James, Kettler, and Stephenson as MaxPreps/NFCA National H.S. Players of the Week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sophomore second baseman/catcher LaShara James (Bayshore (Bradenton, Fla.) H.S.), sophomore shortstop/outfielder Maddison Kettler West (West, Texas) H.S.) and freshman pitcher/infielder Lainey Stephenson (Veritas Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) H.S.) have been selected as the MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Players of the Week for games played over March 3-9.

South Region

James led the Bruins to three commanding victories last week, batting a ridiculous .917 (11-for-12) at the dish with nine runs scored, two doubles, two HR's and nine RBIs. She also walked three times while reaching base safely in 14 of her 15 plate appearances and swiped seven bases in eight attempts. Her finest performance came during a 12-4 rout of North Port (Fla.) as James went 4-for-4 with three tallies, two stolen bases, two HR's and a season-high six RBIs. For the season she is batting at a .711 clip with five doubles, two triples, four HR's, 15 stolen bases and 22 RBIs.

South Central Region

In helping power the Trojans to a 5-1 week, Kettler batted .560 (14-for-25), hitting safely in five of six match-ups, while adding nine tallies, four steals, three doubles, a triple, two HR's and eight RBIs. She was 4-for-5 at the dish with a HR during a victory over Hubbard (Texas) and 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, a HR and two RBIs in a triumph against McGregor (Texas). Overall, Kettler is hitting .609 with 10 doubles, four triples, two HR's and 16 RBIs thus far in 2014.

West Region

Stephenson was amazing both at the plate and in the circle last week for Veritas Prep while helping the Falcons to five consecutive wins. She batted .706 (12-for-17) with 14 runs scored, four doubles, a triple, two HR's and eight RBIs, while also posting a 5-0 pitching record with a 0.00 ERA and 62 strikeouts over just 25 innings of work. Included in her weekly efforts were consecutive perfect games, thrown during March 7th triumphs over Salt River (Ariz.) and Mogollon (Ariz.), as well as a trio of one-hit shutouts. She punched out at least 15 batters in a game three times with a high of 17 coming in a 9-0 blanking of Horizon Honors. So far in 2014, Stephenson is batting .750 with 10 extra base hits and 14 RBIs to go along with a 5-0 pitching mark, a 0.00 ERA and 65 K's over 26 frames of effort.

MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete's game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible for that week's award.

The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week will be announced on NFCA.org every Monday during the spring season, with one representative chosen from each of five separate high school regions (if there are enough nominations to consider). During the fall campaign, just a single player will be selected representing all participating regions.

MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics web sites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team's stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team's information out to thousands of high school sports fans, as well as college coaches across the country.

To obtain a coach's login, please contact: kwagner@maxpreps.com or call (800) 329-7324 x5153.