Marty Gordon
Two more softball players from Blacksburg High School have announced plans to play at the next level.
This comes on the heels of two committing to Carson Newman earlier in the week.
Clara McMahon and Lindsey Polan hope to continue their careers at schools in southwest Virginia with at least one being very close to home.
Polan is a senior and chose UVA-Wise because of the coaching staff.
“They were extremely nice and helpful during my recruitment,” she said. “They just got a brand new turf field and new weight room. I also chose the school because of the location it is very rural and what I’m use to as I grew up on a farm.
She plans to play first, third or catch at Wise. Surprisingly, Polan only started playing softball in 2019, but since then things have taken off including being one of the tops in the country in several categories.
Her maximum distance she has hit has been 272 ft and the average exit velocity is 77 and my max is 82 miles per hour.
McMahon, who is a junior, chose Radford University.
“I have always wanted to play at the D1 level and Radford is 100% the place for me. The campus is gorgeous and the perfect size. It is also 30 minutes from home which is great because I wanted to stay close to home,” she said earlier this week.
When talking about the coaching staff, she feels they will push her to be the best player and person I can be.
“On my visit, I got to eat lunch with the team and got to see the relationships that the players have made together, that is another reason why I knew Radford was where I wanted to go. One of Radford Softball’s main goals is student before athlete, and that was a huge green flag for me. I just cannot wait to continue my softball and educational career at Radford University.”
McMahon, who is a junior, hopes to pitch at RU as her speed on the mound has already reached 64 miles per hour.
As a sophomore, she had a .647 WHIP mark with 24 strikeouts in 17 innings with only one earned run. At the plate, McMahon had a .327 batting average, .925 on base percentage, two homeruns and 13 RBI’s in 18 games as Blacksburg was the 2023 Ridge River District champs.
During that span, she pitched a no hitter with 11 strikeouts while hitting a homerun.
This past summer as a member of the Maroon Crush Fastpitch travel team, McMahon pitched 33.1 innings with 64 strikeouts and a 1.52 ERA, holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
Polan plans to major in elementary education so she can give back to the community.
At the moment, McMahon hopes to gain a Bachelors in Biology and minor in teaching as well.
