MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball head coach Becky Clark announced that Olivia Lackie (Walker, La.), Abby Allen (Monroe, La.), Bailey Welch (Hueytown, Ala.), Anah "Kaitlyn" Hughes (Trussville, Ala.) and Bella Farmer (Wetumpka, Ala.) have joined the fall signee class and will join the program for the 2021 season.

"Our program takes a big step forward with this signing class and I want to make sure I recognize the efforts of Coach [Kristiana] McCain and Coach [Hannah] Campbell for playing a major role in the recruitment of these young ladies," Clark said of the class. "This group is the epitome of our recruiting philosophy including talented, athletic and competitive student-athletes with tremendous work ethic and mentality. We recruit character and mentality as much as we do athleticism and accomplishment and I'm happy to say this class has all of the above. In addition to their success on the softball field, they all are great students and first-class teammates. I think Jaguar Softball fans are going to love supporting them and will be proud to have them in red, white and blue representing our university."

South Alabama's 2020 fall class is ranked No. 50 nationally by Extra Innings Softball.

Olivia Lackie
6-2 | Pitcher
Walker, La.
Holden High School | Hotshots

Lackie – has been a member of the varsity squad at Holden High School since eighth grade – was recently ranked 56th in Extra Innings Extra Elite 100 rankings, and No. 30 nationally at her position. While with the Rockets, Lackie earned first-team all-state from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, all-district and all-parish honors each of her first four varsity seasons with the program. She has also been named the Class B LHSAA state tournament Most Valuable Player each of the last three seasons.

"Olivia has worked extremely hard to position herself as one of the top right-handed pitchers coming out of the 2020 class," Clark said. "She is a competitor with an incredible work ethic. Her physical ability and overall mentality compliment the fact that she is a first-class person and teammate."

She led the Rockets to their third straight Class B team title this past spring where she was 21-2 with a 0.55 earned run average in the circle, and also struck out 288 batters, and was a force offensively as she sported a .452 batting average.

The 6-foot-2 pitcher led the nation in strikeouts on MaxPreps.com for several weeks during the 2018 season as she finished with 301 strikeouts and was selected as the MaxPreps/NFCA National Player of the Week (Feb. 27 – March 5) during her ninth-grade season.

Lackie has played three years of travel ball with the Diamond Sports Hotshots organization and was coached by former Texas A&M All-American pitcher Mel Dumezich. During her most recent club season, Lackie recorded 136 strikeouts in 103 innings of work.



Abby Allen
5-7 | Catcher/Utility
Monroe, La.
Ouachita Parish High School | Texas Bombers

Over the past three seasons at Ouachita Parish High School, Allen has been a standout performer as she has been selected as a three-time first-team all-state performer by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA), a two-time first-team all-state selection by the coaches and a three-time first-team all-district honoree. Allen has twice been named the Northeast Louisiana Hitter and Player of the Year during her career.

"I anticipate Abby coming in and making an immediate impact," Clark said. "Offensively, she is a middle of the order hitter who will hit for both high average and power. Her overall compete mentality, grit and work ethic are a perfect fit for our program."

She has an extremely good eye at the plate as she has walked 61 times and struck out just 11 times in 274 plate appearances over her last two seasons. Allen currently holds the school's single season and career home run records at Oachita Parish.

As a junior, Allen helped the Lady Leos record a 24-10 overall record and led an offensive attack that set school records in home runs (82) and batting average (.398). Individually, Allen batted .557 with a 1.226 slugging percentage and a.676 OBP. In her 34 games play, she posted 54 hits and 57 runs driven in. Of her 54 hits, 31 went for extra bases as she hit 17 home runs and 14 doubles.

The 5-foot-7 catcher also finished the season with 16 multi-hit games and recorded at least one hit in each of the first 15 games to start the season and had a hit in all but four outings during the season. Allen walked 34 times and struck out just seven times in her 136 plate appearances. One of her best outings of the season came when she went 3-for-4 with all three of her hits going over the fence and drove in six runs in a 15-14 win over Mt. Carmel. She also plated a season-best seven runs with a pair of home runs in a 16-15 win over Bentonville.

Allen was the 2019 Recipient of the Masonic Lodge Honesty and Integrity Award.

During her sophomore season, Allen led Ouachita to the Louisiana Class 5A state title. Trailing 7-0, Allen and the Lady Leos rallied to defeat Hahnville 10-9 in the state championship contest with Allen actually hitting a double which game Ouachita Parish its first lead in that ballgame and was named the Most Valuable Player.

