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