University of Houston Athletics
Jessica Valis
4/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 21, 2008
2008 ASA Watch List Member, 2008 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year, 2007 NFCA All-South Region Second Team, 2007 Conference USA Player of the Year, 2007 All-Conference USA First Team, 2007 Conference USA All-Academic Team, Conference USA Hitter of the Week (Mar. 26, 2007), 2007 All-Conference USA Preseason Team, 2006 All-Conference USA First Team, 2006 Conference USA All-Freshman Team, 2006-07 Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, 2005-06 Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll
2008 Season (Junior) Named the C-USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year ... named to the ASA Top 50 Watch List for Player of the Year ... went 1-for-3 with one walk and two runs scored against Nicholls State (Feb. 8) ... had four assists with just one error against Nicholls State (Feb. 8) ... went 3-for-4, scoring three runs and stole three bases against Army (Feb. 15) ... started the season out scoring at least one run in eight consecutive games (Feb. 8-17) ... tallied a 2-for-2 performance with a single, a double and a walk against Army (Feb. 16) ... registered a nine game hitting-streak (Feb. 15-23) ... went 3-for-5 against Centenary with one RBI ... marked a 2-for-4 performance with two doubles and a run against Texas (March 5) ... went 2-for-3, with a triple, three runs scored and one RBI against Rhode Island (March 7) ... marked a 3-for-4 performance with a triple and two RBIs (March 7) ... went eight games with one or more assists (March 5-11) ... in the conference series opener, went 5-for-11 as the Cougars registered three wins to open conference play.
2007 Season (Sophomore) Made 52 starts at shortstop en route to Conference USA Player of the Year and NFCA All-South Region Second-Team honors ... missed last 10 games of the season due to an injury, snapping her streak of 114 consecutive starts and 771.1 consecutive innings played in her career ... tallied a team-best 68 hits on a .386 batting average ... her 68 hits were second-most in program single-season history ... notched a conference-best 22 multi-hit games, including 11 efforts in league play ... hit safely in 41 of 51 games, including 20 of 21 C-USA appearances ... UH was 23-6 when Valis scored a run and 18-4 when she tallied a multi-hit game ... ranked in C-USA Top 10 in seven categories: batting average (.386-2nd), hits (68-3rd), triples (7-2nd), runs (36-T-7th), slugging percentage (.551-8th), total bases (97-9th) and on-base percentage (.410-10th) ... improved those marks in league play: batting average (.465-1st), hits (33-1st), runs (19-1st), triples (4-1st), on-base percentage (.506-3rd), slugging (.648-4th), and total bases (46-3rd) ... started season on a career-best 11-game hitting streak (Feb. 9-20) ... went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in 2-1 victory over No. 11 Michigan (Feb. 11) ... was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI against Indiana (Feb. 17) ... turned in a 3-for-4 performance with a two runs scored and her first career home run against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 23) ... notched a career-high four hits with a run and RBI against Utah Valley State (March 2) ... tallied her 100th career hit with a single in the first inning against No. 2 Arizona State (March 3) ... went 2-for-4 with an RBI-triple in game two against No. 4 Texas A&M (March 7) ... recorded a hit in first 20 conference games with hits in each series played except the East Carolina (April 28-29) series ... also scored a run in each game of the Southern Miss (March 10-11), Memphis (March 24-25) and UCF series' (April 21-22) ... put together a seven-game hitting streak that included five multi-hit efforts (March 17-28) ... started stretch with a 3-for-4 performance with a double in game one against Tulsa (March 17) ... notched multi-hit games in each game of the Memphis series (March 24-25) and was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week (March 26) ... went 2-for-4 with two runs, a home run and two RBIs in game one against Sam Houston State (March 28) ... was 2-for-5 with two runs, including game-winning run in a 3-2 win against UAB (March 31) ... knocked multi-hit efforts and scored runs in each game of the UCF series (April 21-22) ... added two RBIs on a triple in series finale against the Golden Knights (April 22) ... went 2-for-4 with two runs in game one against East Carolina (April 28).
2006 Season (Freshman) One of two players to start in all 63 games ... hit leadoff and started at shortstop in every game ... ranked in the Top 10 of six different C-USA categories including batting average (.348), hits (72), runs scored (45), stolen bases (25), on-base percentage (.432) and walks (31) ... her 72 hits and 25 stolen bases set a pair of program single-season records ... 51 of her team-leading 72 hits did not leave the infield ... racked up a team-best 23 multi-hit games ... only the second Cougar to pick up a C-USA First-Team selection as a freshman joining Arelis Ferreris (2001) ... also garnered C-USA All-Freshman honors joining teammate Elaina Nordstrom ... set an individual-game record with four stolen bases against Texas Southern (April 24) ... registered a seven-game hitting streak (Feb. 12-18), which included five multi-hit outings ... went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI against Samford (Feb. 18) ... was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored against Rhode Island (Feb. 24) ... slapped a two-run double against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (March 3) ... notched a 1-for-3 performance with two walks and two RBIs against East Carolina (March 11) ... turned in a 2-for-5 outing with two runs scored and two stolen bases at UCF (March 25) ... strung together another seven-game hitting streak (April 1-14), registering four multi-hit performances ... went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored at Texas State (April 5) ... hit safely in all three games of the Southern Miss (April 22-23) and Memphis series (May 6-7) ... was 2-for-4 with a run scored and game-winning RBI against Southern Miss (April 22) ... scored a run in seven consecutive games (April 22-29) ... went 7-for-10 with six runs scored and seven stolen bases against Texas Southern (April 24) and Grambling State (April 25) ... was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base against Memphis (May 6).
High School Was a three-sport athlete at St. Paul High school ... other sports included volleyball and track ... member of 2004 and 2005 State Championship teams in softball ... named Co-MVP of squad her senior year ... was also Student Council president and lettered in basketball.
Personal Daughter of Don and Gina Valis ... born on July 10, 1987 ... twin sister Haley plays on the Cougar softball team ... also recruited by Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas and Miami (Ohio).
