Star-Banner player of the year: Missouri commit Fagan shines as a freshman

There is a misnomer about Cameron Fagan that she wants to clear up.

"People just automatically expect me to be good because of my last name," said Fagan, a freshman shortstop at Dunnellon who is the Star-Banner's 2017 player of the year. "They think I'm blessed with extra talent because of it.

"But there is a lot of hard work that goes in."

When not playing for DHS in the high school season or competing for Team North Florida on weekends outside of it, Fagan said she finds at least four days each week to take ground balls from her father, Kevin, a former San Francisco 49ers defensive end who is the head coach at CF. And when he isn't available, Cameron will grab her glove and head to a wall near her family's property, throwing a ball against it and fielding it on her own. Sometimes for hours.

The results can't help but be noticed.

"Cameron is really good," said Belleview senior Jamie Adams, the Star-Banner's pitcher of the year. "She's really fast, and every time someone hits a ball anywhere near shortstop, she reacts quickly and gets it.

"She gets all of them."

Oh yeah, Fagan can hit a bit, too.

Much like her older sisters Kasey, Sami and Haley before her, Cameron's stats at DHS look like they came from a PlayStation video game.

She hit .614 with 62 hits, 51 runs, 45 RBI, 38 stolen bases, nine doubles, five triples and two home runs batting mostly second in the lineup for the Tigers (23-7).

Those are not typos.

"If she gets her bat on the ball, she's pretty much on base," Adams said.

And, like Kasey (Florida, Arkansas), Sami (Florida, Missouri) and Haley (South Alabama, Auburn), Cameron is set to play college ball in the SEC, having committed to Missouri as an eighth-grader.

That, too, is not a typo.

"I went to visit Auburn and Missouri (after both schools offered scholarships when she was in the seventh grade), and I fell in love with the school, the coach (Ehren Earleywine) and I loved being there," Fagan said. "I knew that's where I wanted to go."

But for now, she said she is focused on her travel ball and high school career.

"Obviously, I wish we had gone a lot farther (in the playoffs)," said Fagan, whose Tigers were eliminated from the postseason in the District 6A-6 semifinals by Crystal River. "But there is nothing I would do over.

"And I'm looking forward to the next few years."

ALL-COUNTY SOFTBALL

First team

P: Jamie Adams, Belleview, junior — Rattlers ace led county in wins with 20. She stuck out 86 batters in 143 innings pitched with a 1.17 ERA. She batted .464 with 3 HR and 25 RBIs.

P: Natasha Pierro, Dunnellon, senior — Tigers left-handed ace had a 1.81 ERA in 100.2 innings with 92 Ks.

C: Colleen Nohr, Belleview, senior — Great defensive catcher, started nearly every game behind the dish for Rattlers. Batted .350, 6 RBIs, 1 HR, 1 3B.

1B: Nicole Smith, Forest, junior — Hit .303 with team-high 20 RBIs. Northwest Florida St. commit.

2B: Glory Thompson, Dunnellon, sophomore — Tigers second baseman hit .431 with 30 RBIs, 5 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR.

SS: Cameron Fagan, Dunnellon, freshman — Slick-fielding Missouri commit, led the county in batting average (.614), runs (51), stolen bases (38), RBIs (45), and hits (62), to go along with nine doubles, five triples, and two home runs.

3B: Bekah DiLavore, Belleview, senior — Southern Miss signee played eight less games and hit .435, 30 hits, 12 2B, 23 RBIs, 1 HR. Made only one error all season at third.

OF: Katelyn Bockenstedt, West Port, senior — Hit team-high .407 with 14 RBIs, 4 2B, 5 SB.

OF: Taylor Turner, Dunnellon, senior — Batted .500 in 116 plate appearances, with 47 runs, 4 2B, 14 RBIs.

OF: Savannah Thompson, Dunnellon, senior — Hit .427 and drove in 32 runs, with team-high 4 HR and 8 3B.

OF: Kait Bennett, Belleview, senior — Second in county with 47 hits. Batted .443, 24 runs, 12 SB, 9 RBIs, 4 2B, 1 3B.

OF: Sydney Mickel, Belleview, senior — Led team with a .581 OBP while hitting .438 with 13 RBIs, 24 runs, 5 SB.

