College Softball News – Guilford’s Carver Named to Player of the Year Watch LIst

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Guilford College junior Makayla Carver (Granite Falls, N.C./South Caldwell) was one of 50 softball student-athletes named to the 2018 Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Player of the Year Watch List Tuesday.

Makayla Carver - Guilford 2019

The list is compiled annually by the NFCA’s Division III All-America Committee and will be trimmed to 25 and finally to 10 finalists as the season progresses. It is adjusted throughout the season to assure the top students are considered, with the eventual winner coming from the final group of 10. The winner is announced following the completion of the Division III Championship.

Carver, the first Quaker so honored, earned First Team NFCA All-Atlantic Region recognition as a sophomore and second-team all-region honors as a rookie. Also a two-time all-state and All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) selection, Carver owns a .436 career batting average with five home runs, 59 runs batted in, and 36 stolen bases in 79 games. She hit .444 as an outfielder and pitcher in 2017 with 67 hits and 18 doubles, both of which led the ODAC.

In the circle, Carver has a 15-8 record with two saves and a 3.11 earned run average (ERA) in 29 career appearances. She’s coming off a 10-3 season in which she registered 53 strikeouts and a team-leading 1.95 ERA in 86 innings.

Coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers open the 2018 season this weekend with road doubleheaders at Averett University (2/10) and Salem College (2/11).