Clemson Softball: Trio of Tigers Ranked Among Nation's Top 100 Players

Extra Innings Softball has released its Extra Elite 100 rankings, with three Clemson Tigers being named among the Top 100 players in the nation.

Valerie Cagle No. 9

2022 Stats

NFCA First Team All-American
NFCA All-Region First Team
USA Softball Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist
ACC All-Tournament Team Selection
First Team All-ACC
ACC All-Academic
Tallied a .308 average overall and .282 average in ACC play
Finished the season with 44 RBIs and 34 runs scored
Had 55 hits on the year with 10 doubles, one triple and 13 home runs
Had three hits in the NCAA Clemson Regional, including a home run in the regional championship game against Louisiana (May 22)
Went 2-for-3 with one home run in ACC Championship Tournament Quarterfinals against Notre Dame (May 12)
Went 3-for-4 in the opening game at FGCU (Feb. 10) with a double, a home run and six RBIs
Hit two home runs against Winthrop (March 15)
Went 3-for-4 at Charlotte (Feb. 23) with one run scored
Holds a 1.92 ERA through 32 appearances in the circle with three saves
Has 16 wins, 16 complete games and seven solo shutouts which leads the ACC
Leads the team with 176 strikeouts through 160.2 innings pitched
Pitched 6.1 hitless innings against Georgia Tech with 10 strikeouts
Pitched Clemson 2-0 upset victory over No. 6/5 Washington with 10 strikeouts
Had a season-high 13 strikeouts in Clemson’s 4-3 win over Tennessee
Struck out 12 batters at UNC (April 1) after striking out 11 vs. South Carolina (March 30)
Turned in a shutout with six strikeouts against Auburn (May 21) in the NCAA Clemson Regional
Preseason All-ACC Selection
No. 6 on Extra Innings Softball’s Extra Elite 100 list
No. 19 on Softball America’s 2022 Preseason College Top 100 list
Preseason D1Softball.com First Team All-American
Preseason Softball America First Team All-American
D1Softball.com Preseason Top 10 Pitcher Power Rankings
Preseason D1Softball.com Player of the Year

McKenzie Clark No. 43

2022 Stats

ACC All-Tournament Team Selection
Second Team All-ACC
ACC All-Academic
Led the Tigers with a .328 overall average and team-high .356 in ACC play this season
Led the team with a .624 slugging percentage
Had a team-high 59 hits on the year with 13 doubles and two triples and team-high 42 runs scored
Hit 12 home runs this season including nine in ACC play
Had four hits in the NCAA Clemson Regional, including going 3-for-3 against UNCW (May 20)
Went 4-for-4 with one run and two RBIs in the ACC Tournament Championship game against Florida State (May 14)
Went 3-for-4 with three home runs against Florida State (April 22) in Tallahassee
Went 4-for-4 with three runs scored against Akron (Feb. 26)
Recorded Clemson’s first inside the park home run against Akron (Feb. 26)
Finished with three hits against South Carolina with two runs (March 30)
Fifth on the team with six stolen bases
Maintains a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on the year with 54 putouts and five assists
Preseason All-ACC selection

Millie Thompson No. 65

2022 Stats

Third Team All-ACC selection
ACC All-Academic
Named ACC Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 against Georgia Tech and ETSU (May 5)
Threw her first career solo no-hitter against Furman (April 6) in five innings
Threw a five-inning no-hitter against UNCW (May 20) in the Clemson NCAA Regional, with four strikeouts and no walks
Started the season with a combined no-hitter against Kent State (Feb. 11)
Struck out eight batters without giving up a walk in Clemson’s 10-2 run-rule victory over Duke (March 19)
Struck out nine batters in victory over Louisville (March 25)
Struck out a career-high 11 batters vs. Illinois (March 13) and nine against Wisconsin (Feb. 19)
Threw a five-inning shutout against Louisiana (May 22) in the Clemson NCAA Regional Championship games, with five strikeouts, one hit and one walk
Maintained a 1.58 ERA through 27 appearances with five solo shutouts and five combined
Has pitched 119.1 innings this season with 110 strikeouts
Is fifth in the ACC in fewest batters hit with five
Led the ACC in strikeout to walk ratio with 6.11 and ranks 18th in the NCAA
Led the ACC in fewest walks allowed per seven innings with 1.06
Has 15 wins on the year including five in ACC play