2014-15 NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Five current and former Cal State Fullerton softball players earned National Fast Pitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar Athlete honors for the 2014-15 academic year, it was announced Thursday.
Current Titans Shianne Brannan, Brooke Clemetson, Mikaela Francis, Cerissa Rivera and former Titan Samantha Galarza were all named NFCA Division I Scholar Athletes. The five Titans were part of 5,493 softball players across seven membership divisions and 1,554 Division I honorees. Student-athletes with a 3.5 grade-point average or higher received the honor.
"I am so proud to be associated with these five excellent student athletes," said Titans head coach Kelly Ford. "These five athletes exemplify excellence on and off the field and they represent everything it means to be a Cal State Fullerton student-athlete."
Brannan started all 56 games for the Titans in 2015 and had 24 hits with one home run, six doubles and 12 RBI. She also walked 15 times and recorded a .343 on-base percentage. As the starting shortstop she logged a .959 fielding percentage and was a part of 11 double plays.
Clemetson appeared in 48 games for the Titans last season, mostly as a pinch-runner. She scored 18 runs and swiped nine stolen bases. She also tossed two innings in the circle in her only pitching appearance against San Diego State on March 8.
Francis made 10 pinch-hitting appearances in 2015 and had two walks, including a free pass with the bases loaded. She recorded a pinch-hit RBI single in her debut against Boise State on Feb. 13.
Rivera appeared in 13 games in the circle for the Titans, making five starts. She finished with a 2-2 record with a 3.44 ERA and 25 strikeouts. She held opponents to a team-low .259 batting average in 36 and 2/3 innings pitched, 36 of those coming in Big West Conference action. She tossed a complete-game three-hitter on April 26 in a 4-1 win over Cal Poly.
Galarza, who was a team captain in 2015 and graduated one year early with a degree in broadcast journalism, started all 56 games for Fullerton and tallied 36 hits with 20 RBI. She logged a .967 fielding percentage and tallied a hit in seven of the last 10 games of the season. Galarza had seven doubles and scored 10 times and went 3-for-4 in her final game with the Titans against CSUN on May 9. Galarza was also one of two Titans (Jasmine Antunez) to represent the Argentina National Team in the World Cup of Softball X during the summer.
