By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech softball team was looking for some key pieces to bolster their roster for years to come and with the three players signed through Friday, the staff came through with flying colors.
Tech adds Paxton Grimes (Gordon Lee HS, Rossville, Ga.), Nicolle Nysted (Allatoona HS, Kennesaw, Ga.) and KaDedra Temple (King William HS, Hanover, Va.) who will join the Golden Eagles for the 2020 campaign.
"These are tremendously talented young ladies," said Tech head coach Bonnie Graham. "We anticipate fantastic careers for them and can't wait to see what they can do with the rest of our team."
Grimes helped lead her Gordon Lee team to a 30-1 season and a fourth-straight GHSA Fall Fast Pitch Class A Public state championship.
She was named first-team all-state four times, was named to the Walker County Dream Team four times and was on the Chattanooga Times Free Press' Best of Preps list.
Nysted finished the 2018 fall campaign with a .333 average, picking up 31 hits and driving in 15 as she scored 17 times. The catcher struck for six doubles, one triple and four home runs. Allatoona reached the Class AAAAAA semifinals in the GHSA State Fast Pitch tournament last month.
Among Nysted's honors, she was on the 2018 Georgia All-State All-Star team. In 2017, she was named first-team all-region, earned a Golden Glove and was named Catcher of the Year. In 2016, she was named first-team all-county, first-team all-Region 6-AAAAAA, on the all-state team and received the Atlanta Vipers Stephanie Phillips Award for leadership, cooperative spirit and inspiration.
She played four seasons of softball, three In basketball and one in lacrosse.
Temple helped lead King William to a VHSL Class 2 state semifinal berth in 2018. She was a first-team all-district selection in softball and basketball, and has also excelled academically. She earned the National Scholar-Athlete Award, an all-academic award for softball and basketball and is a member of the National Honor Society.