University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Vote For Former Softball Standout Courtney Blades
3/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 18, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss.- Vote for former softball standout Courtney Blades, as with enough votes, she will be one of 10 student-athletes to be recognized on the NCAA Division I Softball 25th Anniversary team.
Blades is one of 36 nominations, selected by the NCAA, as the NCAA is celebrating 25 years of NCAA women's championships during the 2005-06 season.
NCAA Division I Softball held its first championship in 1982 and will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary at the 2006 championship. To commemorate this milestone a 25th Anniversary Team consisting of 10 student-athletes and one coach will be named with your help.
After extensive research and discussion, an expert panel compiled a list of Division I softball student-athletes, who performed well in NCAA championships, over the last 25 years and listed them on NCAAsports.com.
Voting will remain open until April 1st and the public can vote for their top 10 student-athletes and one coach.
To place your vote and view a listing of the nominees and their championship accolades, please visit the following link: http://www.ncaasports.com/softball/womens/fanpolls.
Blades, a member of Conference USA's All-Decade Team, came to Southern Miss in 1999, the first year the Lady Eagle softball program was reinstated. That team gained instant recognition, winning a NCAA Regional and advancing to the Women's College World Series, ending the season with a No. 8 national ranking and 52-9 overall record. She was a First-Team Louisville Slugger NFCA All-American and a NFCA All-South First-Team selection.
In 2000, as softball began competition in Conference USA, Blades helped Southern Miss earn the inaugural league regular-season title and tournament title, as the 2000 squad again won an NCAA Regional and advanced to the Women's College World Series for the second-consecutive year, ending the season with a No. 4 national ranking. That team finished with a school record 62 wins.
Blades earned 1st Team All C-USA honors in 2000, also earning C-USA MVP and league Pitcher of the Year in 2000. She was also a First-Team Louisville Slugger/NFCA First Team All-American, earned NFCA All-South First-Team, and was also tabbed the 2000 Honda National Softball Player of the Year in 2000.
Blades won a school, league and NCAA record 52 games in 2000, with a C-USA record 0.89 ERA. She set a C-USA/NCAA record with 663 strikeouts, 46 complete games and 28 shutouts. In addition, she was a three-time NFCA National Player of the Week and seven-time C-USA pitcher of the week, also earning WCWS All-Tournament Team honors and All-NCAA Regional Team (MVP).
