Blacksburg High School junior softball player Aubrey Hudgins has made an early commitment to continue her playing career at East Tennessee State University.
Marty Gordon
The softball grape line from Blacksburg High School has picked up another commitment to play at the next level. Tuesday, Junior Aubrey Hudgins announced on social media she will play at East Tennessee State University.
Hudgins said it was important she love the school and the area where it was located.
“I ultimately chose ETSU because it felt like home when I stepped on campus- it’s beautiful, and I love Johnson City. I could truly imagine myself being there for the next four years of my life, so I knew it was the perfect fit,” she said.
At Blacksburg, Hudgins has started at second base for both her freshman and sophomore years. Last season, she helped lead the team to the River Ridge District title, while hitting .342 at the plate with a
fielding percentage of .950. She was second team All-River Ridge.
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tenn., and as of 2017, it is the fourth largest university in the state with a current enrollment of 9,768 students.
ETSU collegiate athletic teams, nicknamed Buccaneers, compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference.
The softball team is 2-8 so far this season after finishing 17-27 last year.
Cheryl Milligan took over the ETSU program four years ago. She came to ETSU with 25 years of coaching experience, including 18 years as a head coach – most recently spending the last four years at Army.
Milligan began her coaching career at Tufts in 1998 where she was an assistant coach at her alma mater. She spent her first six seasons as an assistant coach before taking over as the head coach from 2004-18.
In her 15 years at the helm, Milligan led Tufts to an astonishing record of 490-148 (.768), including seven trips to the Division III NCAA Tournament, five appearances in the Women’s College World Series and three NCAA Division III National Championships.
Milligan led the Jumbos to three straight national titles from 2013-15, becoming the first team in NCAA Division III history to win three consecutive championships.
Hudgins hopes to grow as a player in the collegiate setting, competing to the best of her abilities and to positively contribute to the future success of ETSU softball.
In college, Hudgins plans to major in Early Childhood Development.
