University of Southern Indiana senior catcher Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana) was named first-team preseason All-America byFastpitch News (FPN) Thursday afternoon.
Hodges is coming off a historic 2016 season that saw her set single-season school records for home runs (22), RBIs (72), walks (45) and runs scored (58).
Along with leading the nation in slugging percentage (1.000) and on-base percentage (.578), Hodges ranked third, nationally, in home runs. She led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in batting average (.458), runs scored, RBIs and walks.
In 2016, Hodges was named the Diamond Sports Division II Catcher of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) and was named first-team All-America by Hero Sports, the NFCA and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.
Additionally, Hodges was named second-team Academic All-America by the College Sports Information Directors of America and was the GLVC Player of the Year.
Hodges is one of only two GLVC players to land on the FPN Preseason All-America teams as University of Indianapolis senior Natalie Lalich was named to the second team.
USI opens the 2017 season February 14 when it travels to Florence, Alabama, to take on defending NCAA II champion University of North Alabama in a doubleheader. The Screaming Eagles host the Midwest Region Crossover February 24-26 at Deaconess Sports Park in Evansville.