University of Houston Athletics
Gregson Tabbed Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year
1/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Jan. 25, 2012
HOUSTON - Senior outfielder Melissa Gregson, the reining Conference USA Player of the Year, was selected to repeat that honor for the 2012 season the league announced Wednesday. The Cougars (No. 20/22) were picked to finish second in conference in the preseason poll.
Gregson led Houston in a number of offensive categories last season but her hitting was at it's best during league play. She paced the league during C-USA games last year in batting average (.418), slugging (.940) RBIs (26), home runs (10) and total bases (63). The senior from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., totaled 16 home runs in all games last season, good for the third highest single-season number in Houston history. Gregson can become the school's all-time leading homerun leader if she can duplicate her junior campaign total.
Fueled by Gregson's honor and a formidable offense returning in tact, Houston was selected to finish second in conference behind Tulsa. The Cougars and Golden Hurricane tied for the regular season title last year. Tulsa was the only other C-USA team ranked in the top 25 in a preseason polls (No. 24).
Joining Gregson on the preseason list is junior infielder Holly Anderson. Anderson was named first team All-C-USA last year after leading the Cougars in batting average (.339) and scored the most runs in the league (41). The Dickinson, Texas, native was a sparkplug for the Houston offense last year who was equally adept at getting on base as she was at moving runners. Anderson led the team in on base percentage, stolen bases, sacrifice hits, hit by pitches and ranked second in walks.
Nine letter winners and seven starters return for Houston from a squad that advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals finals last year and compiled a 44-18 record. The team boasts a veteran core that features seven players that have been named to All-C-USA Freshman teams at some point in their career (Gregson, Anderson, Reina Gaber, Ashleigh Jones, Bailey Watts, Jennifer Klinkert, Diedre and Haley Outon).
Houston was the preseason favorite to win C-USA last year.
Preseason Poll
# Team (1st) Pts
1Tulsa (7) 79
2 Houston (1) 67
3 UAB (1) 60
4 Memphis 52
5 East Carolina 39
6 UCF 33
7 Southern Miss 32
8 Marshall 27
9 UTEP 16
Preseason All-C-USA Team
P Aimee Creger, Tulsa, So.
P Carly Hummel, Memphis, Jr.
C Rebecca Gamby, Marshall, Sr.
IF Samantha Cobb, Tulsa, Jr.
IF Holly Anderson, Houston, Jr.
IF Natalie Land, UCF, Sr.
IF Jessica Phillips, Memphis, Sr.
IF Jill Barrett, Tulsa, So.
IF Kristi Oshiro, East Carolina, So.
OF Caitlin Everett, Tulsa, Jr.
OF Leslie LeJune, Southern Miss, Sr.
OF Suzanne Riggs, East Carolina, Sr.
OF Melissa Gregson, Houston, Sr.
DP Jill Jelnick, East Carolina, So.
UT Chelsea Troupe, UTEP, Sr.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will continue their preseason practice schedule leading up to first pitch happening on Feb. 10 with Houston hosting the Hilton Plaza Classic at Cougar Softball Stadium.
