Haylie McCleney announced as Best of August finalist for Team USA Awards presented by Dow
OKLAHOMA CITY – The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) today announced the finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of August, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Of the finalists, USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) member Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) was recognized for her outstanding performance at the 2017 Pan American Championship, where the Red, White and Blue claimed the Gold Medal and qualified for the 2018 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Championship and the 2019 Pan American Games. In qualifying for those two events, the U.S. inches one step closer to qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where softball will make its return to the Olympic Program after a 12-year absence. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Tuesday, Sept. 5.
Held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the WNT finished the Pan American Games with a 12-1 record. During the 10-day span, McCleney was just unstoppable at the plate and contributed to Team USA’s Gold Medal finish. Pacing the U.S. offense with a team-high .613 batting average, McCleney posted five RBI and scored 17 runs with the Red, White and Blue outscoring opponents 117-15, a feat accomplished by no other team. Amassing a .839 slugging percentage, McCleney was also walked seven times as the leadoff hitter, setting the tone for the lineup right from the start in each contest.
A total of seven sports – diving, equestrian, Para track and field, softball, swimming, track and field, and wrestling – are represented among the 13 finalists across men’s, women’s and team categories. Each of the finalists automatically qualifies for consideration for the 2017 Team USA Awards presented by Dow Best of the Year. Their collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round. A complete list of monthly finalists from the 2016-17 qualification period can be found at TeamUSA.org. The 2017 Best of the Year Awards will be held Nov. 29 in Los Angeles. In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods and USG.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and is widely known as the best-trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.
