2017 Softball Roster
Roster
Anna Varriano
- Position:
- Catcher
- Class:
- Senior
- High School:
- Blue Valley
- Hometown:
- Overland Park, Kan.
2017: MVC Defensive Player of the Year ... second-team all-MVC selection ... MVC All-Defensive Team ... MVC Scholar-Athlete Team ... appeared in 51 games all as catcher for the Panthers ... led the team with 322 putouts ... threw out 16 base runners ... had a .308 batting average ... had 40 hits, 24 runs, seven doubles, eight home runs and 29 RBI ... hit two home runs and drove in six runs in a 10-2 win over Montana (2/11) ... went 2-for-4 with two runs, four RBI and a home run in an 11-5 win over Oklahoma State (March 5) ... hit a walk-off solo homer to lead off the eighth inning in a 3-2 win over Evansville (April 2) ... homered in all three games of series sweep of the Purple Aces (April 1-2) ... went 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI and a home run in a 5-2 victory over Southern Illinois (April 8).
2016: Earned a spot on the MVC All-Defensive squad for the second straight year ... appeared in all 57 games and made 57 starts at catcher ... posted a .242 batting average with 16 hits, 13 RBI, nine runs, four home runs ... 398 on-base percentage and a .439 slugging percentage ... hit a two-run homer vs. Western Illinois (Feb. 14) ... went 1-for-1 with three RBI vs. Omaha (March 11) ... had three multi-hit games.
2015: Named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Defensive team while tallying a .989 fielding percentage from behind the plate… one of three Panthers to play in and start all 50 games… threw out nine runners attempting to steal… hit a two-run homerun while scoring two runs in a 15-11 win against Green Bay (2/7)… tallied two hits while homering against Missouri State (4/25).
2014: Appeared in 33 games while starting 23 games as a catcher… drove in six runs and hit four doubles… recorded a .989 fielding percentage.
Varriano earned first-team all-state honors as a catcher in 2012. Varriano was named the defensive player of the year two years in a row. Varriano has served as team captain and been a four-year letterwinner at Blue Valley High School. Varriano led the team in hits, singles, runs scored, on-base percentage and batting average. In her sophomore season, Blue Valley took runner-up honors in the state of Kansas. She played for the ADIDAS Futures team and took ninth out of 50 teams in the competition. She also played for the KC Xteme 18 Gold squad coaches by Paul Caccavo in 2011-12. She currently plays for the KC Peppers 18 Gold coached by Dan Eakin. Varriano is a member of National Honor Society and has been an honor roll student every year of high school. Varriano is a three-time scholar-athlete recipient. She is also a member of the FEA (Future Educators of America) Club.
"Anna is a natural leader on the field," Jacobs said. "She plays with a ton of energy that rubs off on her teammates. She is a strong armed catcher that is able to control the running game and keep base runners honest. Her intensity and hustle behind the plate gives pitchers a ton of confidence. She is a very strong hitter, and has done it through hard work. She knows how her swing works and this will make it easier for her to make the jump to college softball. She is a tremendous teammate and will bring a new level of leadership to the Panther softball program."
