Nov. 15, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach Amanda Lehotak announced the signing of four future Penn State student-athletes to National Letters of Intent Tuesday, Nov. 15. The 2017-18 class comes in as the No. 48 team in the nation according to FloSoftball.com.
The 2017-18 freshman class includes: Dani Fey (Bangor, Pa./Bangor Area High School), Emily Hudgins (Wadsworth, Ill./Warren Township High School), Haley Vallejos (Chandler, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) and Lauren Woodward (Ghanna, Ohio/Ghanna Lincoln).
"I am excited to welcome the class of 2021," said head coach Amanda Lehotak. "This class brings in elite athleticism, high academics and high character. They already bleed blue and white and will make an immediate impact upon their arrival."
Fey, an in-state recruit from Bangor, Pa., comes to Penn State with experience behind the plate, at first base and in the outfield. Prepped at Bangor Area High School, Fey is a four-year letter winner and has helped her team to two Colonial League Championships and a District II Championship in her junior season, while being named the 2016 Morning Call Team of the Year. Individually, Fey notched Offensive MVP, the Golden Glove Award and the Slugger Award in her junior campaign and was an eight-time player of the game honoree. Fey garnered Morning Call First Team All-Area, Lehigh Valley Live First Team All-Area, Colonial League Second Team and second team all-state honors in the 2016 season, while leading her team in batting average, on-base percentage, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage. In her sophomore campaign, Fey was a Colonial League Second Team honoree, all-area honorable mention and earned the Lehigh Valley Carpenter Cup. Fey played travel ball with the Blue Valley Mountain Lions for three years, the Pocono Pride for two years and most recently the Newtown Rock Gold.
Hudgins travels to Happy Valley from Wadsworth, Ill. where she played short stop for Warren Township High School. The 5-6 left-handed batter was named all-conference and All-Lake County Team after helping the Blue Devils to a 2015 conference, regional and sectional championship. For her efforts in the classroom. Hudgins earned Academic All-Conference honors. Hudgins played travel ball for the BatSpeed Rebels from 2012-14 and most recently the Chill Gold 18U team.
Vallejos heads across the country to Penn State from Chandler, Ariz. where she is a four-year letter winner for Corona Del Sol High School. The 5-4 catcher earned her starting spot behind the plate in her freshman season before earning all-city, all-region and All-Arizona honors in her sophomore campaign after hitting .469. In her junior season, Vallejos hit .400 and was named team captain for the second-straight season. Additionally, Vallejos notched all-division, all-region, all-state and All-Arizona honors. Vallejos has played travel ball for the Firecrackers AZ for the past two summers where she helped the team to a first-place finish in the 32 Colorado Fireworks 16U Championship and a second-place finish in 2016.
Woodward will join the Nittany Lions after finishing her prep career at Gahanna Lincoln High School. The 5-2 middle infielder and outfielder is a two-time All-OCC honoree, a three-time all-district member and was named all-state in the 2016 season. Woodward also earned all-metro following her junior season and was a 2016 Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. Woodward led her team to a 2014 and 2015 OCC Championship as well as three-straight district championships and two regional runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015. In her junior season, Woodward hit .500 with 55 hits, nine doubles, four triples and two home runs while driving in 36 RBI and being named team captain. Playing travel for the Beverly Bandits, Woodward helped her team to back-to-back ASA/USA 18U Gold National Championships in 2015 and 2016.