Fresh off a stellar four-year career with Division 2 powerhouse Indianapolis, ace pitcher Morgan Foley has signed with the Chicago Bandits.
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| (c) UIndy Sports Info |
The dominant hurler is UIndy's all-time wins leader and will be the first Division 2 player to ever suit up for the Bandits, who are coming off a league championship in 2015 and looking to shore up their rotation and pitching staff following the departure of all-time great Monica Abbott this offseason.
During her career at UIndy, Foley set three school records including wins (140), strikeouts (1,659), and innings pitched (1027). She registered eight career no-hitters.
Foley is second all-time in Division II history in strikeouts, behind only fellow 2016 NPF rookie Hannah Perryman, who was drafted by the Akron Racers. Foley got the "W" in the duo's only true head-to-head matchup this season, registering eighteen strikeouts and allowing just one hit and two runs in the conference tournament against Perryman's UMSL squad.
For 2016, Foley finished the season with a 40-4 record and 0.85 ERA. She collected 487 strikeouts in 272 innings of work. She allowed just twenty-one extra base hits and opponents hit just .133 against her. Throughout her entire career, Foley never allowed opponents to hit higher than .166 against her.
Also on the strikeout front, Foley holds the NCAA record for most strikeouts in a single game with thirty, a record she set in a thirteen-inning affair.
The second-annual Division II National Player of the Year award will be handed out in 2016 and the top twenty-five finalists who will vie to receive it have been announced.
Twenty-two Division II programs are represented by at least a single player on the list, as well as fifteen conferences. Humboldt State with three and North Georgia with a pair were the only teams to place more than one player on the list of finalists.
Notable names on the list include national headline-grabbers Morgan Foley of Indianapolis and Hannah Perryman of Missouri-St. Louis, as well as the award's inaugural winner in 2015, North Georgia's Courtney Poole. The list is comprised of fourteen seniors; six juniors; and five sophomores.
The current list of twenty-five will be narrowed down to the top ten finalists on May 6, with the final trio named on May 12 and the National Player of the Year trophy being awarded on May 17.
The full list of finalists can be found below:
Stephanie Adkins | Pitcher | Saint Leo |
Kaitlyn Bannister | Third Base | Alabama-Huntsville |
Janessa Bassett | Outfield | Dixie State |
Lyndsay Butler | Pitcher/Outfield | Wayne State (Mich.) |
Morgan Foley | Pitcher | Indianapolis |
Ally Foster | Utility | Bellarmine |
Brooke Goad | Outfield | Southern Arkansas |
Stephanie Hartness | Outfield | North Georgia |
Haley Hodges | Catcher/Infield | Southern Indiana |
Hanna Holland | Outfield | Humboldt State |
Courtney Iacobacci | Outfield | Fairmont State |
Makayla Kovac | Shortstop | Colorado Mesa |
Lexi Loos | Outfield | Wayne State (Neb.) |
Brenna Martini | Third Base | Adelphi |
Katie Obemma | Pitcher | Humboldt State |
Hannah Perryman | Pitcher | Missouri-St. Louis |
Courtney Poole | Pitcher | North Georgia |
Kiley Rusen | First Base | Valdosta State |
Jessica Simmons | Second Base | SE Oklahoma State |
Lacey Taylor | Catcher | West Texas A&M |
Carley Tysinger | Pitcher | Catawba |
Kelsey Vining | Outfield | Montevallo |
Katelyn Vinson | Third Base | Midwestern State |
Madison Williams | Pitcher | Humboldt State |
Kat Zabielski | First Base | NYIT |
