Ocala, Florida — Former College of Central Florida softball players continuing softball careers at The University of South Carolina, USC Spartans.
Amy Szymanowski is from Florida State, and Holly McKinnon and Lindsay O’Steen are from the College of Central Florida. Szymanowksi will have one year of eligibility remaining after transferring to USC, while McKinnon and O’Steen will have two.
Szymanowksi played for the Seminoles in 2015 after transferring to Florida State from the College of Central Florida, where she spent the first two years of her college career. She was the Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year and a NJCAA First Team All-American at Central Florida in 2014. Meanwhile, McKinnon was the Mid-Florida Conference Pitcher of the Year and a NJCAA First Team All-American in 2015 after transferring to the school from South Alabama after the 2014 season. Additionally, O’Steen was a Mid-Florida Conference First Team All-Conference selection in 2015.
Holly McKinnon | P | Ocala, Fla. | College of Central Florida | North Marion HS
McKinnon played a large part in the success of the College of Central Florida in 2015. She was named the Mid-Florida Conference Pitcher of the Year and a JUCO All-American in leading the Patriots to a No. 2 national ranking. She was 28-3 with a 1.08 ERA in 35 appearances and 30 starts. She also struck out 190 batters in 200 1/3 innings of work. She was a three-time state player of the week selection and was named the national player of the week one time during the season. She spent her freshman season at South Alabama where she made three starts for the Jaguars, where she finished 2-1 with 15 strikeouts. She was a standout in high school and travel ball as well and led the North Marion High School squad to two consecutive district championships as a junior and senior. She was named the Marion County Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013, and she finished her senior season with a 21-5 record, 0.43 ERA and 260 strikeouts in 164 innings of work. She also hit .415 with nine doubles, five home runs and 37 RBIs. She played travel ball for Team North Florida and helped lead the squad to the ASA U18 national title.
Lindsay O’Steen | P/UTL | Mayo, Fla. | College of Central Florida | Lafayette HS
O’Steen turned in a solid junior college career at the College of Central Florida over the past two seasons. She was named a first team All-Mid-Florida Conference selection as a sophomore in 2015 after helping to lead the Patriots to their first-ever conference championship and a No. 2 national ranking. She hit .298 with nine doubles, six home runs, 34 RBIs and 46 runs, and she also stole 15 bases. She also had a standout season as a freshman, when she helped lead the Patriots to the championship game of the NJCAA National Tournament and earned all-tournament honors. She finished the season with a .377 batting average and hit a team-best 17 doubles to go along with six home runs, 33 RBIs, 40 runs and seven stolen bases. She was a standout athlete at Lafayette High School where she lettered five times in both softball and volleyball. She hit .450 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs as a senior in 2012. She helped lead Lafayette to the 1A state championship as a junior in 2012 and runner-up in 2013, and she was a member of the Lafayette squad that was runner-up in the 2A state tournament in 2010. She was named the Small School Athlete of the Year by the Gainesville Sun as a junior and senior, and also earned several player of the year honors in volleyball. She was a standout in the classroom as a member of the Beta Club.
Amy Szymanowski | C | Land O’Lakes, Fla | Florida State | Sunlake HS
Syzmanowski comes to Upstate after spending her junior year at Florida State in 2014-15. She played in 31 games for the Seminoles, and 19 as a starter at either designated player or catcher. She finished the season with three home runs, two doubles, 11 RBIs and nine runs. She had a standout junior college career at the College of Central Florida prior to enrolling at Florida State. At CCF, she was a two-time NFCA All-American, earning first team honors in 2014 and second team recognition as a freshman in 2013. She was named the Catcher of the Year as a sophomore after hitting .381 with 22 home runs, 59 RBIs and 65 runs en route to leading the Patriots to the championships game of the NJCAA National Tournament. She set a national tournament record with four home runs and was named to the all-tournament team. She hit .343 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs as a freshman. She finished her career as Central Florida’s single-season and career home run leader, was a two-time first team All-Mid-Florida Conference selection and was named the player of the year in the Mid-Florida Conference in 2014. She was also a standout at Sunlake High School, where she hit .468 with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 14 games as a senior. In addition to playing softball, she also played volleyball, basketball and was a member of the cheerleading squad. A standout student as well, she was named the Mid-Florida Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2014 and graduated from Central Florida with honors as a Magna Cum Laude student.
–By Thomas Gaines–