Valerie Cagle

Valerie Cagle is a 5-foot-9 professional softball utility player from Yorktown, Virginia. She was acquired in the 4th Round of the 2026 Allocation Draft following a collegiate career at Clemson.

Personal Life

Hobbies: Enjoys cooking, baking, drawing, reading, outdoor activities and yoga. Plays multiple instruments, including piano, guitar and violin.

Background: Currently works as an assistant softball coach at Furman. Played field hockey growing up and has worn No. 72 since the start of her college career.

Family: Daughter of Mark and Maria Cagle.

Education: Earned her bachelor's degree in health science and is working toward her master's degree in human resource development.

Professional Experience

Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball (2024–2026)

2026 AUSL Regular Season (Blaze): Appeared in 19 games (17 starts), hitting .348 with 16 hits, four home runs and 13 RBIs. Belted two home runs with four RBIs against Oklahoma City on July 19, then homered with three RBIs in the season-ending win over the Spark.

2024 Championship Season: Collected a 25th-place finish after accruing 1,184 leaderboard points. Posted a 1-1 record while sharing third place in the league with a 2.56 ERA and ranking second with two saves. Tallied 13 strikeouts over 13.2 innings.

International Experience (2021–2024)

Team USA: Made two appearances in the circle during the 2024 Japan All-Star Series. Hit .333 with a home run at the 2023 Japan All-Star Series. Led Team USA to a Gold medal at the 2021 Junior Women’s World Championship (20 strikeouts in 12.1 innings) and the 2021 Junior Pan American Games (28 strikeouts in 13.0 innings, .556 batting average).

College Experience: Clemson (2020–2024)

Career Statistics: Fashioned a .379 career batting average with 66 home runs, 224 RBIs, and 288 base hits over 243 games. Compiled an 86-37 career record in the circle with 14 saves, a 1.72 ERA, and 819 strikeouts in 756.1 innings. Finished as Clemson’s all-time leader in almost every offensive and pitching category.

Pitching Statistics: She compiled an 86-37 record with 14 saves and a 1.72 ERA, racking up 819 strikeouts, 79 complete games and 28 shutouts in 756.1 innings. She threw the first perfect game in Clemson history against Mercer in March 2023.

Offensive Statistics: She hit .379 with 288 hits, 66 home runs, 224 RBIs and 180 runs scored.

Highlights: Set a Clemson record with 83 hits in 2023 while batting .469 with 19 home runs, and went 25-8 with a 1.56 ERA in the circle. Became the first player in ACC history to win Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season in 2021.

Awards & Honors

National Honors: USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and D1Softball Player of the Year in 2023. Recipient of the 2023 Rawlings Gold Glove award.

All-America: Garnered NFCA All-America accolades four times, including three straight First-Team commendations from 2022-24.

Conference Honors: Four-time All-ACC honoree and two-time ACC Player of the Year (2021, 2023).