Oklahoma City, OK - - Junior Women¹s National Team veteran Bubba Nickles tabbed 2017 USA Softball Junior Female Athlete of the Year
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2018
Junior Women’s National Team veteran Bubba Nickles tabbed 2017 USA Softball Junior Female Athlete of the Year
OKLAHOMA CITY – USA Softball, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, is proud to announce the selection of Bubba Nickles (Merced, Calif.) as the 2017 USA Softball Junior Female Athlete of the Year. Nickles, who represented the United States on the Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) for the second time of her career last summer, shattered four records at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women’s World Championship (JWWC) as the team earned Gold in dominating fashion.
"I am at a loss for words,†said Nickles. “I never would’ve imagined receiving such an award. I’m extremely humbled and grateful to get this award and I am glad I could help my team win the Gold Medal last summer. I’m super excited for what the future has to offer for USA Softball and all of the amazing girls who get to wear those three letters across their chest. It’s pretty amazing to me to think that I was dreaming of playing for Team USA when I was a little girl and now I am receiving an honor for representing my country. God is so good and I can’t wait to get back on the field to represent the Red, White and Blue!â€
Nickles made an appearance in all but two games last summer for the JWNT, which competed at the World Cup of Softball and the WBSC JWWC, putting up team-leading numbers as a veteran leader on the U.S. squad. At the World Cup of Softball, Nickles led the U.S. with two home runs, 10 RBI and four runs scored while compiling a 1.050 slugging percentage and a .550 (11-for-20) batting average. She followed with another dominating performance at the WBSC JWWC, where she went 20-for-29 (.690) with 10 runs scored, 30 RBI and six home runs, while shattering event records in hits, batting average, RBI and home runs.
“Bubba had an amazing summer with the Junior National Team,†said 2017 USA Softball JWNT Head Coach, Laura Berg. “She was a tremendous leader for our team and put the team on her back to help win the Gold Medal in Florida.â€
As the starting shortstop, the California native collected at least one hit in each of Team USA’s games last summer while having multi-hit performances at all but one game at the WBSC JWWC. Her top performance came during the Gold Medal finale at the WBSC JWWC against Japan, where she went 4-for-5 with two doubles, one home run and six RBI.
Nickles is currently in her sophomore year at UCLA.
You can find more information about Nickles as well as complete results from the 2017 WBSC JWWC at USASoftball.com<https://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/team-usa/junior-women>.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit,www.USASoftball.com<http://www.usasoftball.com/>.
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