Former Cornersville High School softball standout Haley Fagan found a final landing spot for her college athletic career when she signed a letter of intent to play for Trevecca Nazarene University this summer.

After signing with the University of Tennessee out of high school, Fagan transferred to Chattanooga State midway through her sophomore year and turned in a strong 2013 season for the Lady Tigers.

Serving as the number one starter on Chattanooga State's pitching staff, Fagan finished with an impressive 17-4 record and posted a 2.22 ERA while tallying 108 strikeouts in 142 innings of work. Fagan also tossed 15 complete games and notched one save en route to being named to the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association All-Conference Team.

Pitching boost

With Trevecca making the transition from NAIA to the NCAA Division II ranks, coach Ben Tyree believes that signing Fagan immediately bolsters the Lady Trojans pitching staff.

"I think Haley has a chance to come in and contribute right away. She's worked really hard in the offseason and I think she's going to be one of our top pitchers," said Tyree. "We've probably had five or six Division I players come into our program, but to get a local player like Haley is always big."

Although Fagan will be a junior academically, she will still have three years of eligibility left after redshirting her freshman year at Tennessee.

While she received interest from several Division I schools at the end of the 2013 season, which included scholarship offers from MTSU and East Tennessee State University, Fagan chose to attend Trevecca due to academic reasons. Fagan plans to pursue a major in Biology before entering Trevecca's Physician Assistant program after graduating.

"It had what I wanted academically for my future. I want to go into their Physician Assistant program for graduate school," said Fagan. "I also loved that it's close to home. Coach Tyree understands the situation that I was in so that was big and I really appreciate it. I know a couple of girls on the team too so that should make the transition easier."

Strong start

Despite being a newcomer to the NCAA Division II ranks, Trevecca more than held its own this past season, as the Lady Trojans finished with a 29-12 record and captured both the regular season and tournament titles in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

"Trevecca has a strong program and is in a really good conference. We're still going to play a few Division I schools too so I'll still face some good competition," said Fagan.

Fagan also excels in the classroom and was named to the All-SEC Academic Honor Roll while she was enrolled at Tennessee and currently boasts a 3.7 GPA.

"Haley is a good fit for our program. She's a good student, a great athlete, and is the type of person that we're trying to recruit here," said Tyree. "She's the type of player you want to build your program around."

Prep career

During her career at Cornersville, Fagan helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to three District 11-A regular season titles, three District tournament championships, two Region 6-A crowns, and three third place finishes in the Class A State tournament.

A two-time All-District selection, Fagan was named District MVP for the regular season her junior year before claiming the District tournament MVP award as a senior. Along with being named to the Middle Tennessee Softball Coaches Association All-Midstate Team twice, Fagan was selected to the Class A All-State Team by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association her senior year and was named Second Team All-Midstate by the Tennessean, which included players from every classification.

Basketball, too

Fagan was also a standout on the basketball court at Cornersville and finished with 1,110 points in her CHS career while helping to guide the Lady Bulldogs to three straight District 11-A regular season titles and two District tournament championships.

During her sophomore year, Cornersville captured the Region 6-A tournament crown and reached the Class A State tournament for the first time in the program's history. Fagan was a three-time All-District and All-Region selection as well.

If her previous track record is any indicator, Fagan should continue to experience success at Trevecca both athletically and academically.