June 8, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - Makayla Englestad, a 2016 graduate of Katy, Texas' Seven Lakes High School, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend San José State and compete for the Spartans' softball team beginning in the 2016-17 school year. Head softball coach Peter Turner made the announcement.
"Makayla is extremely athletic and, with the graduation of Jessica Madrid, will fill a need we have in the outfield," said Turner. "She has pop in her bat, but at this point is more of a gap-to-gap hitter. As she matures, the power should come. She has great speed, plays great defense and is not limited by her position. Plain and simple, she is a very good athlete who we expect will thrive in our system."
Englestad, a four-year letter winner for coach Katie Spencer, earned all-district honors in each of her first three years, including first-team selection as both a freshman and junior. The 2016 all-district team will be announced later this month.
With a .550 batting average, she was named her team's Offensive MVP as a freshman and again as a junior, with a .650 average.
In her senior season, she batted .447 with an on-base percentage of .526 in 36 games. She had 51 hits, drove in 30 runs and scored 51 times as Seven Lakes played into the 2016 Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) 6A Region 1 & 3 semifinal round.
"I would project her to hit second in our lineup," said Turner. "Being a lefty, she would give (leadoff hitter) Brittany (Abacherli) protection for our running game. She can handle the bat and her speed on the base paths will be a huge asset.
"Combining Makayla and Brittany at the top of the line up will be similar to what we had a couple of years ago with Michelle Cox, Vanessa House and Markesha Collins. The speed of these two will enable us to turn singles into doubles and have more runners scoring position when our power hitters come up.
"Makayla's bat is similar to Madrid's, but her defense will be an upgrade. With she and Brittany in the outfield together, they'll be able to cover a huge amount of ground.
VYPE Sports Network listed Englestad among the greater Houston-area Preseason High School Player of the Year candidates. In addition to her stellar play on the field, Englestad received academic accolades following her freshman, sophomore and junior years and maintains a 3.5 GPA.
Englestad is the first freshman from Texas to sign a National Letter of Intent to play softball for the Spartans.
"In today's game you can't be limited geographically," Turner said. "You have to go to where the talent is and get them to come to your program. We have players from as far away at Australia and Canada. Makayla is another example of how far we will go to make this a championship program."