Arizona State Softball Archives - Your Sports Network

AUSTIN TX- Morgan Howe’s softball journey began in San Diego at Westview High School, where she quickly established herself as a formidable player. Over her high school career, she registered an impressive 87 RBIs, contributing significantly to the Wolverines’ success. Her leadership helped the team achieve a winning record in all four seasons and qualify for the CIF Open Division playoffs in 2015, following a finalist finish in 2014. Morgan’s remarkable talent earned her the 2015 Palomar League Player of the Year title and Cal Hi Sports All-State second-team honors. Additionally, she was a two-time first-team All-CIF San Diego section and All-Palomar League recipient. Her exceptional hitting skills were recognized with the varsity Golden Bat Award, and she was named Most Outstanding Hitter in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Out of high school, Morgan began her college career at Fresno State, where she made an immediate impact as a freshman. Known for her clutch hitting, she frequently came off the bench to deliver in critical situations, pinch-hitting in 30 of 46 game appearances. Morgan recorded 26 hits in 70 at-bats and scored seven runs, proving to be a valuable asset to the team.

In her sophomore year at Fresno State, Morgan saw a significant increase in playing time and production. She led the team with a .418 batting average (33rd in NCAA), .494 on-base percentage (49th in NCAA), .621 slugging percentage, 64 hits, 19 multi-hit games, and 95 total bases, mostly from the third spot in the lineup.

After her sophomore year, Morgan transferred to Arizona State to finish out the final two seasons of her eligibility. As a junior outfielder, she was a spark at the plate for ASU, leading the squad in RBIs (42), and ranking second in batting average (.361) and hits (69). Her performance earned her All-Pac-12 Second Team and NFCA All-Region Second Team honors, marking her second consecutive year receiving such accolades.

Morgan’s senior season at Arizona State went out with a loud bang. She led the ASU offense with 61 RBIs, recording 19 multi-RBI games. The 61 RBIs rank 8th of all time in Sun Devil history and 16th nationally for 2019. Morgan was elected First Team All-American, PAC-12 First Team, and NFCA All-Region First Team. Her .400 batting average ranked second on the team in 2019, as did her 51 runs and 16 doubles.

Although she graduated from Arizona State, it was clear by her trajectory that her playing career was far from over. Out of college, she was a part of the inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited, where she spent two seasons. She then signed a contract with the WPF’s Vipers organization. After that, she stayed in the league but found a new home in Texas with the Smoke, a team owned by Brandon Phillips, who urged Morgan to give them a chance. She did, and it paid off. Morgan had a tremendous first year with the Smoke, earning the WPF Offensive Player of the Year. She has now signed an extension and will be with the team at least through the summer of 2025.

This is Morgan’s third time giving YSN her time, and she’s a great friend of the network. We hope you enjoy this candid interview where she talks about her journey, mental and physical hurdles along the way, and much more. Exclusively on YSN!

Presented By:

Hello fellow softball junkies! It’s another edition of Hot Corner coming at you! In this edition we shine a spotlight on a new member of our friends the Ohio Lasers Yellow team, Holly Zeuch, we recap the Ohio Hawks final weekend of the summer at Scenic City, and our special guest this week is Arizona State alum and a member of the new professional softball league Athletes Unlimited, Morgan Howe.

Spotlight: Holly Zeuch

Holly is the newest member of friends of the blog the Ohio Lasers Yellow-Easton squad. She is a 2022 pitcher from Mason High School. Holly brings incredible velocity to the circle, and she matches her speed with pretty consistent control. She’ll also be an asset outside the circle where she can easily throw runners out from the outfield. We also can’t let her great pitching and defense overshadow the fact that she has a pretty solid bat. Holly is going to bring some depth to the circle, and the lineup of the Lasers, and look for her to also keep Mason softball near the top of their region. It’s a tremendous softball program that continues to pop out D1 talent. Holly just might be the next in line.

Friends of The Blog

The Hawks had another productive weekend in Chattanooga for Scenic City. The Hawks went 4-2 over the weekend. Kendall Forren hit .583 over the weekend with 10 RBI, including a 2 run bomb. Jena Rhoads Hot .416 with a HR. Belle Hummel went 11/14 at the plate (.786 average) with a home run. On the second day of the weekend Hannah Hunt shines with a 5/9 showing in 4 games with 2 doubles. On day one, Hailey Massaro went just a double away from a cycle with a HR, a single, and a triple. Emma Schutter saw her last time on the diamond with the Hawks. She now heads into her senior season at Centerville as a Dayton commit. Congratulations to the Ohio Hawks 16U Gold- Hutchinson team on a great summer and thank you for being friends of the Hot Corner. We look forward to staying updated on your team in the future.

Special Guest: Morgan Howe

Arizona State plays Lipscomb in the during the Tuscaloosa NCAA Softball Regional, hosted by Alabama, Saturday, May 18, 2019, at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Photo by Vasha Hunt

Morgan grew up as a girl with a passion for playing softball, not so much for watching. When it came to her recruitment, she really didn’t have a understanding of the college softball scene. She didn’t know at Fresno State she was stepping into a program that wasn’t afraid of going up against the powerhouses in the sport. Fresno State was the definition of an underdog story. After her freshman season Fresno head coach Trisha Ford left the program for Arizona State. Morgan roughed it out at Fresno as a sophomore leading the team with .418 average and earning a 1st team All-Mountain West nod. After her sophomore year Morgan made the decision to ultimately follow her original coach to Arizona State. She was stepping up in the softball world, going from an underdog program to a Sun Devil team that played in the PAC-12 and had plenty of success. Some of Morgan’s accomplishments at Arizona State are:

A career .380 hitter as a Sun Devil, 103 RBI, 20 HR, and a slugging percentage of .654. 2018 2nd Team All-Pac 12.

Morgan is now a graduate manager for Florida softball. She recently signed on to be an athlete in the new professional softball league, Athletes Unlimited. Their season starts August 30th.

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