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Clemson softball star Valerie Cagle named 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•05/30/23
Valerie Cagle, Clemson Tigers softball
Clemson pitcher Valerie Cagle prepares to fire a pitch in to the plate during a game on May 20, 2023. (Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY Sports)

The Clemson softball program was launched in 2020 and in just four short years the Tigers have risen to breath-taking heights. Now the Clemson program can add national Player of the Year to its list of accomplishments.

Pitcher Valerie Cagle was named the 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year on Wednesday night.

She becomes the first Clemson softball player to win the award and just the fourth player in ACC history to claim USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year honors.

Cagle was outstanding for the Tigers in a run to the NCAA Super Regionals.

She was as equally adept at the plate as on the mound, where she started 30 games in 38 appearances in the circle. Cagle finished with a 1.56 ERA, striking out 188 batters and holding opponents to just a .182 batting average. She allowed only 23 extra-base hits and finished with eight solo shutouts.

Cagle went 25-8 for the Tigers in the circle while also notching three saves.

At the plate, she led the team with a school record 83 hits, including 19 home runs and 15 doubles. She ranked in the top 20 nationally in nine categories following Super Regionals, including leading the nation in total bases (157). She hit .469 at the plate and accounted for 57 RBI.

With her powering a postseason push, Clemson made it a series against juggernaut Oklahoma, only falling after a heroic late rally by the Sooners in the second game of the Norman Super Regionals.

But the ride Cagle took the Tigers on as Player of the Year was appreciated by many, including football coach Dabo Swinney, who took in a handful of Clemson softball games this season.

“I mean they’re a great group of young ladies that are well-coached and really believe,” Swinney said recently. “I mean obviously Cagle, she’s amazing, she’s fun to watch. But they’ve just got a bunch of really good players.

“And again, they’ve done a great job, coach (John) Rittman and his staff, of putting it all together. It’s amazing to think that we didn’t have a softball program just a couple years ago and now we’ve already won a league, we’ve won a region, now we’ve won a second region. That’s exciting to see the momentum building in that program.”