« Softball 2015

Shelby Pendley

School
University of Oklahoma
Position
Infield/Pitcher
Major
Multidisciplinary Studies

Classroom

Shelby Pendley was named to the 2014 Big 12 First Team All-Academic squad. She has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll four times and is a four-time Sooner Scholar. She also has been named to the Dean’s List (3.50-3.99 GPA) three times in her four semesters as a Sooner.

Character

Pendley arrived on the Sooner campus as a highly touted transfer from Arizona. She transferred to OU as a sophomore, just over seven months after her Arizona team lost to the Sooners in the Norman Super Regional. Despite the circumstances, she stepped into the Sooner program and has blossomed, never missing a beat. She was a key player on OU’s 2013 National Championship team and has been a leader since arriving in Norman even though her collegiate career started elsewhere. In the 2014 spring season, she volunteered to take the ball and pitch when her team needed it, and, in the process, put aside personal honors for the good of the team. Pendley is the kind of leader every team needs—someone who knows when to speak up and when to let her actions be what leads the team. She is a fierce competitor when she is between the lines and a solid go-to teammate when the need arises outside the lines.

Community

Pendley has been a significant contributor in all of the Sooner community service efforts. She and her team helped bring a state together in May 2013 after devastating tornadoes ripped communities, families and lives apart. She and her Sooners helped lead a state to a healing place by embracing those who had suffered the most. She has always been among the first to volunteer, and she fully embraces the community service philosophy that is a significant part of Coach Patty Gasso’s program. Like her teammates and her coaches, the community knows she is someone they can count on whenever and wherever the need arises.

Competition

One of the most honored of all Sooners, Pendley was named a 2014 National Fastpitch Coaches Association First-Team All-American after earning NFCA Second-Team All-America honors in 2013. She was named to 2014 NCAA Women’s College World Series All-Tournament team after leading the Sooners back to its fourth consecutive trip. She was honored as the 2013 Big 12 Player of the Year. In 2014, Pendley earned First-Team All-Region honors after picking up Second-Team honors in 2013. She is a two-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree and was named to the 2014 All-Big 12 Defensive Team. She has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors three times and was named to the 2012 All-Pac 12 First Team as a true freshman at Arizona. She has made significant changes on record books at the national, conference and school level. She opens the 2015 season ranked 14th in the NCAA with a .797 career slugging percentage. Pendley holds the second-best slugging percentage in the Big 12 at .841 and has the fifth-best batting average with a .396. She ranks second in career batting average and slugging percentage at OU and is also ranked third in on-base percentage (.510), eighth in home runs (41) and 10th in extra-base hits (77).