December 8, 1998
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Senior catcher Kris McCleary has been chosen with the 43rd pick of the Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL) senior draft by the Virginia Roadsters in the eighth round.
McCleary (Westerville, Ohio) has been a three-year starter at the catching position for the Irish. Last season, she played in all 56 games and hit .257 with 37 hits, six doubles, 13 runs batted in and a .319 slugging percentage. Defensively, the team’s 1999 co-captain had 204 put-outs, 36 assists and a .980 fielding percentage. McCleary was also a second team all-BIG EAST selection as a sophomore in 1997.
“I’m honored to have been selected,” said McCleary, who expects to join the Roadsters following the 1999 collegiate season. “Now I don’t have to hang up my cleats and can continue to play, which is what I’ve always wanted.”
McCleary becomes the third Notre Dame softball player to have been chosen by the three-year-old WPSL, which includes six teams located in the Eastern part of the United States. Meghan Murray, a two-time BIG EAST player of the year, played for the Tampa Bay FireStix after graduating from Notre Dame in 1997. Murray was a fourth round draft pick (21st overall), while classmate Katie Marten, a two-time All-American, was also chosen by the Virginia Roadsters in the sixth round (32nd overall) in 1997.
Virginia Roadsters – Senior Draft Selections
Second round – Shannon Beeler, SS, University of Minnesota
Third round – Jody Dean, OF, Univ. of Northern Iowa
Fourth round – Catherine Davie, OF, University of Michigan
Fifth round – Jenny Oermann, SS, Southeast Missouri State
Sixth round – Heather Stella, 3B, Illinois State
Eighth round – Kris McCleary, C, Notre Dame
Ninth round – Becky Blevins, P, Stanford
10th round – Kami Tucker, 3B, Tennessee-Chattanooga