Saluki Softball signs six to 2020 Recruiting Class
11/13/2019 | 10:43:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill.- Southern Illinois University head coach Kerri Blaylock has announced the addition of six student-athletes that have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Saluki softball program in the fall of 2020.
Signing NLIs with the Salukis are outfielder Bailey Caylor (Tipton, Ind.), infielder Jenna Christeson (Bethalto, Ill.), pitcher Madi Eberle (Gibson City, Ill.), infielder Rylie Hamilton (Cabot, Ark.), infielder Elisabeth Huckleberry (Fisherville, Ky.) and outfielder Elizabeth Warwick (Chattanooga, Tenn.).Â
The Salukis had ample spots to fill with the 2020 class, as one of the best classes in recent history will play their final season in the Maroon and White. Maddy Vermejan, Kyleigh Decker, Katelyn Massa and Susie Baranski, who have each started over 115 games in their respective careers, will graduate after the 2020 season as will Nicole Johnson and Claire Miller, who each joined the Salukis prior to the 2019 campaign and helped Southern make its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance.
"We knew that this class was very important," Blaylock said. "We are replacing several athletes that have made a huge impact on this program. We felt like we needed to bring in some players that could step in immediately and contribute. We feel that we did that. All of these kids come from great summer programs. They have played at the highest level and have all been in big moments. But more importantly, they all wanted to be Salukis. That is the key to recruiting here. We have six athletes that could have gone to many different places and wanted to play here and wanted to be part of our culture."
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Bailey Caylor attends Tipton High School in Tipton, Ind. where she has led the Blue Devils to back-to-back regional championships and is a three-time all-conference honoree. Caylor, Tipton's starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter since her freshman season, enters her senior season with a .502 career batting average and a .570 on-base percentage. The Tipton, Ind. native was named to the All-State third team after a junior campaign in which she hit .437 with a .545 on-base percentage.Â
She plays travel ball for the Indiana Shockwaves-Perry and this past summer helped the Shockwaves win the 16U national championship at the USA Elite Select World Fastpitch Championships in Viera, Fla. Caylor was named the Offensive MVP of the tournament after she hit .536 to help the Shockwaves go 9-1 and become the first team from Indiana to win the event. Caylor is also a standout on Tipton's soccer team, where she was a four-time all-conference selection and helped the Blue Devils win a sectional championship in 2019.Â
"The first time I saw Bailey play I knew that she needed to be a Saluki," Blaylock said. "She does a great job from the left side of the plate. She can create havoc for opposing defenses. She does a great job tracking the ball in the outfield and is willing to sacrifice her body to make a catch."Â
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A native of Bethalto, Ill., Jenna Christeson is a four-year starter at shortstop for Civic Memorial High School. A two-time all-conference honoree, Christeson tallied six home runs, nine triples, 17 doubles, 42 runs batted in with a .913 slugging percentage and a .606 on-base percentage over her last two seasons. As a junior, Christeson hit .513 with 16 extra-base hits to earn both all-conference and all-metro honors.
A three-sport athlete, Christeson also played volleyball and basketball while at Civic Memorial. She plays travel ball for Extreme Elite, which is the same club that current Saluki freshman Sarah Harness played for.Â
"We are very excited about Jenna," Blaylock said. "She is very athletic. She is a three-sport standout in high school that plays shortstop for her high school and summer teams. We see her as such a valuable player that can play anywhere on the field."
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Madi Eberle is a senior at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School and is coming off a junior season in which she was named to the All-State First Team after she helped the Falcons to their first regional title since 2014. As a sophomore, Eberle was named to the Maxpreps Sophomore All-American Team after she won 16 games in the circle with a microscopic 1.62 ERA and an area-best 302 strikeouts. The two-time all-area selection has compiled an impressive 867 strikeouts during her three seasons in the circle. The Gibson City, Ill. native has also shown considerable pop at the plate, as she hit a combined .498 with 14 home runs during her sophomore and junior seasons.
