Bulldogs Complete Signing Class With Rachel Hurley
May 25, 2016 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State softball head coach Jay Miller announced a fourth signee to his 2005 recruiting class Wednesday afternoon as Mississippi speedster Rachel Hurley (Brandon, Miss./Northwest Rankin HS) inked her name on a national letter of intent to continue her playing career with the Bulldogs.
Hurley, a transplanted in-state product from Liberty High School in Warrenton, Va., comes to Starkville after helping to lead Northwest Rankin to the state high school playoffs. She is expected to make an immediate impact for the Maroon and White.
"We're looking for Rachel to come in and contribute right away," Miller said. "She is a tremendous athlete with great speed and a good arm. She has the potential to be force for us, offensively, especially with her speed. She can get on base, she can run and she can steal bases. You never really know how freshmen are going to adjust to playing in the SEC, but I think she has the athletic ability that will allow her to do that."
Hurley tallied a .357 (25-for-70) batting average and a .686 slugging percentage as a prep senior in helping lead the Lady Cougars to a 10-4 record and an appearance in the state tournament. Her numbers included five home runs, three triples a pair of doubles and 15 RBI. Her most flashy numbers may have come on the base paths, however, as Hurley proved successful on 20 of 31 stolen base attempts.
A first team all-district and an honorable mention all-area selection at Liberty High School as a junior, Hurley helped her travel ball team, the Richmond Storm, to a third-place finish out of about 120 teams at the Pony Nationals in Raleigh, N.C., prior to her final prep campaign. While with the Storm, she turned in a .366 (56-for-153) batting average and a .569 slugging percentage with 14 extra-base hits (3 HR) and 11 RBI. She was also 11-for-13 on stolen base attempts.
The daughter of David and Terry Hurley, Rachel has aspirations of majoring in sports medicine or physical education at Mississippi State.
