In January 2017, USA Softball announced the creation of USA
Softball All-American Games which will be held at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex
August 18-20, 2017 in Oklahoma City. The
USA Softball All-American Games provide national exposure to elite athletes in
the 12-under Junior Olympic (JO) fast pitch division and will highlight the top
competitors from across the country.
Texas Travelers Gold players; Elizabeth Schaefer (2022
Pitcher), Kaydee Bennett (2022 Shortstop), Madison McClarity (2022 1B), Shelby
Nelson (2022 Catcher) and Macy Hamilton (2022 Outfielder) will help lead an
All-Star cast of elite softball players at the 12u level.
“The USA Softball JO Commissioners are very excited to host
an event that showcases 360 of the best 12-under players from around the
country,” said USA Softball of Southern California JO Commissioner Kristi
Allen. “We are excited to give these athletes the opportunity to play at the
ASA Hall of Fame Complex representing USA Softball.”
With teams selected from the 10 USA Softball Regions, a
total of 24 teams from across the U.S. will compete in the USA Softball
All-American games. Each region
identified top players during ASA Sanctioned events and were chosen by
commissioners and coaches of the region. Athletes had to be on a USA Softball
registered team for the 2017 season and must be age eligible for the 12-under
JO division.
Teams competing in the USA Softball All-American Games will
be invited to participate in an exposure camp to highlight their skills. The
USA Softball All-American Games will also have an Opening Ceremony, free live
streaming and live stats through USASoftball.com and a tournament “swag” bag,
which will include their USA Softball All-American jerseys and other official
USA Softball and sponsor merchandise.
Elizabeth
Schaefer has been talked about as one of the top pitchers in the country in
her age group for several years. She is
a hard thrower with a fastball that is consistently hitting 60-61 mph, but can
easily throw a 36-38 mph changeup to make hitters look downright silly. In addition to her fastball and change;
Elizabeth is known to throw a drop ball that will fall off a cliff at 57-59
mph. She keeps the batters honest adding
in a Rise, Curve and Screwball which allows her to be quite successful. Schaefer is a very loyal player only playing
for the Texas Travelers since getting into select softball and has rewarded the
organization with over 1700 strikeouts which is the All-Time strikeout record
for the 21 year old organization. In
2015, during the ASA/USA National Championships in Normal, Illinois; she
pitched 9 innings and had 18 strikeouts during the game which is an ASA single
game strikeout record for the National Championship Tournament. Playing at the USA Hall of Fame Stadium will
be exciting for Elizabeth as she earned her 1500 career strikeout in the same
complex last year helping the Travelers win the ASA Oklahoma HOF Tournament.
Elizabeth will be entering the 8th grade. After, she will attend Rockwall High
School. In addition to playing softball,
she is the captain for the Texas Assault National Club Volleyball Team where
she plays middle. She led her district
winning 7th grade basketball team in points, rebounds and blocked
shots. Elizabeth also plays on the
Volleyball A-Team, Soccer A-Team and placed in district throwing the discs and
shot for Track & Field. She maintains
near perfect grades in school with an overall 98 GPA in Pre-AP Honors Classes
and was selected for the DUKE TIP Academic Talent Search. Schaefer is in Honors Choir and competes in
various UIL events. After high school,
she plans to study law and is looking for a college that will help her reach
her life goals.
Kaydee
Bennett is the All-Time leader in hits for the Texas Travelers
organization. Her amazing speed and
triple threat option at the plate causes problems for opposing defenses across
the country. She can slap, bunt and hit
for power with ease. The story line is
always the same, “Where Kaydee goes so does the Texas Travelers offense!” This is a lot of pressure for many, but
Bennett takes it upon herself to make sure she is on base and she has delivered
with an On-Base percentage of .898 this season.
Once she is on base, Kaydee displays her superior speed. Winning numerous select softball challenges;
Kaydee has been clocked at 2.7 Home to First and 11.83 Home to Home. In addition to delivering at the plate,
Kaydee is the leader of the Texas Travelers infield playing shortstop. Bennett can be seen in tournaments tracking
balls behind third in foul territory to diving plays on the other side of
second base. If she played in the NFL,
she would be a true safety and that is exactly what she is for the
Travelers. She is a pitcher’s safety net
on the field.
Bennett is a dedicated student athlete at Sunnyvale Middle
School, a recognized high performing school in Dallas County. Kaydee is heavily involved and accomplished
in her school related and extracurricular events include: UIL Academics, STEM,
All-A honor roll in advanced courses, A-team volleyball, A-team basketball, and
track. Outside of school, Kaydee plays club volleyball as a left side hitter
for Texas Assault National Club Volleyball Team, the top team in her age
group. Outside of school and sports
Kaydee loves animals, reading, outdoor activities and spending time with her
friends and family. After high school
Kaydee would like to continue her studies in the medical field or law.