Eberle has also had significant success during her travel ball career playing for Premier Fastpitch. In 2017, Premier Fastpitch 16U Paulson won the 47th annual Triple Crown Sports Colorado Firecracker tournament, a tournament that consisted of 260 teams across four divisions. At the 2017 Premier Girls Fastpitch Tournament in Huntington Beach, Calif., Eberle threw a 1-0 shutout to help Premier Fastpitch place ninth at the prestigious tournament.
"We felt Madi was one of the best pitchers coming out of this 2020 class," Blaylock said. "She throws hard and is such a great competitor on the mound. She displays such confidence and presence that her team feeds off of it. The better competition we saw her face the better she would throw and we loved that about her."
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Rylie Hamilton is coming off a junior season at Cabot High School in Cabot, Ark. in which she was named to the all-state first team after she helped the Lady Panthers win their first state title in school history. The Cabot, Ark. native hit .480 with 30 runs batted in and was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year.Â
The two-time all-state and three-time all-conference honoree plays travel ball for Tulsa Elite. At the 2019 Premier Girls Fastpitch Platinum tournament, Hamilton hit .526 (16-for-31) with a .710 slugging percentage to earn All-Tournament Team honors.Â
"We saw Rylie and immediately loved her intensity and grit on the field," Blaylock said. "She is the type of kid that flies around to make plays on both the infield and outfield. Offensively, she's another very good hitter."Â
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Elisabeth Huckleberry attends Spencer County High School in Fisherville, Ky., where she rewrote the school record books and will leave the program as it's all-time leader in nearly every offensive statistical category including career hits (246), runs scored (189), runs batted in (165), home runs (26) and doubles (66). She also set single-season records in hits (59), doubles (25), runs (55), home runs (12) and runs batted in (50). As a junior, Huckleberry was named her region's Player of the Year and was selected to the prestigious East-West All-Star Team after she led the Bears to their first regional tournament appearance since 2011. She hit .491 with a .537 on-base percentage.
The three-time all-region honoree and five-time all-district selection is also an exceptional student. She maintains a 4.1 grade point average and was named to the All-Academic first team this past year.
"Huck is someone that we targeted when she was very young," Blaylock said. "Her knowledge of the game was that of an older player. She is a pure hitter that has gap power and can hit for average. She is a middle infielder with great glove work."
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Girls Preparatory SchoolÂ
Elizabeth Warwick is a senior at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she has started in the outfield for the Bruisers since her eighth grade season. This past year, Warwick hit .548 with a .662 on-base percentage, tallied 19 extra-base hits and swiped 34 bases to help lead GPS to their fourth-straight state title game. An accomplished base stealer, Warwick is a perfect 87-for-87 over her last three seasons and has hit .511 at the plate during that same time frame.Â
A three-time "Best of Preps" selection and two-time all-region honoree, Warwick plays travel ball for Tennessee Mojo. The left-handed hitter helped the Mojo win the 2019 Triple Crown Summer 16U National Championship. In the classroom, Warwick maintains a 3.5 grade point average.
"Elizabeth has a sweet swing from the left side of the plate," Blaylock said. "She is a very poised player. Nothing gets her rattled. She tracks the ball very well and has a very good arm."
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Signing NLIs with the Salukis are outfielder Bailey Caylor (Tipton, Ind.), infielder Jenna Christeson (Bethalto, Ill.), pitcher Madi Eberle (Gibson City, Ill.), infielder Rylie Hamilton (Cabot, Ark.), infielder Elisabeth Huckleberry (Fisherville, Ky.) and outfielder Elizabeth Warwick (Chattanooga, Tenn.).Â
The Salukis had ample spots to fill with the 2020 class, as one of the best classes in recent history will play their final season in the Maroon and White. Maddy Vermejan, Kyleigh Decker, Katelyn Massa and Susie Baranski, who have each started over 115 games in their respective careers, will graduate after the 2020 season as will Nicole Johnson and Claire Miller, who each joined the Salukis prior to the 2019 campaign and helped Southern make its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance.
"We knew that this class was very important," Blaylock said. "We are replacing several athletes that have made a huge impact on this program. We felt like we needed to bring in some players that could step in immediately and contribute. We feel that we did that. All of these kids come from great summer programs. They have played at the highest level and have all been in big moments. But more importantly, they all wanted to be Salukis. That is the key to recruiting here. We have six athletes that could have gone to many different places and wanted to play here and wanted to be part of our culture."
