Lauren Chamberlain

Lauren Chamberlain
Chamberlain in 2017.
USSSA Pride – No. 44
First base
Born: (1993-07-02) July 2, 1993 (age 31)
Orange, California
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Lauren Nicole Chamberlain (born July 2, 1993) is an American retired softball infielder.[1][2][3][4] Chamberlain played college softball for the Oklahoma Sooners softball from 2012 to 2015. A collegiate All-American, she was part of the 2013 Women's College World Series championship team. She is the NCAA Division I career leader in slugging percentage. She also holds the school and Big 12 Conference career lead in RBIs, walks, total bases and runs.[5][6][7] She was drafted #1 and played professional softball for the USSSA Pride of National Pro Fastpitch from 2015 to 2018, winning a title in her final season in 2018.

Collegiate career

Born in Orange, California and raised in Trabuco Canyon, Chamberlain graduated from El Toro High School in Lake Forest.[8]

At the University of Oklahoma, Chamberlain played at first base for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2012 to 2015[8]

As a freshman in 2012, she set the Big 12 Conference's single-season home run record, hitting thirty home runs; she finished second in the nation in home runs that year. She was the first freshman in Big 12 softball history to win the Big 12 Player of the Week award three times. That season, she led her team in home runs, RBI, runs scored, and total bases; second in walks; and third in batting average, hits, doubles, and stolen bases. Following the season, she was named to the All-Big 12 and National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American first teams and Big 12 Freshman of the Year.[8]

In 2013, Chamberlain led the nation in four statistical categories, including home runs; home runs per game; slugging percentage; and runs per game. She ranked in the top ten nationally in four other statistical categories, including on-base percentage and batting average. She set eight single-season school offensive records, including for batting average; slugging percentage; on-base percentage; runs scored; RBI; extra-base hits; total bases; and walks. Chamberlain helped lead the Sooners to the National Championship in 2013. Following the season, she was again named a first-team all-American and a member of the all-conference first team.

In 2014, Chamberlain only played in thirty-nine games after she suffered a back injury in March and a partially-torn right PCL in May. In the games she did play, Chamberlain hit twelve home runs and led her team in on-base percentage and walks. Her fifty-one (51) walks is the sixth-best mark in Big 12 conference history. Despite the time missed due to injury, she was named a third-team all-American after the season.

Entering 2015, Chamberlain needed eighteen home runs to tie the all-time record. She led the team in six statistical categories, including runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage; she led the Big 12 conference in on-base percentage; slugging percentage; walks; and runs per game. On April 30, 2015, Chamberlain hit a grand slam in a game against North Texas pitcher Kenzie Grimes; with the home run, the 91st of Chamberlain's career, she moved into sole possession of first place all-time on the NCAA career home run list. She finished her career with 95 home runs.[9] She held the NCAA career home run record until Jocelyn Alo broke her record on March 11, 2022.[10] Following her senior season, Chamberlain was nominated for the Honda Cup Award and was named the Big 12 conference's Female Athlete of the Year. She was named to both the all-American first-team as well as the Big 12 first-team. Chamberlain retired from professional softball on May 31, 2019, prior to the NPF season.[11]

College statistics

Season GP GS AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B SLG BB SO SB SBA
Oklahoma Sooners
2012 64 64 196 68 70 .357 78 30 1 10 .878% 31 29 9 9
2013 61 61 168 87 77 .458 84 30 2 16 1.113% 63 24 14 15
2014 39 39 95 45 34 .358 27 12 1 5 .811% 51 18 10 10
2015 56 56 148 72 59 .399 65 23 4 11 .993% 62 21 8 13
Career 220 220 607 272 240 .393 254 95 8 42 .948% 207 92 41 47

International career

Chamberlain played for Team USA in 2013. She previously spent two years (2010–11) as a member of the Junior Women's National Team and was named the 2010 USA Softball Athlete of the Year for the JWNT.

Professional career

Chamberlain was selected with the #1 overall draft pick in the 2015 NPF Draft by the USSSA Pride. In thirty-eight games with the Pride during the 2015 summer season, Chamberlain hit .205 with five home runs and eleven RBI.

Chamberlain was featured in ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue 2018.[12][13] She now hosts a YouTube show for Major League Baseball.[14]

Career statistics

USSSA Pride
YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B SLG BB SO SB SBA
2015 38 88 8 18 .205 11 5 0 1 .386% 10 29 0 0
2016 43 108 17 23 .213 22 8 1 2 .472% 22 28 0 0
2017 44 127 21 32 .252 23 8 0 10 .520% 19 30 2 2
TOTALS 125 323 46 73 .226 56 21 1 13 .467% 51 87 2 2

Awards and honors

• Big 12 all-Conference First-Team (2012, 2013, 2015) • Big 12 Champion (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) • NFCA First-Team All-American (2012, 2013, 2015) • NFCA Third-Team All-American (2014) • NCAA Player of the Year Finalist (2013, 2015) • Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year (2015)[15] • ESPY's Nominee 'Best Record Breaking Performance' (2015) • NCAA National Champion (2013)

References

  1. ^ "2012 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "2013 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. May 29, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "2014 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  4. ^ "2015 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "Oklahoma 2019 Media Guide". Issuu.com. February 11, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  6. ^ "Big 12 Softball Record Book" (PDF). Big12sports.com. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "Division I Softball Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Lauren Chamberlain". University of Oklahoma. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "Lauren Chamberlain Breaks NCAA Career HR Record". Justin's World of Softball.
  10. ^ Aber, Ryan (March 12, 2022). "Oklahoma's Jocelyn Alo breaks NCAA home run record with 96th career blast". USA Today. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Eisenberg, Matt (May 31, 2019). "Oklahoma softball legend Lauren Chamberlain announces retirement". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Roenigk, Alyssa (June 25, 2018). "Chamberlain on how softball changed her body image". ESPN. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Pryor, Brooke (June 21, 2018). "Behind the scenes of Lauren Chamberlain's ESPN Body Issue shoot". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "Chamberlain Finds New Adrenaline Kick By Hosting MLB Show". D1Softball. April 28, 2020.
  15. ^ "Lauren Chamberlain named Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year". The Oklahoma Daily. July 27, 2015.