After one of the greatest offensive seasons in Illinois State softball history, sophomore third baseman Kara Nelson received some preseason national recognition Wednesday, as the Moline, Ill., native was named to the initial Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Top-50 Watch List for the Seventh Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. Nelson was the only Missouri Valley Conference softball player named to the initial watch list, marking the second-straight season that the Redbirds have been the lone Valley school on the initial watch list, after Amber Smith achieved the feat last year.
Nelson is on a list of 50 players that represent 34 schools and 14 different NCAA Division I conferences. A total of eight players from five of Illinois State's 2008 opponents, including Arizona State, Tennessee, DePaul, Iowa and Ohio State, were included on the list. The award is considered one of the most prestigious honors in women's collegiate softball, and is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players from across the country.
"It's a tremendous honor for Kara to be named to the initial ASA Top-50 Watch List for the Player of the Year award," Illinois State head softball coach Melinda Fischer said. "She had a breakout year as a freshman after she made a move to a new defensive position (third base) from where she played in high school (second base). Kara came into her own last year as a collegiate player, and this is a great honor for her."
In 2007, Nelson became the first-ever freshman to be named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year after she led the league with a .415 batting average and set an ISU and Valley single-season record for hits (90). Nelson's batting average was the best-ever by a Redbird freshman and ranked 27th in the nation. Her 1.48 hits per game and 59 runs scored ranked first in the conference, while she also ranked first in Valley-only games in both batting average (.440) and runs scored (33).
Nelson also earned a pair of all-America honors in 2007, as she was tabbed an Easton First-Team All-American, and also earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Second-Team plaudits. The first-team All-MVC selection was also named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team. In the Redbirds' 18 games against 2007 NCAA Tournament participants, Nelson batted .500 (29-for-58), with a .655 slugging percentage.
Illinois State will open its 2008 season at 10:30 a.m. CST Feb. 8 when it takes on Central Arkansas at the Central Florida Tournament in Orlando.
