The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Softball inks four players to 2017 signing class
11.09.2016 | Softball
Adams, Jefferson, Romero and Tedder sign NLI’s to join Texas Softball
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas head softball coach Connie Clark and the University of Texas softball program announced on Wednesday the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent (NLI) for the 2017-18 academic school year. Signees include (Position/Hometown/High school/Travel Ball Team): Ariana Adams (RHP/Magnolia, Texas/Magnolia West/Scrap Yard Dawgs), Janae Jefferson (OF/Humble, Texas/Nimitz Senior/Texas Aces Express Gold), Chloe Romero (RHP/Helendale, Calif./Academy of Careers & Exploration/California Cruisers) and Mary Katherine Tedder (IF/Hoover, Ala./Spain Park/Birmingham Thunderbolts).
"This 2017 class is going to be fun to coach," Clark said. "M. K. Tedder, Janae Jefferson, Ari Adams & Chloe Romero will provide us with power, speed and very solid pitching depth. Their individual resumes are impressive, but the one word I would use to describe these four collectively would be 'competitive.' Winning is important to them, and they have all shown throughout the recruiting process that they are ready to take things to another level. We cannot wait to get them on campus and integrated into our Longhorns family."
Ariana Adams
Position: RHP
Hometown: Magnolia, Texas
High School: Magnolia West H.S.
Travel Ball: Scrap Yard Dawgs
A native of Magnolia, Texas, Adams ventures to the Forty Acres with numerous accolades from the diamond in tow. During her interscholastic pitching career for head coach Sheryl Tamborello at Magnolia West H.S., she has registered a combined 1.20 ERA with 432 strikeouts over 397 innings of work. As a junior in 2016, Adams was selected as first-team Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) Class 5A All-State, second-team Texas Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Class 5A All-State and second-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Central Region after setting a school record with 19 wins to go along with a 0.79 ERA and 153 K's despite missing two months because of an injury. She is a three-time All-District 19-5A choice, winning All-District Pitcher of the Year accolades in 2016, as well as a three-time all-county selection. Adams also helped lead her travel ball team, the Scrap Yard Dawgs, to first place finishes in the Ronald McDonald, Hall of Fame and Colorado Sparkler events.
Janae Jefferson
Position: OF
Hometown: Humble, Texas
High School: Nimitz Senior H.S.
Travel Ball: Texas Aces Express Gold
A three-sport athlete, Jefferson has earned letters in softball, volleyball and basketball at Nimitz Senior H.S. in Houston, Texas. On the diamond, the 5-4 outfielder is a three-time All-District 18-6A selection and earned All-Greater Houston honors as a freshman after hitting .617 overall with 16 doubles, 11 triples, 16 stolen bases and 27 RBIs. During her sophomore campaign in 2014, Jefferson registered the most hits and highest average in her school's history by batting at a .727 clip with 74 hits, 18 doubles, 13 triples, four HR's, 21 steals and 37 RBIs. After managing a .687 average as a junior in 2015 (70 hits, 21 doubles, 15 triples, 31 RBIs) and swiping 18 bases, she enters her final campaign just 14 steals from having the most stolen bases in school history. On the basketball hardwood, Jefferson has been named first-team All-District 18-6A (2015) and earned an All-Greater Houston nomination, while on the volleyball court, she is a three-time All-District 18-6A choice (2013, 2014, 2016). For her Texas Aces Express Gold travel ball team and head coach David McCorkle, Jefferson has helped power her squad to first place at the 2014 Triple Crown Tournament in Atlanta, Ga., and fourth place at the 2014 ASA Nationals. During her most recent travel ball season, she batted .488 overall with 42 hits, eight doubles, four triples and 24 RBIs while swiping 22 bases and striking out just three times.
Chloe Romero
Position: RHP
Hometown: Helendale, Calif.
High School: Academy of Careers & Exploration
Travel Ball: California Cruisers
A multi-sport athlete that has earned letters in softball, soccer, volleyball and cross country at the Academy of Careers & Exploration in Helendale, Calif., Romero has made quite a name for herself on the diamond. During her three-year career, she has managed a 1.25 combined ERA from the circle with 702 strikeouts over 387 innings of work, while also batting .553 with 135 total hits, 154 runs scored, 46 stolen bases and a .910 slugging percentage. Listed 20th on FloSoftball's list of the "Hot 100 2017 Softball Recruits," Romero recently picked up her third career selection to the California Small Schools All-State Team and the All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section First Team as a junior in 2016 after batting .645 with 49 hits, 51 runs scored, a 1.026 slugging mark and a 0.92 ERA with 237 K's over 129 innings. During her career, she has helped her high school team to a 2014 CIF Southern Section State title as well as a state finalist berth in 2015. Romero has also picked up a selection as a 2014 MaxPreps Underclass All-American, is a three-time first-team Cross Valley League inclusion and has been named the Cross Valley League Most Valuable Player. She is also the Academy of Careers & Exploration three-mile female record holder and a three-time Cross Valley All-League choice in cross country. With the California Cruisers, Romero has helped her travel ball team to a national finalist berth at the 2016 PGF Premier 18-Under Nationals and to the title at the 2014 PGF Platinum 18-Under event.
Mary Katherine Tedder
Position: IF
Hometown: Hoover, Ala.
High School: Spain Park H.S.
Travel Ball: Birmingham Thunderbolts
A product of Hoover, Ala., Tedder also brings along a lofty softball resume to the Forty Acres from a distinguished interscholastic career at Spain Park H.S. Ranked as the No. 25 player in FloSoftball's "Hot 100 2017 Softball Recruits," she is coming off a spectacular junior year in 2016 that saw her bat .455 overall with a school record 20 HR's and 70 RBIs. During that standout 2016 campaign, Tedder also managed 10 doubles, five triples, 66 hits, 48 runs scored, 25 walks and a 1.043 slugging mark while earning a sparkling list of accolades that included: 2016 NFCA Second-Team All-American, NFCA First-Team All-South Region, USA Today Second Team All-American, FloSoftball First-Team All-American, MaxPreps Player of the Year and First-Team Class 7A All-State and All-Super State honors as well as nods as the All-Metro and Over the Mountain Player of the Year and the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) Alabama 7A Player of the Year. She was also a finalist for Gatorade Player of the Year honors and was recently honored as Spain Park's Wendy's Heisman winner. As a sophomore, Tedder was tabbed to the ASWA Second Team, to the NFCA All-Southeast Region squad and earned her second career inclusions to the Birmingham News All-Metro and All-Shelby County squads. Most recently, for her travel ball team the Birmingham Thunderbolts, she contributed a .478 batting mark with six HR's and 26 RBIs. Off the diamond, Tedder has been a qualifier for state in cross country and a member of the state all-tournament team in bowling.
