Megan Betsa
{{short description|American softball pitcher and coach|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox college coach
| image = Megan Betsa in 2018 with UNM softball.jpg
| caption = Betsa in 2018 as New Mexico pitching coach.
| name = Megan Betsa
| current_team =
| current_title =
| current_conference =
| player_team1 = Michigan
| player_years1 = 2014–2017
| player_team2 = Akron Racers
| player_years2 = 2017
| player_team3 = Cleveland Comets
| player_years3 = 2018-2019
| player_positions = Pitcher
| coach_years1 = 2018
| coach_team1 = New Mexico (pitching)
| coach_years2 = 2019
| coach_team2 = Chattanooga (pitching)
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|03|07|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = McDonough, Georgia
| awards =
- 3× NFCA second-team All-American (2015–2017)
- 2× Big Ten Pitcher of the Year (2015, 2016)
- 3× NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team (2015–2017)
- 3× first-team All-Big Ten (2015–2017)
- Second-team All-Big Ten (2014)
- Big Ten All-Tournament Team (2015)
| championships =
- Big Ten Tournament (2015)
- 3× Big Ten regular season (2014–2016)
}}
Megan Renee Betsa (born March 7, 1995){{r|Bio}} is an American, former collegiate All-American, right-handed professional softball pitcher and coach.{{cite web |url=https://nfca.org/category/ncaa-i?awarddivision=ncaa-i&awardtype=all-american&awardyear=2015 |title=2015 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams |location=Nfca.org |date= |access-date=2020-11-27}}{{cite web |url=https://nfca.org/category/ncaa-i?awarddivision=ncaa-i&awardtype=all-american&awardyear=2016 |title=2016 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams |location=Nfca.org |date= |access-date=2020-11-27}}{{cite web |url=https://nfca.org/category/ncaa-i?awarddivision=ncaa-i&awardtype=all-american&awardyear=2017 |title=2017 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams |location=Nfca.org |date= |access-date=2020-11-27}} She is a former assistant coach at Chattanooga. She played college softball for Michigan in the Big Ten Conference, where she is the career strikeout ratio (10.7) leader for both the Big Ten and Michigan, and also ranks top-20 for the NCAA Division I.{{cite web |url=https://mgoblue.com/documents/2017/6/8/sfb-record-book.pdf |title=2017 University of Michigan Softball Record Book |location=Mgoblue.com |date= |access-date=2020-11-27}}{{cite web |url=https://bigten.org/documents/2020/9/22/2021_B1G_Softball_Record_Book.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112075617/https://bigten.org/documents/2020/9/22/2021_B1G_Softball_Record_Book.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |title=2020-21 Big Ten Records Book |location=Bigten.org |date= |access-date=2020-11-27}}{{cite web |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/SB_Records/2021/D1.pdf |title=Division I Records |location=Ncaa.org |date= |access-date=2020-11-27}} Betsa was selected seventh overall by the Akron Racers in the 2017 NPF Draft, and went on to play professionally for the now defunct Racers.
Early life
Betsa grew up in McDonough, Georgia.{{r|Bio}} Her father, Howard Betsa, played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball program.{{r|Bio}} Betsa attended Union Grove High School where she was selected as an all-state softball player all four years.{{r|Bio}} She was also named the Georgia player and pitcher of the year in both 2011 and 2012.{{r|Bio}} In 2013, she was named the Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.{{r|Bio}}
College career
Betsa enrolled at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2013. As a freshman during the 2014 college softball season, she compiled an 18–4 record with a 2.15 earned run average and 150 strikeouts.{{r|Bio}}
In 2015, Betsa appeared in 46 games, 38 as a starter, and earned a 31–5 record with a 1.72 ERA and 333 strikeouts in {{frac|211|1|3}} innings pitched.{{r|Bio|2015 stats}} She received multiple honors during the 2015 season, including the following:
- On April 21, she was named National Pitcher of the Week after pitching three complete games, including a no-hitter.{{cite news|title=Megan Betsa, Michigan softball showing (NCAA) title mettle|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|first=Mark|last=Snyder|date=May 7, 2015|url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2015/05/07/michigan-wolverines-softball/70932372/|access-date=April 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509225852/https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2015/05/07/michigan-wolverines-softball/70932372/|archive-date=May 9, 2015}} Published in print edition as "Betsa, Wolverines take aim at title."
