CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois softball's Ellie Haggard, Ava Moore and London Park were named to the Softball America Freshman Watch List, the publication announced on Tuesday.
Haggard comes to Champaign-Urbana ranked 60th overall by Extra Innings Elite Class of 2024. She was a four year varsity letterwinner at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School. The Illinois native took home 4A All-State honors form 2022-23. The infielder owns the state record for grand slams in an inning with two and ranks fifth all-time with eight RBI in an inning. She's also 15th all-time with 46 career homers during her high school career. Haggard continued to etch her name into record books during her four-year stint at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School as she walked away with the school records for runs, hits, triples, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Moore was recently named to the D1 Softball D100 Freshman list last week. The freshman infielder was a three-year varsity letterwinner at Tecumseh High School. The Ohio native received the Allstate Insurance Good Hands award three times during her high school career. Moore was also named to the All-Central Buckeye Conference team in 2021-22 and 2024. During her senior campaign, when she was received First Team All Southwest District honors, Moore batted .548 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. It was her third season batting above .500 as she did so during her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Park was originally part of the Class of 2025, reclassifying and joining the Orange and Blue squad this season. A three-year letterwinner at Spring High School, the pitcher logged a 3.10 ERA in 160.1 innings of work during that time. The Texas native recorded 186 strikeouts en route to a 20-10 high school record in the circle. Park was named all-district each of her three years.
The Fighting Illini begin the 2025 season against CSU Bakersfield in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 7.
