Valerie Cagle, Clemson softball standout, named USA Softball Player of the Year

Valerie Cagle, Clemson softball’s ace RHP and star 1B, was named the USA Softball Player of the Year Tuesday night. She beat out Florida’s Skylar Wallace and UCLA’s Maya Brady for the honor.

Cagle was the catalyst for Clemson softball’s run to the Super Regionals, a run that likely would have continued had the Tigers not run into the powerhouse that is Oklahoma.

Her winning of the award should come as no surprise to softball fans – Cagle boasts a 1.56 ERA in 30 starts and over 60 appearances in the circle. She threw 8 shutouts and struck out an incredible 188 batters in 2023 alone.

She’s a deadly 2-way player, too. Cagle hit .469 in the batter’s box with a .887 slugging percentage. She totaled 83 hits (a school record) with 19 home runs this past season.

Her impressive resume isn’t finished quite yet. In addition to being the USA Softball Player of the Year, Cagle is also the reigning ACC Player of the Year and an All-ACC First Team member. She posted the first perfect-game performance in Tigers history earlier in the year, too, downing Mercer in a 5-inning masterpiece.

She’s fairly deserving of the award, wouldn’t you say?