Future Huskers Racking up Honors

Alex Hupp, one of four newcomers who will join the Nebraska softball team this fall, earned first-team high school All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and from EA Sports, highlighting a long list of accolades each future Husker has accumulated this past year.

 

Hupp was one of four pitchers and 16 players named to the NFCA’s first team. In her senior season at Olathe East High in Olathe, Kan., Hupp compiled a perfect 19-0 record with a microscopic 0.10 ERA. She tossed 15 complete games in 20 starts and picked up 13 shutouts. A dominating right-hander, Hupp struck out 227 batters while walking only seven to post an incredible strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 32-to-1.

 

She also earned recognition as the 2005-06 Gatorade Softball Player of the Year for the state of Kansas. She is the second Husker to earn that honor, as Trisha Tannahill, who graduated in May of 2006 with a degree in communication studies, was the Kansas Player of the Year in 2000-01.

 

Hupp has helped lead Olathe East to back-to-back Class 6A state championships and a No. 19 and 21 national ranking by the NFCA in 2005 and 2006, respectively. She compiled a career record of 69-1 for Olathe East and holds the top three spots on the school charts for wins in a single season. Hupp also holds the top three spots in single-season strikeouts as she finished her career with a whopping  672 punch-outs, an average of 168 strikeouts per season. In comparison, no other pitcher in school history has struck out more than 138 batters in any single season.

 

In addition to her pitching prowess, Hupp can also handle the bat. She hit .531 as a junior in 2005 with school-record totals of 11 doubles, six home runs and a .988 slugging percentage.

 

Hupp was not the only member of this year’s freshman class to earn recent accolades. Outfielder Crystal Gonzalez of Pomona, Calif., was named to the California Interscholastic Federation Division II second team, as well as earning second-team all-state honors from Calhisports.com.

 

Labeled as “probably the best defensive outfielder in Southern California,” by the Los Angeles Times, Gonzalez hit .404 with 21 runs scored and nine RBIs as the leadoff hitter for Diamond Bar High en route to garnering all-star honors from the publication.

 

A third member of the 2006-07 freshman class, Whitney Barrett earned first-team Alabama Class 5A all-state honors from the Montgomery Advertiser and the Alabama Sports Writers Association. A standout shortstop for Wetumpka High in Wetumpka, Ala., Barrett was ranked as one of Alabama’s top players the past two seasons.

 

After an outstanding junior season in which she hit .446 with 53 runs, 28 RBIs, 16 doubles, five triples, four home runs, 35 stolen bases, a .500 on-base percentage and a .688 slugging percentage, Barrett was even better in her senior season. In her final year at Wetumpka, Barrett hit .475 with 56 runs, 35 RBIs, 15 doubles, one triple, five home runs, 41 stolen bases, a .494 on-base percentage and a .673 slugging percentage.

 

According to statistics provided by the Montgomery Advertiser, Barrett ranked third in the state in stolen bases, fourth in on-base percentage and fifth in average, RBIs, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, marking the second consecutive season she finished in the top five in the state in each category.

 

The newest addition to the 2005-06 class is Haley Long, who will be a sophomore at Nebraska this fall. After spending one season at BlinnCollege in Brenham, Texas, Long made the decision to transfer to NU just a few weeks ago. In her lone season at Blinn, Long hit .355 with 43 runs scored, five doubles, 33 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a team-best 10 triples.

 

The four newcomers along with the rest of the squad open the 2006 fall season on Sept. 23 at the Creighton Fall Tournament. Fans can catch their first glimpse of the new Huskers Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 8 at the Big Red Fall Classic at Bowlin Stadium.