13 Nov 2017 UCA signs eight to play softball

Posted at 5:01 PMh in Sports by

The Central Arkansas softball team welcomed eight new additions on National Signing Day last week, according to head coach David Kuhn.

The group covers the entire field, with three pitchers, a catcher, a shortstop, a third baseman, a utility player and an outfielder.

Four are from the 501:

  • Jaylee Engelkes – A pitcher and first baseman from Greenbrier, she earned All-Conference and All-State honors in each of the past three seasons and set a Greenbrier High School record by hitting .578 in 2015. In 2017, she pitched 174 innings, going 13-7 with a 2.01 ERA, 118 strikeouts and 40 walks, while hitting .431 with 44 hits, 11 doubles, seven home runs, 48 RBIs and 12 walks.
  • Tylar Vernon – A catcher from Pangburn (White County), she earned All-Conference and All-State honors in 2015, 2016 and 2017. She earned Underclass All-American and Small School All-American honors in 2016, setting Arkansas singles-season records with 18 home runs, 103 RBIs, five grand slams and 30 doubles while being named the MaxPreps National Player of the Week honors twice. In 2017, she hit .626 with 57 hits, nine doubles, 12 triples, 14 home runs and 58 RBI. 
  • Callie Eary – A utility player from Vilonia, she has earned All-Conference and All-State honors in both 2016 and 2017. For the 2017 season, she hit .389 and reached base at a .505 clip gathering 35 hits while drawing 12 walks, scoring 38 runs and stealing 20 bases. 
  • Holly Stewart – A third baseman from Conway, she earned All-Conference, All-State and All-Arkansas Preps in 2017, when she hit .545 with 48 hits, 12 doubles, five home runs, 41 RBIs and 24 runs scored. 

 Greenbrier’s Jaylee Engelkes, with her parents, Jonathon and Julie, has signed to play softball at the University of Central Arkansas.Vilonia’s Callie Eary was joined by family and friends as she signed to play softball for the University of Central Arkansas.

Other signees include:

  • Kamryn Coleman – A pitcher and utility player from Walla Walla, Wash., she is a three-time All-Conference honoree, earning second team honors in 2015 and 2016 and first team honors in 2017. 
  • Jordan Johnson – A pitcher and utility player from Paola, Kan., she has earned All-League First Team and All-Tri-County First Team honors in each of the past three seasons. In 2017, she earned All-State First Team honors and was named the Tri-County Pitcher of the Year after going 21-3 with a 1.29 ERA 193 strikeouts and 39 walks in 156.1 innings pitched.
  • Erin Blackburn – A shortstop from Howe, Texas, she earned All-District and All-Texomaland Second Team honors in 2015, and All-Texomaland First Team Honors in 2017. An All-District Honorable Mention at Howe High School in in 2017, she hit .543 with 51 hits, four doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 28 RBI, while scoring 41 runs and stealing 19 bases. 
  • Madi Savell – An outfielder from Byron Nelson High School in Roanoke, Texas, she was named All-District Second Team in 2016, when she hit .400 with 32 hits, six doubles, 14 RBIs and scored 27 runs, drew five walks and stole a pair of bases.