Madison
McClarity came to the Texas Travelers upon her family’s move from
Arkansas. She was highly touted as one
of Arkansas’s best 04 pitchers with a very strong bat. Madison has played catcher, 1st and 3rd base
as well as pitcher along with all outfield positions. She helped lead the Arkansas Wild Thangs 04
to 8U VTD World Series Championship in Coppell, Texas and led the Arkansas
Elite 04 team to a 10U Class B USFA World Series Championship in Panama City
Beach Florida. When she joined the Texas
Travelers in 2016 she made the choice to move to focus on her play at the
corner infield positions which has allowed her to become completely dominate at
the plate. However, Madison can still be
seen on the mound from time to time. For
the Travelers, McClarity is a power hitter consistently sending bombs into the
stratosphere. Her 5’9” frame makes her
easy to spot on the field and her leadership is seen in the dugout and outside
the lines.
McClarity is an outstanding student in Rowlett where she is
an All-A/B student in Pre-AP Honors classes for Math, English and Science. She was the leader on the Basketball and
Volleyball A-Teams and chosen as the MVP for Volleyball. In addition to playing for the Travelers she
is also on the Lady Hawks AAU travel basketball team where she consistently
leads the team in rebounds and block shots.
During her down time this strong athlete loves to crochet and play the
saxophone. After high school Madison
would like to study architecture in college.
Shelby
Nelson wanted to play in the most competitive tournaments in select
softball and made the choice to play for the Texas Travelers in the Fall of
last season. Quickly, she proved to
become a pitchers best advocate with her blocking and framing ability behind
the plate. She is known for making balls
look like strikes and her strong leadership on the field. Shelby can be seen catching for some of the
top D1 pitchers in the country which has elevated her into one of the best
signal callers at the 12U level. She has
earned USSSA All-American team, Team MVP at the OU softball camp and Most
Improved Award. During the Texas
Travelers Spring/Summer Season, Nelson has quickly become a fixture in the
lineup due to her power and strong contact.
It is becoming a regular occurrence with her batting over .700 and
racking up doubles and RBI’s for the team.
Nelson is an All-A Honor Roll student at Lake Dallas. She has received the Principal Award (Top
Student in the grade), DUKE TIP (Academic Talent Search) and National Junior
Honor Society. She is also on the
student council. In addition to being a
great student and playing for the Travelers; she is a starter for her middle
school’s volleyball, basketball and tennis teams. After high school, Shelby would like to
become a zoologist.
Macy
Hamilton is an exciting player to watch.
The Texas Travelers asked her to be a pickup player in last season’s
Nationals held in Missouri and she quickly became a team favorite. She is loved by all of the players and her
fans with her hard-nosed efforts at the plate, on the base paths and in the
field. Macy is quick to listen to the
teams needs and fast to make adjustments to meet them. This has been shown recently as she is
becoming a great slapper. She is a true
utility player for the Travelers as she plays all three outfield positions and
middle infield.
Hamilton is an All-A Honor Roll student, Duke Tip (Academic
Talent Search) and National Junior Honor Society recipient at Wester Middle
School. She was the team captain for her
district champion volleyball team, starting point guard and team captain for
her basketball team. She was also on the
4X400 relay team for track. In addition
to being a strong student and great teammate for every team she plays on, Macy
is a trained vocalist and guitarist.
After she attends Mansfield High School she would like to study Sports
Marketing in college.
“I am proud that each of these girls are identified as some
of the top athletes at their position.
Texas has some great talent and outstanding select softball teams. For USA Softball to recognize our Texas
Travelers girls is an honor that I am happy to be a small part of” adds, Head
Coach of the Texas Travelers Gold Team, Kyle Bennett.
"What a great opportunity for 12-under female athletes
across the country to be identified by members of USA Softball's local
associations,” said Director of Championships Chris Sebren. “To have the
opportunity to come together as individuals and compete as regional teams in
this inaugural All-American Games will be such a great experience for them.
These select individuals will join some of the best athletes across the world
who will be competing in Oklahoma City this year as we host the NCAA Women’s
College World Series (WCWS) and the World Cup of Softball. What a great way for
USA Softball to finish off our fast pitch season in Oklahoma City with the
inaugural All-American Games.”
Designation to a USA Softball All-American team is the
highest honor a player can receive and instantly brands the player as one of
the top athletes in the United States. Only 360 girls Nationwide will have the
opportunity to wear the USA Softball Jersey at this elite event.
The event will feature a free camp for all players, a meet
& greet with USA Softball National Team Members, Opening Ceremonies, and
intense competition in a 3 Game Guarantee Tournament and a swag bag for all
participants.
To learn more about the Texas Travelers Gold Team and each
of the players chosen from the Travelers visit https://www.texastravelerssoftball.com/
The National Camp concludes with the Select 30 All American Games, which features the top 30 athletes in each graduation class as selected by AASN following two days of evaluations. These athletes will compete against each other in two games to determine who will be named First and Second Team All-Americans. The final All-American teams will be announced via a selection show on Flo Softball following the event. The country has been divided into eight regions and we will be selecting the top 26 players (13 girls on each team, two teams in each age group) to represent their respective region.