Feb. 3, 2010

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason head softball coach Joe Verbanic has announced that two student athletes have signed their National Letters of Intent to join the Patriots in the fall of 2010. They are Kelsey Byrd, a pitcher from Hesperia High School in Hesperia, Calif., and Lauren McColgan, an infielder from Falls Church, Va., and McLean High School.

The pair signed their NLIs this fall and will matriculate to George Mason beginning with the fall 2010 semester.

"I am really excited about the two young ladies we signed in the fall, both fantastic women from fantastic families that we are proud to welcome into the Mason family," said Verbanic, who begins his sixth year at the helm in 2010. "These are the two young ladies that I really wanted from our prospect list - great students, great athletes and great people to help us continue to grow this program."

Byrd is a four-year member of the Scorpions softball team, where she has been named to the All-Mojave River League first team the past two seasons. Her team won the C.I.F. Southern Section in 2007 and was a quarterfinalist the past two years. Byrd earned the Coaches Best Offense Award the past two years. She has played eight years of club softball and was a member of the 16U Western National Champions and 18U Western Runner-ups.

"Kelsey is the type of pitcher that will come in and be effective immediately," Verbanic said. "She has a great idea of what she wants to do when she is in the circle. She is a young lady with great poise and presence who understands how to pitch."

McColgan is a four-year letterwinner for the Highlanders, where she has also played three years of basketball. Starting all four years at shortstop, she was the Liberty District Player of the Year and All-State and All-Northern Region first team selection, as well as an honorable mention Washington Post All-Met. She averaged .494 in the batter's box with 24 RBIs with a fielding percentage of .913. McColgan is also a five-year member of the Vienna Stars club team, where she batted .379 with 13 RBIs during the fall 2009 season. She was a member of the McLean All-Star Team that finished second in the 2004 Little League World Series in Portland, Ore.