Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raider Softball announces recruiting class of 2021
11/11/2020 4:00:00 PM | Softball, BRAA
Breeden’s 2021 class loaded with athleticism
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee softball head coach Jeff Breeden and his staff have continued their recruiting hot streak, as MT announced the signing of four soon-to-be Blue Raiders on Wednesday's National Signing Day.
Breeden summed up the latest class of Blue Raiders in one word: athletic.
"I think we addressed all of our needs with this group," said MT's skipper, who is entering his ninth season. "This is going to be one of the most athletic groups that we've had, probably more so than any recruiting class we've ever had. All of them have a very good softball IQ and have played some high-caliber ball. We tried to find some winners, and they all have been on some championship winning teams."
Alabama product Anyce Harvey will move north and join Tennessee natives Claire Czajkowski, Abby Shoulders and Claire Woods as freshmen for the 2022 season.
"We recruit nationally, but it just happened this time that we had some very good kids in our backyard that we were lucky enough to get," Breeden added. "Some kids that we've talked to locally want to go away from home for school, but in this case, we had some kids that wanted to stay local. That's going to be great for our program, and we're going to put some more people in the stands as well."
Three of these future Blue Raiders were ranked in the Extra Inning Softball top-200 national rankings. MT's 2021 recruiting class is the fifth-best in Conference USA and tied for second-best among programs in the state of Tennessee according to Extra Inning Softball.
Claire Czajkowski | IF | 5-foot-7 | Murfreesboro, Tenn./Siegel HS
Murfreesboro's own Claire Czajkowski was ranked at No. 169 in the Extra Inning Softball top 200. Although she'll likely see playing time at all infield positions, Czajkowski was named the No. 71 catcher in the nation according to the Extra Elite Player Rankings, coming in at fourth-best among C-USA signees and second-best in Tennessee.
Through two full seasons and part of her junior season at Siegel, Czajkowski boasts a .316 batting average with seven homers, 52 RBIs and a .967 fielding percentage. She was named All-District her freshman and sophomore seasons and was named a "Player to Watch" by the Daily News Journal before her junior season. Siegel won the district championship in both full seasons and entered 2020 ranked as the No. 2 team in the state.
13 of Czajowski's Tennessee Mojo travel teammates were ranked in the Extra Inning Softball top 100. Czajkowski has been on numerous national top 10 travel teams, including a Junior Olympic Championship in 2019.
"[Czajkowski has] played on an extremely high-caliber summer team, and of course, being from Siegel, she's been in the state tournament a couple of times as well. She's going to be able to do a little bit of everything in the infield for us, and we're really excited about how she swings the bat," Breeden said of the newest homegrown Blue Raider.
Anyce Harvey | OF/UT | 5-foot-11 | Trussville, Ala./Hewitt-Trussville HS
Harvey joined Czajkowski in the Extra Inning Softball top 200 list, checking in at No. 193. The Alabama native was No. 81 in the Extra Elite Outfield Player Rankings, placing fourth among C-USA signees and fourth among all Tennessee school signees.
After three seasons of softball at Hewitt-Trussville High School just outside of Birmingham, Harvey has dominated opponents with a .436 batting average and .461 on base percentage. Harvey led her high school to a Class 7A State Championship in 2019 and a Class 7A Area and Region championship in 2018. As a freshman in 2018, Harvey was second in the state with 44 stolen bases. Most recently she was named First Team All-South Metro after her junior season.
The future Blue Raider outfielder plays in the summer for the East Cobb Bullets, which placed 12 members of its team in the Extra Inning Softball top 100. Harvey's team has placed first in three major tournaments in 2019 as well as the 2020 TCS Nationals.
"Just going by the eye test, Anyce looks like the best athlete we've ever recruited. She's strong, she can run like a deer, she can hit the ball, and she has a great arm. We expect her to be ready to play when she comes in next year," Breeden added.
Abby Shoulders | MI/UT | 5-foot-2 | Lafayette, Tenn./Macon County HS
Breeden and his staff believe Shoulders to be an important pick-up for the 2022 season and beyond. Shoulders has been described as a right-handed hitting version of current MT left fielder Claire Smith. Shoulders brings an element of speed along with a reliable glove that Breeden can trust in the middle infield or in the outfield.
