CONWAY – The Coastal Carolina softball program will add four newcomers to the roster next year as announced by head coach Kelley Green on Wednesday as part of the 2020 National Letter of Intent Signing Day.
Payton Ebersole (Dillsburg, Pa.), Madison Hudson (Lithia, Fla.), Jordan Thompson (Ashburn, Va.), Riley Zana (Elyria, Ohio) have all chosen Coastal to continue their academic and athletic careers beginning in the fall of 2020.
"We are excited about this special group of signees and the future of the Chanticleer Softball program. They are a strong, hard-working group with the potential to make an immediate impact on the field and in our line-up. They are standup human beings who excel in the classroom and the community," said Green.
Payton Ebersole/ Outfield: Ebersole is an outfielder from Dillsburg, Pa., where she has hit .488 in her first three seasons at Northern High School. Ebersole has been named to the All-Sentinel team three-times, she's a two-time member of the Phillies Carpenter Cup, named to the Pennsylvania All-State team, earned first-team all-conference two-times, and second-team all-conference team once.
The future Chant has averaged a .488 batting average for her career and compiled 107 hits, 51 runs batted in, and 34 stolen bases in her three seasons at Northern High. Ebersole hit .571 in her freshman season at Northern High as she was named the team MVP. In the spring of 2019, the speedy outfielder helped the Polar Bears to the 5A District Championship.
"Payton is a quick left-handed hitter with a solid bat. She is a scrappy player that brings energy to the field and has savviness on the base paths," said Green
Madison Hudson/ Outfield: Hudson spent her first two seasons at Bryon Nelson High School where she played in 60 games in the outfield before transferring to Newsome High School in 2018-19. Last season, she batted .438, had a slugging percentage of .600 and led the district with a .593 on-base percentage.
Over the past four years, Hudson has played on three different travel ball teams where she had a batting average of .290, drove in 42 runs, and was on base 34 percent of the time.
Green noted, "Madison is an athletic outfielder with some offensive pop. Her work ethic and ability to elevate the ball will be a welcome addition to our program."
Jordan Thompson / Catcher: Thompson is a three-year starter at Stonebridge High School in Ashburn, Va. With Jordan behind the plate, Stonebridge won the Class 5 State Championship in 2019 and was also a member of the 2017 and 2018 conference championship teams during her freshman and sophomore seasons.
In 2019, Thompson's Stonebridge squad ranked 30th nationally and first in the state of Virginia as they went on to win the state championship with the help of a Thompson homer.
Offensively in Thompson's career, she has hit .419 against with four home runs. Defensively, runners are thrown out 75 percent of the time because of her strong arm.
The future Chanticleer catcher uses her athleticism away from the softball field as she plays on the Stonebridge basketball team.
Thompson has been an excellent student throughout her three years at Stonebridge where she has maintained a 4.0-grade point average and has earned honor roll status four times.
"Jordan is an athletic player who is versatile enough to catch at a high level or play a corner position. Her strong arm and ability to consistently throw out runners will be a welcome addition behind the plate," said Green.
Riley Zana / Infielder: Zana is a state champion infielder from Elyria, Ohio and played at Elyria High School and Walsh Jesuit High School. In 2017, as a freshman, Zana helped Elyria win the state championship where she batted .589 with 35 RBI. Riley found herself on base more than 60 percent of the time in her rookie campaign and scored 32 times. From 2017-19, Zana played her final three seasons at Walsh Jesuit where she had a batting average of .455 and a 1.026 slugging percentage.
In 2019 alone, the powerful infielder averaged a home run every two games with a .455 batting average and a slugging percentage of 1.026. With those numbers, Riley was named the North Coast League MVP and the All-Star Preps Best of Greater Akron Player of the Year.
"Riley is an elite level utility infielder who should make an immediate impact in our line-up and within the Sun Belt Conference. She will hit for power and a high average from the right side," Green commented.
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