Alexia Clay Class: Junior Hometown: Rochester, IN High School: Culver Girls Academy Last College: Tennessee Height: 5-6 Position: Catcher Bats/Throws: R/R

Local product returns to the area after spending a season at the University of Tennessee ... will redshirt the 2008 season ... expected to make a huge impact when she will step on the field ... one of the nation's most highly recruited players coming out of high school as a senior ... brings a knack of winning to the Irish program ... excels in all aspects of the game and in the classroom ... dedicated student and athlete.

The Clay File: Batted .297 as a freshman at Tennessee and earned starting nods in 33 of 59 games - including seven starts in the NCAA Tournament and all three of UT's contests in the Women's College World Series ... nine of her 35 hits were good for extra bases to drive in 22 runs, and she paired a .441 slugging percentage with a .359 on-base mark ... put together a season-best six-game hitting streak (Feb. 24-March 6) in addition to posting six multi-hit games and five multi-RBI efforts ... prepped at Culver Girls Academy (Culver, Ind.) where she was a 2006 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-North Region selection, Gatorade's Indiana Player of the Year, and the Hoosier Diamond Indiana Miss Softball ... still holds state records for career home runs (43) and grand slams (5) ... also set the state record for single-season homers with 15 in 2006 and broke Indiana's single-season walk record by drawing 44 free passes during her junior year ... holds the Indiana state mark for career put-outs by a catcher with 1,305 ... in 2006 she was named MVP of the Indiana All-Star Game to cap off a high school career in which she carried a .529 clip at the plate and had 152 RBI ... reaped all-state honors on four occasions, with first-team nods in 2005 and 2006 and a pair of third-team selections in 2003 and 2004, while helping her team to a four-year mark of 95-13 ... during her senior season she finished second among batters statewide with a .611 average ... also recorded a .633 on-base percentage, 1.346 slugging percentage, 25 stolen bases, 40 runs scored, 43 RBI, 12 doubles and a pair of triples ... defensively, the catcher posted a fielding percentage of .995 ... as a junior at Culver, she hit a solid .551 with 11 dingers, 38 RBI and a slugging percentage of 1.231, while 27 of her 43 hits during the year went for extra bases ... also made her presence felt between the posts as a first-team all-conference soccer player after guiding Culver to a conference title and a 13-2-2 mark in 2005 ... born Sept. 29, 1987, in Rochester, Ind. ... daughter of Kim and Pam Clay ... has one brother, Blake.