UL’s Summer Ellyson & Ciara Bryan Named JWOS All-Americans

Two members of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns recently received major preseason accolades from a highly-respected college softball website, as they get set to begin the 2021 college softball season.

On Wednesday, senior pitcher Summer Ellyson and senior outfielder Ciara Bryan were tabbed Secon-Team All-Americans by Justin's World of Softball.

The Sun Belt Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year in both 2019 and 2020, Ellyson put together an 11-1 mark and a 1.83 ERA during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, after going 39-6 in 2019.

Ellyson, who has compiled an impressive career record of 74-17, was named a Third-Team NFCA All-American, perceived by most as the most prestigious All-American selection in the sport, following the 2019 season.

Ellyson became the 33rd different player to land NFCA All-American honors in Louisiana softball history, while her selection increased the total number of All-American selections in program history to 54.

A product of Teurlings Catholic High School, Ellyson led the nation in victories in 2019, with 39, the second-most in a single season in UL softball history.

Ellyson put together an incredible overall season, going 39-6 with a 1.11 ERA., while striking out 354 hitters over 272.1 innings pitched.

A left-handed hitter, Bryan hit .330 in three seasons with Georgia, to go along with 14 home runs and 78 runs batted in, while also accumulating 33 stolen bases.

Bryan, who has one season of eligibility remaining, started 22 games in centerfield for Georgia last season, while starting in right-field in another six games.

As a freshman in 2018, Bryan appeared in 56 games, including 46 as a starter, hitting .351, while driving in 14 runs and stealing 12 bases.

As a sophomore in 2019, Bryan appeared in 61 games, all of them as a starter, hitting .328, with three homers, 28 RBI's, and ten stolen bases.

Last season, Bryan hit .317, to go along with 11 homers, 36 RBI's, and 11 stolen bases, good enough to be named a second-team All-SEC pick.

Of the 33 hits that Bryan collected in the shortened 2020 campaign, 17 of those went for extra bases, including four doubles and two triples, to go along with her 11 home runs.

View the complete JWOS Preseason All-American Team.

Last season, Louisiana was 18-6, ranked in everyone's top ten, and number one in the RPI poll when the season was shut down in mid-March due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

We'll never know how things would have played out, but it's almost certain UL would have hosted a regional for the first time since 2016, and very likely would have hosted a Super Regional for the first time since 2014.

Had this been the case, Louisiana would have headed to the NCAA Softball Tournament for the 22nd-consecutive year, while making an NCAA Regional appearance for the 30th time in the last 31 years.

The only year since 1990 in which UL failed to appear in a regional was 1998.

Louisiana is one of only 9 programs to appear in an NCAA Regional every year since 2000, joining Alabama, Arizona, Florida St., Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, UCLA, and Washington.

The Cajuns are scheduled to open their 2021 season on Saturday, when they take on Missouri St. and Baylor in the 35th Annual Louisiana Classics.