Chattanooga State softball pitcher Brooke Parrott from Central High School culminated her freshman college season with an NJCAA Division I third-team All-America selection. Parrott, the TCCAA pitcher of the year, went 20-3 with two saves, a earned run average and 187 strikeouts in 163 innings for the 43-10 Lady Tigers, who went to the national tournament in Utah. Parrott pitched in all of their region and national games. “Brooke had a great year. She stepped in clutch for us many times,” coach Blythe Golden said Thursday. “She’s a proven winner, and we expect her to be even better next year.”
» Carson-Newman University announced 10 softball recruits Thursday, and two of them are Mary Vandergriff and Rachel Kay from Chattanooga Christian School. CCS coach Lisa Rogers Gray is a former Carson-Newman star and assistant coach. According to the CNU release, Vandergriff batted .434 with four home runs, 44 runs scored and 24 driven in as a junior last year, when the Chargers finished fourth in the Division II-A state tournament, and Kay hit .461 with five homers, nine doubles and 44 RBIs. Kay also had more than 1,500 career assists in volleyball.
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» The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletic department brought home two “Best of” awards from the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators convention this week in Orlando, Florida, including a gold in the “fan engagement video” category for the third-down clip played at football home games. It was created by MocsVision Digital Media Services. UTC received a bronze award in “digital video segment” for MocsVision’s “Say What With Soccer” social media offering. “Our entire external team does an outstanding job promoting Mocs athletics,” vice chancellor and athletic director Mark Wharton said in a release. “We are all very proud of the work they do and the collaborative manner that all units work together. It is great to see it recognized on a national level.” UTC has won 17 “Best of” awards from the NACMA since 2010, with eight golds.