Stacey Lauren Nelson (born April 12, 1987) is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired right-handed

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

, originally from

Los Alamitos, California Los Alamitos () is a city in Orange County, California. The city was incorporated in March 1960. The population was 11,780 at the 2020 census, up from 11,449 at the 2010 census. The adjacent unincorporated community of Rossmoor uses the same 9 ...

. She played for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as th ...

softball team from 2006-2009, leading the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

to its first

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

berth in 2008 and a national runner-up appearance in the 2009

. Nelson was also the 13th pick in the 2009

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

's draft by the defunct

Washington Glory The Washington Glory was a women's softball team based in Fairfax, Virginia. They played during 2007 and 2008 as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. History The Glory won the 2007 NPF championship, defeating the Rockford Thunder in the fina ...

. Nelson pitched for the

United States women's national softball team The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball (formerly known as the Amateur So ...

in 2009 and 2010 before attending law school at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She is the Florida career record holder wins,

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

and

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

. She also ranks all-time in several career categories in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

and the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

Early Years

Nelson was born in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...

and raised in

. She attended

Los Alamitos High School Los Alamitos High School (also known as Los Al) is a public school for grades 9 to 12 located in Los Alamitos, California, and also serving the city of Seal Beach and the community of Rossmoor. It is the only traditional high school in the Los ...

, and was coached during her high school softball career by Jim Dolan. She set school records for career

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s and single season

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

, while her high school won the Sunset League title all four years of her career. Her team were 2003

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have ...

(CIF) Quarterfinalists and 2004 CIF Runners-up. She was named the team's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

in 2004 & 2005. Nelson was named to the All-Sunset League and All-County team twice and named 2005 Sunset League Pitcher of the Year and Los Alamitos High School's Female Athlete of the Year.

Florida Gators

Nelson began her career being put on the

Freshman Team and setting a school record in season saves. In her sophomore year, Nelson was named to the second team for both the

and the NFCA. She broke the school records for season

win Win or WIN may refer to: * A victory Arts and entertainment Film * '' Win!'', a 2016 American film Literature * ''Win'' (Coben novel), a 2121 novel by Harlan Coben * WIN (pacifist magazine), published by the War Resisters League * WIN (wrest ...

s, strikeouts and

, all remain top-5 marks; her

, shutouts and

opponents batting average In baseball statistics, batting average against (denoted by BAA or AVG), also known as opponents' batting average (denoted by OBA), is a statistic that measures a pitcher's ability to prevent hits during official at bats. It can alternatively be ...

were and continue to be top-10 all-time. The wins are also 10th best for the conference. As a junior, Nelson made the NFCA First Team and was awarded

Pitcher of The Year. Earning a conference pitching Triple Crown, she also broke her own season records in wins (led

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

and set the Junior Class record), strikeouts and innings, while her ERA also improved to the top of the school list. Her opponents average, shutouts and strikeout ratio still rank top-10. In the conference her wins, ERA and innings also remain top-10. On February 27, Nelson tied and set a school and career single game record fanning 16 batters vs. the

Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics (previously known as the 49ers), are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

. Winning pitcher Brooke Turner matched the total for 32 combined strikeouts, a top-10 NCAA record. Beginning on March 13, with an 8-4 victory over the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a m ...

, the Gator went on a 26 consecutive game win streak, snapped by the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I (FBS for football) as a member of the Am ...

on May 18. Leading her team to a No. 1 seed, the Gators reached the

and responded to an opening loss with three wins to get to the semifinals where they were eventually eliminated by the

Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname " Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Agg ...

on June 2. Nelson was named to the WCWS All-Tournament Team. For a final time Nelson was a NFCA First Team honoree and

Pitcher of The Year. With a second conference Triple Crown and two

no-hitters In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

in tow, she set new school records in season ERA (tops in the NCAA),

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

and shutouts, which helped her to the all-time season Triple Crown for the school. Her wins, strikeouts, innings, strikeout ratio (career best 8.7) and opponents average are top-5 records. The ERA and wins rank fifth for a

season. In a February 20 win against the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of ...

, Nelson collected her 100th victory. On April 4-May 3, Nelson achieved a career best 51.1 consecutive scoreless inning streak. She was 11-0 over 12 games (6 complete), whiffing 66 and surrendering 24 hits and 8 walks for a 0.62 WHIP. Later during that streak on April 26 and for one of her no-hitters, she also garnered the 1000th strikeout of her career, defeating the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (o ...

. To reach that year's WCWS, she bested the

on May 16 with a 14 strikeout performance in regulation for a career high. Repeating their previous tournament seeding, the team went undefeated in getting to the finals and Nelson pitched two shutouts before suffering back-to-back losses to eventual champions the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...

, concluding on June 2. She was again named All-Tournament for her efforts. Nelson would graduate with and maintains the Florida career crown in wins, ERA, shutouts and innings pitched; her strikeouts, opponents average and strikeout ratio are currently top-5 all-time. Additionally, she ranks top-5 in all but the three latter categories for her school's conference. In the NCAA, her wins tie her at sixth place along with several season records.

Awards and honors

*2007 - SEC Academic Honor Roll *2007 - NFCA All-Southeast Region *2007 - NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-American second team *2007 - Easton All-American Pitcher *2008 - SEC First Team *2008 - SEC Academic Honor Roll *2008 - SEC Tournament MVP *2008 - NFCA All-Southeast Region *2008 - NFCA/

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

All-American first team *2008 - SEC Player of the Year *2008 -

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

The Magazine Academic First-Team All-American *2008 - Easton All-American Pitcher *2009 - Top three-finalist for the 2009 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year *2009 - SEC First-Team *2009 - SEC Academic Honor Roll *2009 - NFCA/

All-American first team *2009 -

The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year *2009 - SEC Pitcher of the Year *2009 -

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

*2014 - All-Brazilian Joao Pedro Tournament Champion

Law School

Nelson attended Loyola Law School from 2011-2014. She currently works at the Inspector General's Office in Los Angeles, CA. Nelson filed a lawsuit against her employer at the Inspector General's Office alleging unfair employment practices. Nelson lost her lawsuit.

Philanthropy

Her interest in child soldiers has grown into a project in northern Uganda. With the goal of creating jobs for those affected by the LRA War, Nelson is working to open a bread factory in Pader, Uganda.

Career Statistics

University of Florida

References

External links

*
''Independent Alligator'' interviews Nelson''Sports Pundits'' discusses Stacey Nelson''Gainesville Sun'' talks about Nelson's performanceNelson wins Ben Hill Griffin AwardESPN's Graham Hays profiles Stacey Nelson - Nelson carries stellar arm and a smile February 11, 2009Stacey Nelson Softball 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS AwardSport's Illustrated On Campus Q&A Stacey Nelson May 30, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Stacey 1987 births Living people Florida Gators softball players Loyola Law School alumni People from Los Alamitos, California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Sportspeople from Orange County, California Softball players from California