Missouri Southern head softball coach Hallie Blackney announced the signing of six student-athletes that will be joining the MSSU family heading into the program's 2020 campaign.
"We are thrilled to welcome this class into our Lion family! Not only do we expect them to make an impact on the field with their talent and athleticism, but we anticipate exceptional scholastic achievements and a positive impact to be felt within the MSSU community," coach Blackney explained. "Our returning softball student-athletes have set the gold standard for Lion tradition, and we are excited to add to our ranks when these newcomers arrive in the Fall."
This is Blackney's first official recruiting class at the helm after taking over the role as head coach back in October. The class is well balanced with half of them graduating high school and the other three becoming accomplished at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) level.
MSSU Softball 2019 Recruiting Class
Freshman
Kayla Arzate
Arzate attended Glendora high school in La Verne, California where she was a three-year letter winner for the Tartans under head coach Mike Quiroz ... earned All-League honorable mention after batting .301 with 25 hits, 15 runs scored, and 11 RBIs along with a fielding percentage of .933 in the outfield on her way to assisting the squad to a second place finish in the Palomares league and a round two berth into the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section playoffs as a senior ... part of the team that won a League championship as sophomore in 2017 and a third place finish as a junior to conclude the 2018 season ... is the daughter of Cynthia and Jamie, Kayla plans on majoring in sociology during her time at Southern.
Makayla Hall
Hall was a four-year letter winner for the Rangers of Iberia R-V high school under head coach Madeline Cochran ... the Iberia, Missouri native became a four-time All-District (freshman-senior) and three-time All-Conference (sophomore-senior) first-team selection, along with first-team (freshman) and second-team (junior) All-Region honors throughout her scholastic career ... her efforts led the Rangers to their first final four appearance in school history as a freshman in 2015 ... transformed into an All-Sectional, All-District, and All-Conference track athlete in the offseason by competing in the 200m, 400m, 800m, and 4x2 relay events, including a third place mark as a freshman in 2016 ... also played two years on the basketball squad where the 5'5 point freshman point guard rallied the team to its second district title in school history ... led the team in most stolen bases and highest batting average as a freshman while becoming the leading rebounder on the basketball team throughout her freshman year ... the daughter of Melissa and Jon Hall, Makayla plans on majoring in pre-vet.
Izzy Medrano
Medrano was a three-year letter winner for the Broncos of Lee's Summit North high school under head coach John Gage ... the Lee's summit, Missouri native wrapped up her scholastic career finishing fifth in stolen bases and runs scored among the school record books as well as a second-team All-District performer as a junior and honorable mention recipient as a senior while becoming a a three-time All-League honorable mention selection in all seasons played (sophomore-senior) ... the daughter of Michelle and Steve, Izzy plans on majoring pediatrics once on campus.
Transfers
Taylor Hinnenkamp
Comes to Southern after hitting over .300 as freshman and sophomore in her two years playing for the Cowley County CC Tigers ... came out of the gate batting .345 and registering a .441 on-base percentage in 87 at bats with 22 runs scored and 12 stolen bases towards a spot on the first-team All-Academic team (4.0) as a freshman in 2018 ... the Tigers recorded a 42-16 record on their way to a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC)/Region VI title and a berth into the fourth round of the NJCAA Divsion II championship tournament ... the Augusta, Kansas native continued being a tough out at the plate by batting .310 and matching her seasons high of 22 runs scored to go along with 17 stolen bases ... prior to committing to the Tigers, Hinnenkamp was a four-year letter winner for the Augusta high school Orioles where she helped the team to back-to-back state titles to conclude her freshman and sophomore seasons under head coach Shane Steinkamp ... became a three-time first-team All-League performer (sophomore-senior) as well as a first-team All-State outfielder as a junior ... in the offseason, Hinnenkamp competed on the basketball court for three years at the point guard position, earning All-League second-team as a senior after taking honorable mention status on year prior as a junior ... cracked the All-Hustle team as a junior and senior seasons ... also dominated on the Cross Country course for two seasons by landing on the All-League first-team as a junior and senior ... named the 2017 Wendy's Heisman and Butler County Female Athlete of the Year for her outstanding effort across all three sports ... placed on the Academic Oriole in all four years while holding a 4.0 GPA ... the daughter Corney Hinnenkamp and Nicole Renollet, Taylor plans on majoring in accounting throughout her time at Southern.
Haleigh Scott
Scott comes to Southern after spending one year at Cowley County Community College as a teammate of Hinnenkamps and another season at Panhandle State upon graduating as a four-year letter winner for the Choctaw High School Yellowjackets ... in her lone season with the Cowley County Tigers, the Newalla, Oklahoma native drove in 36 RBIs and scored 41 runs off 57 hits in 143 plate appearances (.399 BA) towards earning a spot on the All-KCCC Division II and All-Region first team at third base ... before joining the Tigers, Scott spent her freshman year at Panhandle State where she earned second-team All-Sooner Athletic Conference recognition after batting .356 with 58 hits and a team-high 47 RBIs while registering a .946 fielding percentage in 53 games behind the plate ... the versititle player earned District 6A-1 All-District first team and All-Conference as well as Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in high school ... the daughter of Mark Scott and Kip McElwee, Haleigh plans on majoring in biology while at Southern.
Kristen Wade
Wade comes to Southern after finishing up two years at Crowder College upon becoming four-year letter winner as part of the Vilonia high school Eagles under head coach Kevin Sullivan ... the Conway, Arkansas native combined played a total of 112 games for the Crowder Roughriders between her freshman and sophomore seasons combined ... as a sophomore, Wade capped off her time at Crowder with a .373 batting average and a .553 slugging percentage in 50 game played, knocking in 42 RBIs and scoring 32 runs ... assisted the team to a 54-5 record and a Region 16 Championship (25-0 at home) ... the infielder ended her freshman season batting .447 with 89 hits in 199 at bats while scoring and driving in 62 runs off of two triples, eight home runs, and a nation leading 29 doubles on her way to earning first-team recognition on the All-Region XVI and second-team NJCAA D1 Midwest All-Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) ... the team went 54-13 and finished as the Region 16 runner-ups ... teammate of current Lion second baseman Makaila Leonhart at Crowder during the 2018 season ... during her time at Vilonia, she wasa four-time All-Conference (2014-2017) and a three-time All-State (2015-2017) selection, and entered her senior season as a 2017 River Valley Player to watch as well as a River Valley and Ozark All-Area softball teams as a junior in 2016 ... helped the Eagles to secure back-to-back state champions (2015 & 2016) after the team finished runner-up in 2014 while batting over .300 in every season played throughout her scholastic career ... also acted as the libero on the Volleyball team for four years, becoming two-time All-Conference (2016 & 2017) and an All-State selection (2016) outside the ballpark ... the daughter of Gayla and Allen, Kristen is currently undecided.
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