Former New Hope High School standout and Louisiana Lafayette freshman DJ Sanders was one of 17 players and three alternates selected Monday to be a part of the 2015 USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team.
In making the announcement, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball completed a two-day selection process in which players were selected by members of the Women’s National Team Selection Committee. The athletes will participate in the International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women’s World Championship in August in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the World Cup of Softball X in July in Southern California.
Sanders, who was traveling back to school Monday with her mother, Renee, wasn’t available for comment.
Last month, Sanders learned she was one of seven players invited to attend the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) Selection Camp on Jan. 3-4 at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, California. She was the only player in that group from the state of Mississippi. Five were from the state of California, while one was from the state of Georgia.
Sanders was a five-year letterwinner in fast- and slow-pitch softball and basketball at New Hope High. She was a four-time state champion in slow-pitch softball as an infielder, and a five-time district champion and a state runner-up in fast-pitch softball as a pitcher under coach Tabitha Beard. She also played forward for girls basketball coach Laura Holman, and twice helped the Trojans claim district titles. The team also won a North State Championship in Sanders’ senior year. Sanders was an All-State selection in all three sports as a junior and senior.
Sanders also was an accomplished travel softball player. She grew up playing the sport in Columbus and gained early exposure playing in Mississippi ASA. As she matured, Sanders’ talents attracted the attention of national coaches like ULL coach Michael Lotief. With 596 wins in 12 seasons as a co-head coach or coach at ULL, Lotief knows how to identify elite prospects. He said last month he wasn’t sure how Sanders earned an invitation to the Junior Women’s National Team Selection Camp, especially since she hadn’t played in her first official game for the Ragin’ Cajuns, but he said Sanders’ potential helped her earn an opportunity.
“I think it is one of the highest honors,” Lotief said. “To put it into perspective, Mississippi probably has not had a lot of kids invited to National Team tryouts. It is a West Coast dominated tryout because it is in California. For this kid to be invited without even playing a year of college softball is really an honor and a testament to how athletic she is and what her upside is.”
Last month, Lotief said Sanders’ trip to California “opens a lot of opportunities for other kids in Mississippi.” He said many young girls who play the sport dream about playing it in the Olympics. While softball isn’t currently in the Olympics (it was eliminated after the 2008 Games and denied an opportunity to be reinstated in 2013), it and baseball have a chance to re-join the program for the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Cal State Northridge coach Tairia Flowers will coach the Junior Women’s National Team. Fresno State coach Trisha Ford, Texas-Arlington coach Kristie Fox, and Florida coach Tim Walton will work as assistant coaches.
“We have a good mix of speed and power, and I’m very excited to see what we can do defensively,” Flowers said. “We have a good group of girls and will head into the summer with some experience with athletes having a full college season under their belt. We’ve also got a few young ones who will just be finishing up their high school careers. The staff and I are looking forward to the summer, and we know that these girls will be ready to go when we head to Oklahoma City for the ISF World Championships.”
Eleven Division I universities are represented on the team, while six athletes will finish their senior years of high school prior to the 2015 season. Also joining the roster are four athletes who participated at the USA Softball Junior Women’s Open Tryout on January 2.
Team USA will try to reclaim the Gold Medal at the ISF Junior Women’s World Championship (JWWC) after losing to Japan 4-0 at the 2013 JWWC in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Slated for Aug. 9-15 at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, the world’s best 19-and-under teams will compete for the title.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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