Sophomore Juanita Jernigan’s improvements from year one in the North Carolina A&T State University softball program to year two, made the middle of the Aggies lineup one of the most feared in the MEAC.
It also helped her earn first-team All-MEAC honors in May. Jernigan, a Raleigh native, can now represent N.C. A&T as one of the best players in the state of North Carolina. Jernigan was named to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association University Division All-State Softball Team, Friday afternoon.
Jernigan batted .342 with five home runs and 23 RBI. She picked up postseason accolades despite missing 12 games toward the end of the season because of a hamstring injury. Her importance to the team was made evident during her absence. Without Jernigan in the lineup, the Aggies were 3-9. They were 5-3 in the MEAC before her injury, but finished the year 7-8 in the conference.
Jernigan is a career .286 hitter with 12 home runs, 11 doubles, 36 runs scored and 39 runs driven in. She improved her batting average by 115 points between her freshman and sophomore seasons.
As a member of the 2012 NCCSIA University Division All-State Team, Jernigan is one of 12 student-athletes, representing eight different schools from across the state.
North Carolina sports information professionals submitted the nominees and NCCSIA members voted for the all-state team, which consists of two pitchers, one catcher, four infielders, three outfielders, one designated player and one utility player.
Four teams, Elon, Gardner-Webb, Campbell and UNCG, have a pair of honorees each. A&T, Western Carolina, UNC Charlotte and East Carolina have one representative each to round out the 2012 all-state squad.
Founded in 2002, NCCSIA is comprised of sports information professionals from North Carolina’s NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions for the purpose of promoting college athletics in the state. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina whose responsibilities include sports information.
NCCSIA selects all-state teams in the university (NCAA Division I) and college (Division II, III, NAIA) divisions for women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and baseball.