Allen received the Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance/LSWA Miss Softball award after posting a .505 batting average with 48 RBI and 13 home runs. She recorded 56 hits – 26 of which were for extra bases – and had 19 multi-hit outings. Allen struck out just four times and walked 27 times in 138 plate appearances. Her best performance came in a 12-0 victory over Santa Fe where she drove in a season-high six runs. Allen was also selected to the MaxPreps 2020 All-American team that season.

She was named the Class 5A MVP as a freshman where she helped the Lady Leos reach the state championship game. Allen batted.478 and hit 13 home runs. She was named the FloSoftball 2020 Top 100 in 2016.

Allen has played two years of club ball with Texas Bombers and four years with the Birmingham Thunderbolts.



Bailey Welch
5-5 | Outfield
Hueytown, Ala.
Bessemer Academy | Birmingham Thunderbolts

Welch joins the signee class after lettering for Bessemer Academy where she has been a varsity squad member since seventh grade. Like fellow signee Olivia Lackie, Welch has also been nationally rated as she is listed in Extra Innings Softball as top 200 softball players in the 2020 class.

"Bailey adds a quality left-handed bat to our lineup along with intelligent, aggressive base running," Clark stated. "She is a student of the game with a high softball IQ. Her overall character and work ethic are two intangibles that will add to the overall strength of our team."

As a junior, Welch earned honorable mention all-state honors from the Alabama Sports Writers Association as an outfielder and was a first-team Birmingham all-region selection. This past summer, Welch participated in the AISA All-Star Game. Prior to the June event, Welch won the AISA Junior Class Homerun Derby

Welch made the AISA all-tournament team as an eighth grader and was named offensive player of the year at the conclusion of the 2018 season.

The Hueytown, Ala., native has been a member of the Birmingham Thunderbolts for 10 years. While playing for the Thunderbolts her team finished fifth in the nation in 2015, and has recorded numerous top 10 finishes during her time with the club team.



Anah "Kaitlyn" Hughes
5-9 | Pitcher
Trussville, Ala.
Hewitt-Trussville High School | Tennessee Mojo Fastpitch

Hughes signs with the Jags after lettering at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Ala., where she earned second-team ASWA all-state honors as a junior.

"Kaitlyn is one of the top left-handed pitchers in our state having helped pitch Hewitt-Trussville to a state title last season," Clark noted. "She has an incredibly high ceiling with the drive and desire to go with it. She is a solid teammate with great character and mentality."

During the 2019 campaign, Hughes led HTHS (44-15-1) to the AHSAA 7A State Softball Championship – the program's first – as the Huskies defeated Sparkman (8-4) in the championship game. The 5-foot-9 pitcher recorded the final two outs in an elimination to earn the save and advance Hewitt-Trussville to the title game.

The Huskies lost to Fairhope in the first game of the state tournament, but responded to win six games in two days to capture the title.

Hughes started 21 games in the circle as a junior, posting a 17-4 mark, a 2.34 earned run average and 97 strikeouts. She has played 13 years of travel ball most recently competing with Tennessee Mojo Fastpitch.



Bella Farmer
5-4 | Infield
Wetumpka, Ala.
Holtville High School | ATL Vipers

As a junior, Farmer helped Holtville High School finish with a 41-12 record. She played in all 53 games, batted .338, and posted 45 hits, 37 RBI and 45 runs scored. Of her 45 hits, 16 went for extra bases – 10 doubles, two triples and four home runs. She was also a perfect 14-for-14 in her stolen base attempts.

"Bella adds depth to our infield with the ability to play second, short and third," Clark said. "Defensively, she has above average range, glove and arm. Offensively, she will hit for both average and power from the right side. Her overall softball IQ and ballplayer instincts help round out our 2020 class."

Farmer ended the season with nine multi-hit and 10 multi-RBI games. She also had four hits, scored seven runs and drove in three in a double header sweep of Elmore County.

The infielder earned Class 4A Honorable Mention all-state honors as a sophomore after batting .396 with a .798 slugging percentage and a 1.281 OPS. In her 54 games, she had 55 hits, 56 runs, 41 RBI, 13 doubles, 5 triples and 11 home runs.

Farmer's best game of season came against Tallassee where she was 5-for-6 at the plate with three runs scored, six RBI, two doubles and two home runs. She also posted 15 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games during the 2018 season.



For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub.

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