NATCHITOCHES, La. – Former Nicholls State University standout softball player Courtney Blades-Rogers is among the group of eight 2021 competitive ballot inductees chosen for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, the organization announced Thursday.
A native of Baton Rouge and graduate of Belaire High School, Blades-Rogers played at Nicholls from 1997-98 before transferring to Southern Miss for her final two seasons. In her two years with the Colonels, she racked up 56 wins, 27 shutouts, and a school-record 613 strikeouts to go along with a 1.03 ERA. She was a two-time All-Southland First Team honoree and after winning newcomer of the year as a freshman, she claimed both Southland Pitcher and Player of the Year in 1998.
As a sophomore, Blades-Rogers was 29-7 in the circle with a 0.82 ERA and 310 strikeouts in 255.2 innings pitched. She was also outstanding at the plate, batting .339 with three home runs and 20 RBIs.
Blades-Rogers led Nicholls to a Southland Tournament title in 1997 and appearance in the NCAA Regionals. She was named 1997 SLC Tournament MVP and in '98, she set the Southland Tournament record with 42 strikeouts.
The Colonels posted a 91-39 overall record in her two seasons, including a 39-11 mark in league play.
Blades-Rogers transferred to Southern Miss to join former Colonel head coach Lu Harris and helped lead the Golden Eagles to consecutive appearances in the Women's College World Series. She was a two-time first-team All-American, going 43-6 and 52-7 in the circle. Blades-Rogers set the NCAA record in strikeouts with 497 in 1999, then was named 2000 Honda National Softball Player of the Year with an NCAA single-season record 52 wins.
The LSHOF Class of 2021 also includes Marques Colston, the all-time leading receiver for the New Orleans Saints, LSU's Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (men's basketball), Glenn Dorsey (football), and Pat Henry (track and field coach), Southern Jaguars baseball star Rickie Weeks, Mackie Freeze, a dynamic high school football coach at Richwood High School and an undefeated pitcher for the Grambling Tigers, and Natchitoches native Villis "Bo" Dowden, the 1980 Bassmaster Classic champion.
The Class of 2021 will be enshrined Saturday, June 26, in Natchitoches to culminate the 62nd Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration June 24-26.
LSHOF BIO
COURTNEY BLADES-ROGERS -- Baton Rouge native was a four-time all-state pitcher at Belaire High School before an ultra-successful career at Nicholls and Southern Miss where she had a career record of 151-34 with 77 shutouts and an 0.97 ERA. She chalked up a then-NCAA record 1,773 strikeouts in 1261.2 innings pitched. She was the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1998 at Nicholls, then transferred to USM (following Nicholls coach Lu Harris there) and led the Golden Eagles, who were returning after a seven-year hiatus for the program, to the Women's College World Series in 1999 and 2000. She collected 95 of her team's 115 wins in that two-year span, going 43-6 and 52-7 in the circle. A two-time first-team All-American, Blades-Rogers threw three no-hitters with a perfect game and she set an NCAA single-season record with 497 strikeouts in 1999. As a senior, she was the 2000 Honda National Softball Player of the Year after winning an NCAA single-season record 52 games with four no-hitters and two perfect games. She averaged 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings to lead the nation, sitting down 663 batters. In the 2000 WCWS, Blades-Rogers pitched a perfect game against No. 1 Arizona. She established NCAA records for career wins (151) and strikeouts (1,773) even though both have been surpassed. Blades-Rogers once recorded 21 strikeouts against LSU, her hometown team, in a 1-0, 13-inning loss in an NCAA regional game. She proved to be more than just a pitcher, hitting .320 during her two seasons at Nicholls and .307 at USM. Played for Team USA between her junior and senior seasons at USM and became the first softball player to be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Born 5-16-1978 in Baton Rouge.