With Shoulders at the forefront, Macon County won a softball district championship for the first time in school history in Shoulders' sophomore season. Entering her senior season, she has a .495 batting average with 83 runs scored and 50 stolen bases. Shoulders was named the district 8AA Freshman MVP in 2018, and in 2019 she was named to the All-State Team and was the district 8AA Defensive MVP.
In the summer, Shoulders plays travel softball for Fury Platinum, where her team won the 2018 JO Cup 14U championship.
"[Abby's] high school coach thinks she might be the best player to come out of Macon County, and hopefully that's the case. She's a quality person with a quality family, and we're expecting her to come in and fit right in," Breeden said of his newest utility player.
Claire Woods | P/3B | 5-foot-8 | Lawrenceburg, Tenn./Summertown HS
Claire Woods checks in at No. 117 overall in the Extra Inning Softball top 200 to be MT's top-ranked signee in the class of 2021. Woods is listed as the 64th-best pitcher in the country in the Extra Elite Player Rankings, where she's sixth in C-USA and second in Tennessee. Scout Softball named Woods the third-best uncommitted pitcher in the nation before she verbally committed to the Blue Raiders.
Through three seasons at Summertown High School, Woods has a 1.10 ERA with 307 strikeouts in 255 innings pitched. In addition to her work in the circle, Woods boasts a .459 batting average with 14 homers. She was named All-District Pitcher of the Year as a freshman and District MVP as a sophomore. The Columbia Daily Herald gave her the All-Star Prep Softball Award in 2019. Woods qualified for the state championship cross country race this fall, and she also lettered in basketball for two years.
Woods has played with four premier travel softball teams through the years: Fury 02 Sargent, Tennessee Mojo, Birmingham Vipers and most recently So Cal Athletics, which has four players ranked in the Extra Inning Softball top 100. She has been part of two national championship teams and was selected for the 2017 Colorado Sparkler All-Star Games, 2018 USA Softball JO Cup Exhibition Camp and 2018 Scout All-American Games.
"We think [Woods] may be the best pitcher we've recruited here. She throws in the mid-60s, and she's thought in the travel ball circles to be in the top five percent of pitchers in America. We'll give her an opportunity, and we'll see how far she can take us," said Breeden.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Softball), Facebook (Blue Raider Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
Breeden summed up the latest class of Blue Raiders in one word: athletic.
"I think we addressed all of our needs with this group," said MT's skipper, who is entering his ninth season. "This is going to be one of the most athletic groups that we've had, probably more so than any recruiting class we've ever had. All of them have a very good softball IQ and have played some high-caliber ball. We tried to find some winners, and they all have been on some championship winning teams."
Alabama product Anyce Harvey will move north and join Tennessee natives Claire Czajkowski, Abby Shoulders and Claire Woods as freshmen for the 2022 season.
"We recruit nationally, but it just happened this time that we had some very good kids in our backyard that we were lucky enough to get," Breeden added. "Some kids that we've talked to locally want to go away from home for school, but in this case, we had some kids that wanted to stay local. That's going to be great for our program, and we're going to put some more people in the stands as well."
Three of these future Blue Raiders were ranked in the Extra Inning Softball top-200 national rankings. MT's 2021 recruiting class is the fifth-best in Conference USA and tied for second-best among programs in the state of Tennessee according to Extra Inning Softball.
Claire Czajkowski | IF | 5-foot-7 | Murfreesboro, Tenn./Siegel HS
Murfreesboro's own Claire Czajkowski was ranked at No. 169 in the Extra Inning Softball top 200. Although she'll likely see playing time at all infield positions, Czajkowski was named the No. 71 catcher in the nation according to the Extra Elite Player Rankings, coming in at fourth-best among C-USA signees and second-best in Tennessee.
Through two full seasons and part of her junior season at Siegel, Czajkowski boasts a .316 batting average with seven homers, 52 RBIs and a .967 fielding percentage. She was named All-District her freshman and sophomore seasons and was named a "Player to Watch" by the Daily News Journal before her junior season. Siegel won the district championship in both full seasons and entered 2020 ranked as the No. 2 team in the state.
13 of Czajowski's Tennessee Mojo travel teammates were ranked in the Extra Inning Softball top 100. Czajkowski has been on numerous national top 10 travel teams, including a Junior Olympic Championship in 2019.