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Bailey Caylor // Outfield // Tipton, Ind.Help us welcome @baileycaylor20 to the Saluki Family!°
— SIU Softball (@SIU_Softball) November 13, 2019
?Three-time all-conference honoree
? All-State as a junior
?Career .502 batting average
?National Champion (Indiana Shockwaves 16U)#Unleashthedawg // #detailsmatter pic.twitter.com/8cjiw9eT6a
Bailey Caylor attends Tipton High School in Tipton, Ind. where she has led the Blue Devils to back-to-back regional championships and is a three-time all-conference honoree. Caylor, Tipton's starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter since her freshman season, enters her senior season with a .502 career batting average and a .570 on-base percentage. The Tipton, Ind. native was named to the All-State third team after a junior campaign in which she hit .437 with a .545 on-base percentage.Â
She plays travel ball for the Indiana Shockwaves-Perry and this past summer helped the Shockwaves win the 16U national championship at the USA Elite Select World Fastpitch Championships in Viera, Fla. Caylor was named the Offensive MVP of the tournament after she hit .536 to help the Shockwaves go 9-1 and become the first team from Indiana to win the event. Caylor is also a standout on Tipton's soccer team, where she was a four-time all-conference selection and helped the Blue Devils win a sectional championship in 2019.Â
"The first time I saw Bailey play I knew that she needed to be a Saluki," Blaylock said. "She does a great job from the left side of the plate. She can create havoc for opposing defenses. She does a great job tracking the ball in the outfield and is willing to sacrifice her body to make a catch."Â
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Jenna Christeson //Â Infield //Â Bethalto, Ill.Welcome @jchristeson02 to the Saluki Family!
— SIU Softball (@SIU_Softball) November 13, 2019
? Four-year starter at shortstop
? Two-time all-conference honoree
? All-Metro honors as a junior
? .913 slugging % over her last two seasons.#Unleashthedawg // #detailsmatter pic.twitter.com/wx4UHVJAxK
A native of Bethalto, Ill., Jenna Christeson is a four-year starter at shortstop for Civic Memorial High School. A two-time all-conference honoree, Christeson tallied six home runs, nine triples, 17 doubles, 42 runs batted in with a .913 slugging percentage and a .606 on-base percentage over her last two seasons. As a junior, Christeson hit .513 with 16 extra-base hits to earn both all-conference and all-metro honors.
A three-sport athlete, Christeson also played volleyball and basketball while at Civic Memorial. She plays travel ball for Extreme Elite, which is the same club that current Saluki freshman Sarah Harness played for.Â
"We are very excited about Jenna," Blaylock said. "She is very athletic. She is a three-sport standout in high school that plays shortstop for her high school and summer teams. We see her as such a valuable player that can play anywhere on the field."
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Madi Eberle //Â Pitcher //Â Gibson City, Ill.One of the best pitchers in the 2020 class is officially a Saluki!
— SIU Softball (@SIU_Softball) November 13, 2019
?All-State 1st Team in 2019
?Sophomore All-American after she posted 16 wins/302 Ks/1.62 ERA
?867 strikeouts in three years
Welcome Madi Eberle to the Saluki family!#Unleashthedawg // #detailsmatter pic.twitter.com/ssxwDu0LRY
Madi Eberle is a senior at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School and is coming off a junior season in which she was named to the All-State First Team after she helped the Falcons to their first regional title since 2014. As a sophomore, Eberle was named to the Maxpreps Sophomore All-American Team after she won 16 games in the circle with a microscopic 1.62 ERA and an area-best 302 strikeouts. The two-time all-area selection has compiled an impressive 867 strikeouts during her three seasons in the circle. The Gibson City, Ill. native has also shown considerable pop at the plate, as she hit a combined .498 with 14 home runs during her sophomore and junior seasons.
Eberle has also had significant success during her travel ball career playing for Premier Fastpitch. In 2017, Premier Fastpitch 16U Paulson won the 47th annual Triple Crown Sports Colorado Firecracker tournament, a tournament that consisted of 260 teams across four divisions. At the 2017 Premier Girls Fastpitch Tournament in Huntington Beach, Calif., Eberle threw a 1-0 shutout to help Premier Fastpitch place ninth at the prestigious tournament.
