Megan Betsa

Megan Renee Betsa (born March 7, 1995)[1] is an American, former collegiate All-American, right-handed professional softball pitcher and coach, originally from McDonough, Georgia.[2][3][4] She is a former assistant coach at Chattanooga. She played college softball for the Michigan Wolverines softball in the Big Ten Conference, where she is the career strikeout ratio (10.7) leader for both and also ranks top-20 for the NCAA Division I.[5][6][7] In the National Pro Fastpitch, she was selected #7 overall in the draft and went on to play for the now defunct Akron Racers.

Megan Betsa
Betsa in 2018 as New Mexico pitching coach.
Biographical details
Born (1995-03-07) March 7, 1995
McDonough, Georgia
Playing career
2014–2017Michigan
2017Akron Racers
2018-2019Cleveland Comets
Position(s)Pitcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2018New Mexico (pitching)
2019Chattanooga (pitching)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
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)

Early life

Betsa grew up in McDonough, Georgia.[1] Her father, Howard Betsa, played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball program.[1] Betsa attended Union Grove High School where she was selected as an all-state softball player all four years.[1] She was also named the Georgia player and pitcher of the year in both 2011 and 2012.[1] In 2013, she was named the Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.[1]

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.[1]

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 ​211 1⁄3 innings pitched.[1][8] 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.[9]
  • She was selected to the 2015 All-Big Ten Conference team and named the Big Ten pitcher of the Year.[10]

In the 2016 season—as of May 10, 2016,—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.[1][11] In the first two games of the NCAA regional, she gave up only two runs.[12] She threw a shutout victory against LSU in the Women's College World Series on June 3, 2016.[13]

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).[1] Betsa graduated from Michigan in April 2017 with a B.A. in sport management.[14]

Professional playing career

Betsa was the seventh overall selection in the 2017 NPF Draft, selected by the Akron Racers on April 24, 2017.[15] On May 30, 2017, Betsa signed a three-year contract with the Racers.[16] 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.[17]

Coaching career

On August 25, 2017, Betsa joined Paula Congleton's inaugural coaching staff with University of New Mexico softball as pitching coach.[18]

On August 20, 2018, Betsa became the pitching coach at Chattanooga under Frank Reed.[19]

Statistics

Michigan Wolverines
YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
2014 17 4 31 23 12 5 0 130.1 88 48 41 67 150 2.20 1.19
2015 31 5 46 38 24 11 4 211.1 127 63 52 104 333 1.72 1.09
2016 28 5 43 34 20 9 5 204.2 115 68 59 113 306 2.02 1.11
2017 25 10 41 35 30 12 5 235.1 120 56 49 100 412 1.46 0.93
TOTALS 101 24 161 130 86 37 14 781.2 450 235 201 384 1201 1.80 1.07

References
  1. "Megan Betsa". Michigan Wolverines. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  2. "2015 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  3. "2016 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  4. "2017 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  5. "2017 University of Michigan Softball Record Book" (PDF). Mgoblue.com. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  6. "2020-21 Big Ten Records Book" (PDF). Bigten.org. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  7. "Division I Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  8. "2015 University of Michigan Softball Statistics" (PDF). University of Michigan. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  9. Snyder, Mark (May 7, 2015). "Megan Betsa, Michigan softball showing (NCAA) title mettle". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2018. Published in print edition as "Betsa, Wolverines take aim at title."
  10. "Michigan's Betsa, Hutchins Earn Top Big Ten Honors". The Detroit News. May 6, 2015. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015.
  11. "Megan Betsa, with a strong arm and a sore back, set to carry Michigan into WCWS". Mlive.com. June 2, 2016.
  12. Snyder, Mark (May 24, 2016). "U-M's softball pitcher Megan Betsa fires up team into Super Regionals". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Published in print edition as "Betsa's hot pitching fires up her team."
  13. Quinn, Brendan F. (June 4, 2016). "Megan Betsa, Tera Blanco lift Michigan past LSU in College World Series opener". Ann Arbor News. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  14. "School of Kinesiology" (PDF), University of Michigan Spring Commencement, University of Michigan, p. 112, 2017
  15. "Betsa, Christner Chosen in National Pro Fastpitch Draft". Michigan Wolverines. April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  16. "Racers Sign Michigan Ace Betsa to Three-Year Deal". Akron Racers. May 30, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  17. Duffield, Curtis (June 26, 2017). "Racers feeling confident after three-game sweep of Beijing Eagles". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  18. "All-American Megan Betsa Joins Congleton's Softball Staff". New Mexico Lobos. August 25, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  19. "Megan Betsa Named Softball Assistant Coach". GoMocs.com. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
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