"[Czajkowski has] played on an extremely high-caliber summer team, and of course, being from Siegel, she's been in the state tournament a couple of times as well. She's going to be able to do a little bit of everything in the infield for us, and we're really excited about how she swings the bat," Breeden said of the newest homegrown Blue Raider.
Anyce Harvey | OF/UT | 5-foot-11 | Trussville, Ala./Hewitt-Trussville HS
Harvey joined Czajkowski in the Extra Inning Softball top 200 list, checking in at No. 193. The Alabama native was No. 81 in the Extra Elite Outfield Player Rankings, placing fourth among C-USA signees and fourth among all Tennessee school signees.
After three seasons of softball at Hewitt-Trussville High School just outside of Birmingham, Harvey has dominated opponents with a .436 batting average and .461 on base percentage. Harvey led her high school to a Class 7A State Championship in 2019 and a Class 7A Area and Region championship in 2018. As a freshman in 2018, Harvey was second in the state with 44 stolen bases. Most recently she was named First Team All-South Metro after her junior season.
The future Blue Raider outfielder plays in the summer for the East Cobb Bullets, which placed 12 members of its team in the Extra Inning Softball top 100. Harvey's team has placed first in three major tournaments in 2019 as well as the 2020 TCS Nationals.
"Just going by the eye test, Anyce looks like the best athlete we've ever recruited. She's strong, she can run like a deer, she can hit the ball, and she has a great arm. We expect her to be ready to play when she comes in next year," Breeden added.
Abby Shoulders | MI/UT | 5-foot-2 | Lafayette, Tenn./Macon County HS
Breeden and his staff believe Shoulders to be an important pick-up for the 2022 season and beyond. Shoulders has been described as a right-handed hitting version of current MT left fielder Claire Smith. Shoulders brings an element of speed along with a reliable glove that Breeden can trust in the middle infield or in the outfield.
With Shoulders at the forefront, Macon County won a softball district championship for the first time in school history in Shoulders' sophomore season. Entering her senior season, she has a .495 batting average with 83 runs scored and 50 stolen bases. Shoulders was named the district 8AA Freshman MVP in 2018, and in 2019 she was named to the All-State Team and was the district 8AA Defensive MVP.
In the summer, Shoulders plays travel softball for Fury Platinum, where her team won the 2018 JO Cup 14U championship.
"[Abby's] high school coach thinks she might be the best player to come out of Macon County, and hopefully that's the case. She's a quality person with a quality family, and we're expecting her to come in and fit right in," Breeden said of his newest utility player.
Claire Woods | P/3B | 5-foot-8 | Lawrenceburg, Tenn./Summertown HS
Claire Woods checks in at No. 117 overall in the Extra Inning Softball top 200 to be MT's top-ranked signee in the class of 2021. Woods is listed as the 64th-best pitcher in the country in the Extra Elite Player Rankings, where she's sixth in C-USA and second in Tennessee. Scout Softball named Woods the third-best uncommitted pitcher in the nation before she verbally committed to the Blue Raiders.
Through three seasons at Summertown High School, Woods has a 1.10 ERA with 307 strikeouts in 255 innings pitched. In addition to her work in the circle, Woods boasts a .459 batting average with 14 homers. She was named All-District Pitcher of the Year as a freshman and District MVP as a sophomore. The Columbia Daily Herald gave her the All-Star Prep Softball Award in 2019. Woods qualified for the state championship cross country race this fall, and she also lettered in basketball for two years.
Woods has played with four premier travel softball teams through the years: Fury 02 Sargent, Tennessee Mojo, Birmingham Vipers and most recently So Cal Athletics, which has four players ranked in the Extra Inning Softball top 100. She has been part of two national championship teams and was selected for the 2017 Colorado Sparkler All-Star Games, 2018 USA Softball JO Cup Exhibition Camp and 2018 Scout All-American Games.
"We think [Woods] may be the best pitcher we've recruited here. She throws in the mid-60s, and she's thought in the travel ball circles to be in the top five percent of pitchers in America. We'll give her an opportunity, and we'll see how far she can take us," said Breeden.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Softball), Facebook (Blue Raider Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).
Players Mentioned
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