Mercedes Hargett joins the Alabama A&M University softball team in her first year as an assistant softball coach.
“Coach Hargett will be working with the pitchers and catchers and brings a lot of knowledge to growing those student-athletes that will work directly with her," Coach Nakeya Hall said.
Hargett comes to Alabama A&M after spending three years at Winston-Salem State as a student-athlete. During her time there, she wrote her name among the great pitchers for WSSU.
Hargett joined the Lady Rams in the spring of 2014 after graduating from Havelock High School. In 2014, she became the team’s ace right away with a great effort in the circle. She finished the season with a 14-8 record in 23 appearances and ranked second in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in 14 wins and 123 strikeouts.
She was also a strong catcher for the Lady Rams where she allowed just four passed balls in her debut season and caught five runners. For her contribution, Hargett was named to the CIAA All-Rookie team.
In her 2015, Hargett continued her great play as a pitcher and became one of the team’s top offensive players. She led the CIAA in both home runs (13) and strikeouts (152) while nearly doubling the strikeout total for the runner-up to the honor (81). Hargett earned first team All-CIAA honors for the first time in her career after she added 37 runs scored with nine double and at triple. As a pitcher, she recorded a 10-13 record with 148.2 innings pitched.
In her final season, Hargett played in 52 of the team’s 53 games and finished the season with a .314 batting average. She totaled 43 hits in 137 at bats with 13 doubles, a triple, a team-high seven home runs and ranked second in the CIAA. She finished the season ranked second in the CIAA with 203 strike out and third in earned run average (ERA) with 2.69. She earned first team ALL-CIAA honors for the second straight season and was named the 2016 CIAA Tournament MVP.