"We felt Madi was one of the best pitchers coming out of this 2020 class," Blaylock said. "She throws hard and is such a great competitor on the mound. She displays such confidence and presence that her team feeds off of it. The better competition we saw her face the better she would throw and we loved that about her."
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Rylie Hamilton //Â Infield //Â Cabot, Ark.A versatile athlete and state champion is officially a Saluki!
— SIU Softball (@SIU_Softball) November 13, 2019
?Two-time All-State honoree
?Three-time all-conference selection
?Helped Cabot H.S. win its first-ever state title in 2019
Welcome Rylie Hamilton to the Saluki family!#Unleashthedawg // #detailsmatter pic.twitter.com/b6ngWGtVYN
Rylie Hamilton is coming off a junior season at Cabot High School in Cabot, Ark. in which she was named to the all-state first team after she helped the Lady Panthers win their first state title in school history. The Cabot, Ark. native hit .480 with 30 runs batted in and was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year.Â
The two-time all-state and three-time all-conference honoree plays travel ball for Tulsa Elite. At the 2019 Premier Girls Fastpitch Platinum tournament, Hamilton hit .526 (16-for-31) with a .710 slugging percentage to earn All-Tournament Team honors.Â
"We saw Rylie and immediately loved her intensity and grit on the field," Blaylock said. "She is the type of kid that flies around to make plays on both the infield and outfield. Offensively, she's another very good hitter."Â
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Elisabeth Huckleberry //Â Infield //Â Fisherville, Ky.Welcome @Elishuck to the Saluki family!
— SIU Softball (@SIU_Softball) November 13, 2019
?Three-time All-Region honoree
?Five-time All-District selection
?Rewrote the Spencer County record books#Unleashthedawg // #detailsmatter pic.twitter.com/GBQ1oOf4fv
Elisabeth Huckleberry attends Spencer County High School in Fisherville, Ky., where she rewrote the school record books and will leave the program as it's all-time leader in nearly every offensive statistical category including career hits (246), runs scored (189), runs batted in (165), home runs (26) and doubles (66). She also set single-season records in hits (59), doubles (25), runs (55), home runs (12) and runs batted in (50). As a junior, Huckleberry was named her region's Player of the Year and was selected to the prestigious East-West All-Star Team after she led the Bears to their first regional tournament appearance since 2011. She hit .491 with a .537 on-base percentage.
The three-time all-region honoree and five-time all-district selection is also an exceptional student. She maintains a 4.1 grade point average and was named to the All-Academic first team this past year.
"Huck is someone that we targeted when she was very young," Blaylock said. "Her knowledge of the game was that of an older player. She is a pure hitter that has gap power and can hit for average. She is a middle infielder with great glove work."
Â
Elizabeth Warwick //Â Outfield //Â Chattanooga, Tenn.Welcome Elizabeth Warwick to the Saluki family!
— SIU Softball (@SIU_Softball) November 13, 2019
?Starter since 8th grade at Girls Prep
?Three-time "Best of Preps" selection
?Two-time All-Region honoree
?National Champion (Tennessee Mojo 16U)#Unleashthedawg // #detailsmatter pic.twitter.com/UKsSN7EEUf
Girls Preparatory SchoolÂ
Elizabeth Warwick is a senior at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she has started in the outfield for the Bruisers since her eighth grade season. This past year, Warwick hit .548 with a .662 on-base percentage, tallied 19 extra-base hits and swiped 34 bases to help lead GPS to their fourth-straight state title game. An accomplished base stealer, Warwick is a perfect 87-for-87 over her last three seasons and has hit .511 at the plate during that same time frame.Â
A three-time "Best of Preps" selection and two-time all-region honoree, Warwick plays travel ball for Tennessee Mojo. The left-handed hitter helped the Mojo win the 2019 Triple Crown Summer 16U National Championship. In the classroom, Warwick maintains a 3.5 grade point average.
"Elizabeth has a sweet swing from the left side of the plate," Blaylock said. "She is a very poised player. Nothing gets her rattled. She tracks the ball very well and has a very good arm."
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