UTL: Kayla Brooks, Belleview, senior — Highlight reel at SS batting .447 with 15 extra base hits including a homer.

UTL: Kendall Tuggle, West Port, junior — Wolf Pack second baseman hit .384, team-high in hits, had 10 RBIs and 12 SBs.

UTL: Olivia Evans, Lake Weir, senior — Led team with 17 RBIs hitting .406 with nine doubles.

UTL: Sarah Vial, North Marion, senior — Batted .382 with one HR, 16 RBIs and 18 runs for Colts.

UTL: Briana Robinson, Belleview, freshman — Played primarily as a DH and led Rattlers in runs while hitting .424.

UTL: Alexis Brown, Ocala Christian, 8th grader — Batted .520, 16 RBIs, 22 runs, 6 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR. Pitched 43.2 innings with 47 K’s and a 2.73 ERA.

SECOND TEAM

P: Aubrey Adams, Lake Weir, senior — Struck out 70 in 59 innings with an 0.59 ERA. Hit .444 with three doubles.

P: Morgan Johnson, Vanguard, senior — Struck out 96 batters in 154 innings with a 3.50 ERA against tough 7A opponents.

C: Abby Conrad, Forest, senior — Batted .343 while only allowing 2 stolen bases all season.

1B: Bree LaClair, Belleview, senior — Made zero errors in over 200 attempts at 1B. Batted .275, 10 runs, 9 RBIs, 3 2B.

2B: Mackenzie Bender, Belleview, senior — Hit .357 with 3 game-winning RBIs. 25 H, 23 R, 16 RBIs.

SS: Kristian Rolin, Vanguard, junior — A .302 hitter at short for the Knights. (5 2B, 9 RBIs, 1 HR).

3B: Brianna Williams, Dunnellon, senior — Drove in 31 runs while hitting .360 with 2 HR, 2 3B, 6 2B and 26 runs for the Tigers.

OF: Alyssa Baratta, Belleview, senior — Pasco signee batted .440 with 20 RBIs, 9 2B, 1 HR, 47 H.

OF: Samantha Boyd, Lake Weir, senior — Hit .308 with 12 runs and nine RBIs for ‘Canes.

OF: Molly Shutters, Forest, junior — Northwest Florida St. commit hit .388 with 4 2B, 4 3B, 18 runs.

OF: Jasmine Haynes, Forest, senior — USF signee hit .500 with 14 stolen bases.

UTL: Jocelyne McQuaig, North Marion, junior — Batted .294 with 14 RBIs, 2 2B and 15 runs.

UTL: Kaitlyn Burchard, West Port, senior — 67 K’s in 59 IP as a pitcher. Batted .365 with 27 RBIs, 6 2B, 4 SB.

UTL: Jaci Hughes, Vanguard, senior — Hit .316 with 12 RBIs, 8 2B, 1 HR for Knights.

UTL: Emily Bowne, West Port, senior — Batted .368, 7 2B, 13 RBIs. Pitched 44.2 innings with 40 Ks.

UTL: Kaley Dunbar, North Marion, senior — A wall at catcher for the Colts. Batted .338 with 2 2B, 14 RBIs, 13 runs, 5 SB.

UTL: Haven Artman, Ocala Christian, junior — Team captain batted .509 with 20 RBIs, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR. Pitched 43.2 innings with 2.89 ERA and 37 Ks.

HONORABLE MENTION

BELLEVIEW — Autumn Oglesby. — DUNNELLON — Lauren Ford, Maddison Kaufman, Brianna Bergeron, Mandy Bernstein, Megan Howard, Maddie Gibbs. FOREST — Kaileigh Skinner, Kayla Reichardt, Bailee Sims, Brook Moody, Reese Trotti, Lexie Wall. LAKE WEIR — Hanna Hogan, Faith Hicks, Aubery Amidei, Nichole Adams. — NORTH MARION — Amy Kennedy, Avary Weeks, Asante Tyler, Katelyn Fairbrother, Rachel Ray. OCA — Ru'Sharra Tolbert, Sophia Larkin. VANGUARD — Emily King, Aubrey Ancelet, Morgan Johnston. — WEST PORT — Emily Smith, Angelique Poots, Julia Hallam, Destiny Morel, Desirey Morel.

-- Compiled by Paul Kardasz, Staff writer