PEORIA, Ill. -- Second-year Bradley Softball head coach Amy Hayes has added a pair of junior college transfers for the 2010 season as outfielder Brittany Fairbairn (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East/Kankakee C.C.) and catcher/utility Kate Singler (Witt, Ill./Nokomis/Heartland C.C.) both signed National Letters of Intent to attend Bradley.
A 5-3 lefty hitter, Fairbairn hit .369 with 19 doubles and 30 RBI this spring at Kankakee Community College. She helped the Cavaliers to a 46-11 in 2009 and fourth place finish in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. A NJCAA National Scholar-Athlete as a sophomore, Fairbairn was a two-time all-region selection and preseason All-American as a sophomore.
She hit .443 as a freshman and earned First-Team All-American honors, while helping head coach Dennis Clark and Kankakee to a 43-11 record and seventh-place finish nationally in 2008. Former Bradley standout Laura Harms was an assistant coach for Kankakee during the 2008 campaign. A two-sport athlete in high school, Fairbairn also played basketball at Glenbard East and was a state qualifier in the three-point shooting contest her senior year.
“We are very excited to have Brittany join our program,” Hayes said. “She has been interested in Bradley since her days at Glenbard East, and we are happy to finally have her here. She is a multi-sport athlete who plays hard and goes all out. She will be a great addition to our squad and will push for a spot in the outfield right away.”
A 5-6 catcher/utility player, Singler hit .358 with 16 doubles, nine home runs and 53 RBI to help Heartland to the NJCAA Division II National Championship in 2009. A second-team all-conference selection as a sophomore, she also earned All-Region 24 and Region 24 All-Tournament honors.
An all-conference performer as a freshman, she helped the Hawks to a third-place finish in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in 2008. She was a NJCAA National Scholar-Athlete as a sophomore and was named to the Dean's List all four semesters at Heartland Community College.
“Kate has worked her whole life to play Division I softball and it shows,” Hayes stated. “She is an extremely vocal and positive catcher who will be sure to keep everyone in the game. A nice receiver behind the plate, Kate's bigger role will be to bring a big bat to help fill the hole left by Alycia's (Bachkora) graduation. She is a tireless worker who strives for excellence both in and out of the classroom, and her energy is infectious. She will be a tremendous representative for our program and Bradley University.”
Fairbairn and Singler join Mackenzie Camp (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone) and Brandi Ore (Versailles, Ky./Paul Laurence Dunbar) in the Braves incoming recruiting class. Bradley returns 15 of 20 letterwinners, including five of the top seven hitters and two pitchers from last year's team which finished 26-28 overall and made the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
