Danielle Chatman Named WSC East Player of the Year

Story and photo by Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons sophomore shortstop Danielle Chatman has been named Western State Conference (WSC), East Division Player of the Year to lead a class of 11 all-conference honorees for the Cougars.

Chatman put together another spectacular campaign for the Cougars in 2018, finishing the regular season with a .424 average, and a team-leading 10 home runs and 49 RBIs across 39 games. She also swiped 14 bases, scored 39 runs and reached base at a .507 clip, slugging .847 with 27 extra-base hits.

"She was hands down the player of the year," said COC head coach John Wissmath, who was tabbed WSC, East Division Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to a seventh conference title, the program's 15th overall.

"Danielle was excellent in all facets of the game, and that was shown by the fact she was a unanimous selection for Player of the Year," added Wissmath.

Chatman was also an All-WSC First Team Selection and All-SoCal Honoree in 2017. She is the first COC player to earn Player of the Year honors since catcher Lauren Anderson took home top honors after the 2015 season. In 2016, COC starting pitcher Ashley Russo was named Pitcher of the Year.

COC outfielder Heidi Ludy (.432, 31 RBIs, 39 runs, 25 stolen bases), designated hitter Jordan Vallejo (.339, 41 RBIs, 29 runs), first baseman Sienna Vannoy (.383, 29 RBIs, 37 runs, 15 stolen bases), catcher Lyndra Fenald (.333, 16 RBIs, 10 runs, 10 stolen bases) and starting pitcher Joy Veloz (10-5, 3.10 ERA, 80 strikeouts) were each All-WSC First-Team selections.

Outfielder Rena Edwards (.352, 43 runs, 18 stolen bases), second baseman Katie Clinkunbroomer (.316, 22 RBIs, 37 runs, 20 stolen bases) and starting pitcher Katie Taix (10-4, 2.65 ERA, 53 strikeouts) were named All-WSC Second-Team.

Third baseman Valerie Rivas (.229, 14 RBIs, 10 runs) and pitcher Megan Wilson (5-3, 3.26 ERA, 24 strikeouts) were Honorable Mention honorees.

Canyons (26-14, 16-0), the WSC East Champions, defeated Barstow College in a 6-2 ballgame on Tuesday to complete the program's perfect 16-0 run through the conference schedule — a feat that had not been accomplished since 2013.

The Cougars will now wait learn its postseason seeding and game location when the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) releases its Southern California Regional Playoff bracket later this weekend.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.