WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup 2021 World Champion and MVP Valerie Cagle keeps adding accolades to her career. The two-way player was named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year 2023, an award that recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by NCAA Division I softball players in USA.
“I think it can be easy to watch someone’s success on the field from the outside and not understand the pieces that helped carry them forward,” said Cagle. “Nothing I accomplished this season would’ve been possible without my teammates or coaches and us having the success we had as a team. My teammates' support allowed me a chance for me to be me — so, because of that, I would like to share this award with them.”
Cagle etched her way on the national leaderboard in both pitching and hitting with a .469 batting average (No. 4), 19 home runs (No. 7) and 25 wins in the circle (No. 9). She tallied a 25-8 win-loss record and 1.56 ERA throughout 193 innings pitched.
“This year had many challenges, and a lot of them looked different than I expected or what I had experienced in the past,” said Cagle. “Despite these challenges, I was able to find the joy of playing again. I found a way to feel and embrace the level of competitiveness this game gives me.”
During the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup 2021, Cagle led USA to their fourth junior women’s softball world title in a row. She hit .500 for the tournament, tossed 12.1 scoreless innings while striking out 20. The right-hander pitched a seven-inning shutout in the final and hit the World-Cup-winning RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, in USA’s 1-0 win over Chinese Taipei.
Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA - 2002), Cat Osterman (2003, 2005, 2006 - Texas), Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State - 2004), Monica Abbott (2007 - Tennessee), Angela Tincher (2008 - Virginia Tech), Danielle Lawrie (2009, 2010 - Washington), Ashley Hansen (Stanford – 2011), Keilani Ricketts (2012, 2013 – Oklahoma), Lacey Waldrop (2014 – Florida State), Lauren Haeger (2015 – Florida), Sierra Romero (2016 – Michigan), Kelly Barnhill (2017 – Florida), Rachel Garcia (2018, 2019 – UCLA) and Jocelyn Alo (2021, 2022 – Oklahoma).