- She was selected to the 2015 All-Big Ten Conference team and named the Big Ten pitcher of the Year.{{r|Detroit News (2015)}}
In the 2016 season—{{as of |2016|05|10 |df=US |lc=yes |post=, |url=https://mgoblue.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=11052}}—Betsa has appeared in 32 games, 23 as a starter, recording a 22–3 win–loss record with a 2.05 ERA and 236 strikeouts.{{r|Bio}}{{cite news|title=Megan Betsa, with a strong arm and a sore back, set to carry Michigan into WCWS|newspaper=Mlive.com|date=June 2, 2016|url=http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2016/06/megan_betsa_with_a_strong_arm.html}} In the first two games of the NCAA regional, she gave up only two runs.{{cite news|last=Snyder|first=Mark|title=U-M's softball pitcher Megan Betsa fires up team into Super Regionals|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=May 24, 2016|url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2016/05/24/michigan-wolverines-softball-pitcher-megan-betsa/84834748/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527055222/https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2016/05/24/michigan-wolverines-softball-pitcher-megan-betsa/84834748/|archive-date=May 27, 2016}} Published in print edition as "Betsa's hot pitching fires up her team." She threw a shutout victory against LSU in the Women's College World Series on June 3, 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2016/06/michigan_lsu_wcws.html|title=Megan Betsa, Tera Blanco lift Michigan past LSU in College World Series opener|last=Quinn|first=Brendan F.|work=Ann Arbor News|date=June 4, 2016|access-date=April 30, 2018}}
As a senior in 2017, Betsa earned first-team All-Big Ten and second-team NFCA All-America honors after reaching career bests in ERA (1.48), shutouts (12), strikeouts (412), and opposing batting average (.148). Betsa graduated from Michigan in April 2017 with a B.A. in sport management.{{citation|url=http://commencement.umich.edu/spring-commencement/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/01/2017-Program.pdf|title=School of Kinesiology|work=University of Michigan Spring Commencement|page=112|year=2017|publisher=University of Michigan}}
Professional playing career
Betsa was the seventh overall selection in the 2017 NPF Draft, selected by the Akron Racers on April 24, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://mgoblue.com/news/2017/4/24/Betsa_Christner_Chosen_in_National_Pro_Fastpitch_Draft.aspx|title=Betsa, Christner Chosen in National Pro Fastpitch Draft|publisher=Michigan Wolverines|date=April 24, 2017|access-date=April 30, 2018}} On May 30, 2017, Betsa signed a three-year contract with the Racers.{{cite web|url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/racers-sign-michigan-ace-betsa-to-three-year-deal/n-5260590|title=Racers Sign Michigan Ace Betsa to Three-Year Deal|publisher=Akron Racers|date=May 30, 2017|access-date=April 30, 2018}} NPF named Betsa Rookie of the Week for the week of June 19 to 25, 2017, following her first pro complete game with a career high nine strikeouts in a 2–1 win over the Beijing Shougang Eagles on June 22.{{cite web|url=https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/racers-feeling-confident-after-three-game-sweep-of-beijing-eagle|title=Racers feeling confident after three-game sweep of Beijing Eagles|date=June 26, 2017|last=Duffield|first=Curtis|work=Akron Beacon Journal|access-date=April 30, 2018}}
Coaching career
On August 25, 2017, Betsa joined Paula Congleton's inaugural coaching staff with University of New Mexico softball as pitching coach.{{cite web|url=http://golobos.com/news/2017/8/25/all-american-megan-betsa-joins-congletons-softball-staff.aspx|title=All-American Megan Betsa Joins Congleton's Softball Staff|publisher=New Mexico Lobos|date=August 25, 2017|access-date=April 30, 2018}}
On August 20, 2018, Betsa became the pitching coach at Chattanooga under Frank Reed.{{cite web|url=http://gomocs.com/news/2018/8/20/megan-betsa-named-softball-assistant-coach.aspx|title=Megan Betsa Named Softball Assistant Coach|publisher=University of Tennessee at Chattanooga|work=GoMocs.com|date=August 20, 2018|access-date=August 20, 2018}}
Statistics
=[[Michigan Wolverines]]=
| class="wikitable" |
| align=center
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| align=center
| 2014 | 17 | 4 | 31 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 130.1 | 88 | 48 | 41 | 67 | 150 | 2.20 | 1.19 |
| align=center
| 2015 | 31 | 5 | 46 | 38 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 211.1 | 127 | 63 | 52 | 104 | 333 | 1.72 | 1.09 |
| align=center
| 2016 | 28 | 5 | 43 | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 204.2 | 115 | 68 | 59 | 113 | 306 | 2.02 | 1.11 |
| align=center
| 2017 | 25 | 10 | 41 | 35 | 30 | 12 | 5 | 235.1 | 120 | 56 | 49 | 100 | 412 | 1.46 | 0.93 |
| align=center
| TOTALS | 101 | 24 | 161 | 130 | 86 | 37 | 14 | 781.2 | 450 | 235 | 201 | 384 | 1201 | 1.80 | 1.07 |
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite web
| title = 2015 University of Michigan Softball Statistics
| publisher = University of Michigan
| access-date = April 22, 2016
| url = http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mich/sports/w-softbl/auto_pdf/2014-15/stats/season_stats.pdf
}}
{{cite web
| title = Megan Betsa
| publisher=Michigan Wolverines
| access-date = April 30, 2018
| url = https://mgoblue.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=11052
}}
{{cite news
| author =
| title = Michigan's Betsa, Hutchins Earn Top Big Ten Honors
| date = May 6, 2015
| newspaper = The Detroit News
| url = http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2015/05/06/michigans-betsa-hutchins-earn-top-big-ten-honors/70881602/
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150518075816/http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2015/05/06/michigans-betsa-hutchins-earn-top-big-ten-honors/70881602/
| archive-date = May 18, 2015
| url-status = live
}}
}}
External links
- {{twitter|meganbetsa13}}
- {{youTube|Z65Th2UfIP8|Megan Betsa Interview}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betsa, Megan}}
Category:Michigan Wolverines softball players
Category:Chattanooga Mocs softball coaches
Category:New Mexico Lobos softball coaches
Category:Sportspeople from McDonough, Georgia
Category:Softball players from Georgia (U.S. state)