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BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo head softball coach Marie Curran has announced the early signing of Stacey Evans (Collinsville, IL/Triad) as the first member of the 2002 recruiting class.

A right-handed pitcher, Evans has been a three-year starter and three-year team Most Valuable Player at Triad High School in Troy, IL. As a junior last season, she led her team to the conference championship title while being named first-team All-Conference and All-Area and third-team All-State. Evans hit .308 and led her team in runs batted in while also posting a 0.24 earned run average. She had nine no-hitters and 16 shutouts in 28 games, and her 367 strikeouts were the ninth-highest total in the state of Illinois. Evans was also a first-team All-Conference and All-Area selection as a sophomore, and she was a first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Area selection as a freshman. Evans has 830 career strikeouts, ranking her 14th all-time in the state. She is on pace to finish her high school career in the top five all-time with over 1,000 career strikeouts.

As a member of the St. Louis Illusions, Evans finished second at the 18-and-under Gold ASA Regionals in 1999 and eighth in the 16-and-under NSA Nationals in 1998. Evans played in the 18-and-under Gold ASA Nationals this past summer as a member of the St. Louis Sluggers. She also plays first base and third base.

"Stacey will make an immediate impact in the Mid-American Conference as a freshman," said Curran. "Playing for the St. Louis Illusions Gold gave her the opportunity to play against the top-ranked players in the country. Her ability not only as a pitcher but also as a power hitter and playing at the corners makes her an all-around threat both offensively and defensively. As an added bonus, Stacey is an excellent student who, given the demands of the curriculum at the University at Buffalo, will certainly excel."

Evans is a member of the National Honor Society, and she appeared in Who's Who Among American High School Students as a sophomore. She ranks at the top of her class academically with a 4.0 grade point average and plans to major in mechanical engineering at UB.

The Bulls kick off their 2001 season, their first competing in softball in the Mid-American Conference, on February 9 and 10 at the Sam Houston State Invitational in Huntsville, TX.