Missouri Southern softball head coach Bill Gray has announced the addition of Shelby Mitchell to his recruiting class for 2013.
Shelby comes to Southern from Riverton (Kan.) High School where she was a four-year starter at pitcher/third base/first base for the Rams and head coach and father Brian Mitchell.
A two-time Kansas 3A all state selection, Mitchell was selected as a first-team all state utility player as a junior in 2012 while being named a second-team all state pitcher as a sophomore in 2011. Mitchell was also named a two-time first-team CNC League all conference pitcher in 2011 and 2012.
Hitting .450 as a freshman, Mitchell helped lead the Rams to the Kansas Class 3A State Championship in 2010 while also earning the CNC League Championships. Playing for the Frontenac Flames travel softball club in the summer, Mitchell helped lead the Flames to the 2012 Class B State Championship.
While excelling on the softball diamond, Mitchell also lettered four years in volleyball where she was an all-conference honorable mention as a senior and three years in basketball. Mitchell has also flourished in the weight room where she holds school records for the bench press, squat and power clean.
Joining fall signees Jessica Castoe (Glenpool, Okla.), Dana Graves (Humansville, Mo.) and Myranda Stewart (Owasso, Okla.), Shelby comes from a softball family playing for her father Brian in high school and her older sister Cheslyn is currently a sophomore outfielder at Pittsburg State.
The daughter of Brian and Kim Mitchell, Shelby plans to major in nursing at Southern.
“Shelby is very versatile,” Gray said. “She pitches, can play a corner (infield position) and hit for power, and on top of that she is very competitive.”